Yadavs in Bihar

Yadavs in Bihar refers to the people of Yadav community of the Indian state of Bihar. They are also known as Ahir, Gope and Rai etc. The Yadavs form the single largest caste population in the state with more than 16% of the state's population, and are included in the Other Backward Class category.
Origin and history
Origin
The Yadavs claim to be descended from lord Krishna of ancient Yadu tribe.
History
According to Vishnu Purana, Abhiras (modern day Ahirs) conquered Magadha and regained there for several hundred years.
List of dynasties, chieftaincy and zamindari
In Bihar, there were many zamindars belonging to the Ahir community. These zamindars belonged to the difficult geographical regions, mostly diara land of the rivers. In the diara regions their rule continued with the help of their militia. The Ahir zamindars were predominantly found in northern and eastern parts of Bihar.
Yadava-Varman Dynasty, ruler of Anga (East Bihar) and Vanga.
Rati Raut, an Ahir chief of Rati Paragana in north Bihar.
Daso Ahir, Raja of Bhojpur.
Ahir chief of Ruidas-Patna.
Ahir Rajas of Gawror Fort, Patna.
Ahir Chieftain of Murho Estate (Madhepura).
Kishnaut Ahir zamindars of Parasadi Estate and Parsauna (Saran).
Babu Girwar Narayan Mandal, Zamindar of Ranipatti (Madhepura).
Zamindars of Pipra estate in erstwhile Munger district (Now in Shambhuganj block of Banka district, Bihar).
Occupation
At one time the main occupation of the Yadavs of Bihar was rearing cattle, but now most of them are cultivator. While majority of Yadavs were peasants with minor landholdings in the Northern and Central parts of India, a few Yadavs had taken over large tract of land in the newly reclaimed portion of Eastern Bihar (Purnea and Saharsa) and had become big landholders.
Subdivision
There are four main sub-castes of Yadav/Ahirs in Bihar, Kishnaut, Majhraut, Kannaujia or Kanyakubja and Goria. Apart from these four, Ahir sub-caste like Ghoshi, Dhadhor, Gwal and Sadgop are also found in small numbers. Among them the first three never sell either milk, ghee or butter, and have, to a large extent, became cultivator.
Title
The titles generally used by the Yadav/Ahirs community in Bihar are the Rai/Ray, Roy, Chaudhary, Gope, Mandal, Singh, Raut, Bhagat, Mahto etc.
Culture
Caste deities
In Kosi division of Bihar, people of the Yadav/Ahir caste worship their caste deity Bisu Raut, whose temple is situated on the banks of the Gogri river.
Gobanai Baba is worshipped by Yadav/Ahir families of Darbhanga district. His temple is situated in village Mahulia.
Ballad song
Lorikayan is sung by Yadav/Ahir community of Bihar, it is a folk song of veer rasa where events from the life of Lorik, a Ahir hero are described. This epic is more popular in Bhojpuri, Maithili and Magahi.
Politics
Around 1933-1934, the Yadavs joined with the Kurmis and Koeris to form the Triveni Sangh, a caste federation that by 1936 claimed to have a million supporters. This coalition followed an alliance for the 1930 local elections which fared badly at the polls. The new grouping had little electoral success: it won a few seats in the 1937 elections but was stymied by a two-pronged opposition which saw the rival Congress wooing some of its more wealthy leading lights to a newly formed unit called the "Backward Class Federation" and an effective opposition from upper castes organised to keep the lower castes in their customary place. Added to this, the three putatively allied castes were unable to set aside their communal rivalries and the Triveni Sangh also faced competition from the All India Kisan Sabha, a peasant-oriented socio-political campaigning group run by the Communists. The appeal of the Triveni Sangh had waned significantly by 1947 but had achieved a measure of success away from the ballot box, notably by exerting sufficient influence to bring an end to the begar system of forced unpaid labour and by providing a platform for those voices seeking reservation of jobs in government for people who were not upper castes. Many years later, in 1965, there was an abortive attempt to revive the defunct federation.
In the post Mandal phase Kurmi, Koeri and Yadav, the three backward castes who constitute the upper-OBC due to their advantageous position in the socio-economic sphere of agrarian society became the new political elite of the state.
Notable politician
B.P. Mandal, ex-cm of Bihar.
Daroga Prasad Rai, ex-cm of Bihar.
Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav, former M.P
Ram Jaipal Singh Yadav, ex-deputy cm of Bihar.
Lalu Prasad Yadav, ex-cm of Bihar
Rabri Devi, ex-cm of Bihar.
Tejashwi Yadav, deputy cm of Bihar.
Nityanand Rai, M.P of BJP
Present circumstances
It is shown in the Bengal Census Report that 80 per cent of the Ahirs in Bihar are engaged in agriculture.