In Bihar there has been a good deal of mixture among the various castes. Though Brahmans and Kshatriyas belong to the same racial stock, the Kshatriyas are more mixed because of their marriage with various stocks of people. The lower castes like the Koiri, Kurmi, Kahar and Ahir represent various racial strains. Caste rivalries and prejudices are numerous in Bihar. The narrow-mindedness of the people is one of the chief causes of the unsatisfactory state of Bihar politics. But now though modern life, better education and above all the efforts of its enlightened youth, are gradually doing away with the prejudices.
Brahman, Bhumihar, Rajput, Banias and Kayastha are the dominant castes. Kayasthas and Banias are the two important caste groups in the cities and towns. The Kayasthas are prominent in all modern professional occupations and are generally given the status of elite castes. The Banias predominate in trade and commerce. Bhumihars are regarded as a caste different from the Brahmans who consider the former inferior in the social hierarchy. Members of all these caste groups have occupied prominent positions in the educational and political life of the state.
The other land owning castes are Ahirs (Yadavas), Kurmis and Koiris in the plains of Bihar. The Ahirs or Yadavas are agricultural caste. Cattle-raising is their hereditary occupation most are settled cultivators. Some still roam about selling milk and ghee. Koiris are agriculturists. They are distinguished from Kurmis and other purely cultivating castes by their skill in growing vegetables and other special cash crops. In the neighbourhood of large towns they work as market-gardeners. Many Koiris are rich land owners. Some of them are still prosperous cultivators, holding occupancy rights.
The most notable among the schedule castes are Bhumij, Chamar (Mochi), Dhobi, Dom, Dusadh, Musahar, Nat and Pasi. Their means of livelihood still being hard manual and menial. About 92 percent of the total population of these castes are confined to the village while those in the towns and cities are slum-dwellers who work on pavements. Although education is free for them, the vast majority of them still continue to wallow in illiteracy.
The Musahars are field labours whose wages are paid in cash or in kind according to the traditional custom in the villages. Most of them live apart from the basti. Only a few have attained the dignity of cultivating on their own account. Another caste, Dusadhs are probably of aboriginal descent. A large number of them serves as watchmen or chaukidars, they are also employed as village messengers, grooms, elephant drivers and wood cutters, punkha coolies and porters.
The Dhanuks are servant class found in every place where there are high caste Hindus. The poor among them perform the menial household duties along with their family. Some Dhanuks are also cultivators while the females act as maid servants.
Insane prejudice which was prevalent against the lower castes is gradually disappearing in Bihar. The rich titled classes in the state are regarded as ordinary mortals. In the country districts the influence of Zamindar (land lords) families is considerable. It depends more on their position as landlords than as persons of title. In small towns they have a certain importance on account of their historic descent. In the larger towns the members of the upper classes are of small account unless accompanied by wealth.
The middle classes in Bihar are mostly caste-ridden. They are mostly professionals and doesn't have caste prejudices. They are the ones who almost monopolize the bar, the bench, the medical profession, trade and industry, the civil service and educational appointments. Many important posts in the secretariat are held by men of humble birth. The middle classes merge imperceptibly into the lower middle class and then into the masses.
Brahmins :
Some socially inferior Brahmins in Bihar are connected with the actual ritual of temple worship and include miscellaneous groups such as the pujari who performs the pujas in shrines and temples, the Ojhas of occultist propensities who exorcise demons and evil spirits, the Jyotishis or astrologers who caste horoscopes and determine auspicious occasions, the Pandas who act as guides at pilgrim centres and Mahapatras who conduct ceremonies connected with the funeral rites of the upper castes. The village priests (pujaris) among the masses are usually uneducated. There is a large proportion of hereditary priests. Many of the Brahmin pujaris are men from good families. The average priest knows little beyond reading the Karmakanda and he is often shaky at that. From the point of view of morality, certain priests as a rule lead pure and austere lives. There are also a few Brahmin pandits who devote themselves to teaching. Making gifts of land and cows to Brahmins was at one time considered very meritorious by the Puranas. Brahmins are generally strict about personal cleanliness and begin their private devotions well before sunrise, repeat them at moon and again just before sunset.
The Brahmins of Maithila are divided into five hypergamous groups -Shrotriyas, Yogyas, Panjibadhs, Nagars and Jaiwars. The religion of the average Brahmin is a curious mixture of Hinduism and Animism, in which belief in both evil spirits and godlings is the principal element. Most of the Brahmins have their idols to which they make simple offerings in the open air. A few of the Maithil Brahmins are Shaivites who believe in the unity and immanence of god and have a deep consciousness of personal sin.
Among the Brahmins in Bihar there are hundreds of Agradanis or Kantahas who conduct ceremonies when Hindus are burned and who receive the offerings made on the eleventh day after a person's death. Bihar is also the ancient place of settlement of the Sakaldwipi Brahmins and they continue to be one of the most numerous classes of this order. Some of these Sakaldwipis act as a purohits for people and explain to them the decree of fate with the help of an almanac. Many of them are of the Shakta sect and are guided by the tantras. Among the Brahmins of Kanoj greater part live by acting as purohits. Many are in service and some live by trade, the greatest part have lands which they cultivate by the help of servants, but they do not work with their own hand. They are mostly of the sect of Rama, a few worship Krishna or the Shaktis. The worshippers of Rama have no objection to repeat the ceremonies used in the adoration of Shiva or of any other god. Some of Saraswat Brahmins were formerly land lords. Now some of them are merchants while others are priests. The Kanyakubjas act as teachers, priests, cultivators, soldiers, messengers, clerks and accountants, traders or cooks.
Muslims :
The Muslims in Bihar are commonly seen in Purnia, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur and Champaran districts. In the Purnia districts Hindus and Muslims live together and has imbibed each others religious beliefs. Many of the Hindu and Muslim festivals are celebrated with equal zeal. The Muharram ' Tazias' are usually borne on the shoulders by the Hindus and the Durga puja ' Akharas' are filled up by the Muslims.
Caste system was foreign to Islam, it appears to have entered the Muslim social system as a result of the contact with the Hindus. The Muslims are divided into two main classes, the Ashroff and Ajlaf. The Syeds, who belong to the first category claim descent from the prophet himself, others in this category are Mughals, Iranis, Afghans, Pathans etc. The Momins, Kunjras and the Muslim castes-Julaha, Dhunia, Dhobe, Kulal, Chik, Lalbegi and others belong to the second group. The Mulick of Shahabad are all Ashroff and live by reciting poetry describing the love of Radha and Govindha; they worship certain saints and make offering at tombs and dargahs. In pre-Mughal Bihar, all the Ulema, Mullas and Sufis were Sunni Muslims, there were no sectarian differences between Shias and Sunnis.
Christians :
The Christians are commonly seen in Ranchi district, Singhbhum district and in the district of the Santhal parganas. Their missions, which are found throughout the state not only engage themselves in evangelistic work but also maintain schools and colleges, manage several well equipped hospitals and have many orphanages at Patna and else where. At Patna alone, the Roman catholic Mission has five boarding schools, two for boys and three for girls, and a woman's college. The first Jesuit priest to have come to Patna was father Simon Figuieredo. The Capuchins followed early in the eighteenth century and succeeded in establishing stations in Bengal and Bihar. The most fruitful field for missionary activities has not been the plains of Bihar but the hilly region of Chotanagpur-especially in Ranchi. The aboriginal races of Chotanagpur, especially in Ranchi have shown greater sensitiveness to Christian influences.
