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Bahun

Nepali Brahmins of Khas descent From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Bahun (Nepali: बाहुन), also known as Hill Brahmins,[3] are a Brahmin varna among the Khas of Nepal. They are a sub-caste of the Kanyakubja Brahmin[4][5][6] while their origins are from Kannauj[7] and the Himalayan belt of South Asia. According to the 2011 Nepal census, Bahun is the second most populous group after Chhetri.[8]

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According to 1854 Muluki Ain, the first Nepalese civil code, Bahuns were regarded as caste among sacred thread bearers (Tagadhari) and twice-born Hindus.[9]

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Origin

Further information: Khas people

Traditionally, Bahuns were members of the Khas community together Chhetris.[10] Possibly due to political power of the Khasa Malla kingdom, Khas Brahmins and Khas Kshatriyas[11] had high social status in the present-day western Nepal.[10] Bahuns, regarded as upper class Khas group together with Chhetris, were associated mostly with the Gorkha Kingdom and its expansion.[12][12][13]

There appears to be general agreement in historical records and family genealogy that Hill Brahmins (both Purbia and Kumai Bahuns) migrated from the Gangetic Plains to the western Himalayas then from there to the eastern Himalayas including Nepal. Nepali historians have claimed that Hill Brahmins entered the Himalayan region from Kannauj.[14] According to Acharya Bamsavali, Bahuns have migrated from Kanyakubja to Jumla in Nepal.[15]

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Demography

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According to the 2011 Nepal census, Bahuns (referred as Hill-Brahmin) are the second most populous group after Khas Chhetri with 12.2% of Nepal's population (or 3,226,903 people).[16] Bahun are the second largest Hindu group in Nepal with a population of 3,212,704 (99.6% of Bahuns).[16] Bahuns are the largest group in 15 districts in Nepal: Jhapa, Morang, Kathmandu, Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kaski, Syangja, Parbat, Gulmi and Arghakhanchi. Among these, Bahuns in Parbat (35.7%), Arghakhanchi (32.8%), Dhading (30.9%), Chitwan (28.6%), Kaski (27.8%) and Gulmi (25.2%) consist more than 25% of the district population. Kathmandu has largest Bahun population with 410,126 people (23.5%).[16]

Bahuns have the highest civil service representation with 39.2% of Nepal's bureaucracy while having only 12.1% of Nepal's total population. The civil service representation to population ratio is 3.2 times for Bahuns which is fourth in Nepal. Khas Chhetris represent 1.6 times in civil services to their percentage of population, which is the highest in Nepal.[17] As per the Public Service Commission, Brahmins (33.3%) and Chhetris (20.01%) were two largest caste group to obtain governmental jobs in F.Y. 2017-18 even though 45% governmental seats are reserved for women, indigenous and ethnic minorities, Madhesis, dalits, people with disability and those from the backward regions.[18] Similarly, in the fiscal 2018–19, Bahuns (24.87%) and Chhetris (9.63%) maintained 35% of their proportion in civil service as per Public Service Commission.[19]

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Geographic distribution

According to the 2021 Nepal census, 3,292,373 people (11.29%) of the population of Nepal are Bahun (Hill Brahmins).[20] The frequency of Bahun (Hill Brahmins) by province was as follows:

The frequency of Bahun (Hill Brahmins) was higher than national average (12.2%) in the following districts:

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