Bahun

Traditionally, Bahuns were members of the Khas community together with Chhetris (Khas Kshatriyas).[2] Possibly due to political power of the Khasa Malla kingdom, Khas Bahun and Khas Rajput (Chhetris) had high social status as indigenous plain Brahmins and Rajputs in the present-day western Nepal.[2] Bahuns, regarded as upper class Khas group together with Chhetri, were associated mostly with the Gorkha Kingdom.[4] Bahun (with Chhetri) are referred with tribal designation of Khas in most of the context than lower occupational castes like Kami, Sarki etc.[4][5]

Bahuns were divided into two clans on the basis of residency. The Bahun residents east of Mahakali river were known as Purbiya Bahun and west of the river were known as Kumai Bahun.[6] Kumai or Kumain is a direct derivative of Kumaoni, meaning residents of Kumaon.[6] Some of the surnames of Bahun are Kafle Kandel, Acharya, Adhikari, Baral, Bhandari, Bidari, Bhatta, Bhattarai, Chalise, Chaulagain, Chapagain, Dahal, Devkota, Dhakal, Dhungana, Dhungel, Ghimire, Gyawali, Joshi, Katuwal, Khanal, Kharel , Koirala, Lamichhane, Lohani, Mainali, Nepal, Neupane, Niraula,Oli, Pandey,Pande, Panta, Parajuli, Pathak, Pokharel, Poudel, Rimal, Regmi, Rijal, Sapkota, Sigdel, Sitaula, Subedi , (Wagle)

According to the 2011 Nepal census, Bahuns (referred as Hill-Brahmin) are the second most populous group after Chhetri with 12.2% of Nepal's population (or 32,26,903 people).[7] Bahun are the second largest Hindu group with a population of 3,212,704 (99.6% of Bahuns).[7] 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%), Syangja (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%).[7]

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. Chhetris represent 5.6 times in civil services to their percentage of population, which is the highest in Nepal.[8] 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, Madhesis, lower caste and tribes, people with disability and those from the backward regions.[9] Similarly, in the fiscal 2018–19, Bahuns (34.87%) and Chhetris (19.63%) maintained 55% of their proportion in civil service as per Public Service Commission.[10]

Bahunbaad along with Bahun-Chhetri phenomenon has been dubbed as sociopolitical dominance of Khas-Paharis in Nepal. This dominance has emerged a critical condition for Bahun and Chhetri males for depriving of opportunities due to quota and reservation for other castes.[11] Former Prime Minister of Nepal, Baburam Bhattarai, also a Bahun, had argued that Khas Arya dominate 80% institutions in Nepal and meritocratic system should not be introduced in Nepal. Opposingly, it is widely known that the Bahun-Chhetri dominance was based on formal legal system and the guilt of state capture is targeted by quota-reservation supporters.[12] The European Union mission in Kathmandu also suggested the Nepalese government to deny Khas Aryas their proportional representation election quota.[13]

• Ranga Nath Poudyal[14]
• Krishna Prasad Koirala and Koirala family[15]
• Matrika Prasad Koirala[15]
• Tanka Prasad Acharya[16]
• Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala[15]
• Girija Prasad Koirala[15]
• Krishna Prasad Bhattarai[17]
• Man Mohan Adhikari[18]
• KP Sharma Oli
• Bidya Devi Bhandari
• Prachanda[19][20]
• Madhav Kumar Nepal[21]
• Baburam Bhattarai[22]

• Caste system in Nepal
• Varna (Hinduism)

• Dor Bahadur Bista (1991). Fatalism and Development: Nepal's Struggle for Modernization. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-81-250-0188-1.
• Subba, Tanka Bahadur (1989). Dynamics of a hill society: Nepalis in Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas. Mittal Publications. ISBN 9788173041143.
• John T Hitchcock (1978). "An Additional Perspective on the Nepali Caste System". In James F. Fisher (ed.). Himalayan Anthropology: The Indo-Tibetan Interface. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-90-279-7700-7.
• Richard Burghart (1984). "The Formation of the Concept of Nation-State in Nepal". The Journal of Asian Studies. 44 (1): 101–125. doi:10.2307/2056748. JSTOR 2056748.
• Whelpton, John (2005). A History of Nepal. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521804707.
• Sherchan, Sanjay (2001). Democracy, pluralism and Change: An Inquiry into Nepalese context. Chhye Pahhuppe. ISBN 9789993354390.
• Nepala Rajakiya Pragya Pratisthana (2001). Journal of Nepalese Literature, Art and Culture. 4. Nepal: Royal Nepal Academy.