Bind (caste)

The Bin are a caste found in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Tripura. Bin are under the [[Schedule Cast[SC]category of the central list. Bin/Bind is one of the jaliya communities. In Uttar Pradesh, they are known by the Kewat sub-caste. In Assam Bind/Bin comes under SC.^[1]

Bind
Classification	Schedule Cast
Religions	Hinduism
Languages	Hindi, Bhojpuri, Angika
Populated states	Majority: Bihar Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Minority: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh Gujarat/Assam
Region	Eastern India Central India North India

As per the caste based census data release by Bihar government, there are 12,85,358 Binds (0.9833% of population of Bihar)^[2] S.R. Naik's report on Backward classes commission puts Bind as a depressed backward class in Bihar. A depressed backward class is similar in spirit to the Extremely backward caste.

History and origin

According to Herbert Hope Risley, the early settlement of Bind community was on the foothill of Vindhya Range of central India ^[3][4]

On the origins of Bind Risley said:

Bind is a large non-Aryan caste of Bihar in upper India, employed in agriculture, earthwork, fishing, hunting, making saltpetre, and collecting indigenous drugs. Traditions current among the caste profess to trace their origin to the Vindhya Hills of Central India ; and one of these legends tells how a traveller passing by the foot of the hills heard a strange flute-like sound coming out of a clump of bamboos. He cut a shoot and took from it a fleshy substance, which afterwards grew into a man, the supposed ancestor of the Binds. The myth seems to be of a totemistic character, but other traces of totemism are not forthcoming. Another story says that the Binds and Nunias were formerly all Binds, and that the present Nunias are the descendants of a Bind who consented to dig a grave for a Mohammedan king and was outcasted for doing so.

... It seems not improbable that the Binds may be a true aboriginal tribe, and the Nunias a functional group differentiated by taking to the manufacture of earth-salt. But this is mainly a conjecture.

Another story mentioned in the book Karatoya^[5]

There is a popular belief among the people of Bind community t hat in the ancient past a Kshatriya king called Kartavirya Arjuna or Sahasrabahu Arjun of Haihay dynasty ruled the earth. The subject became helpless of his anarchy. He was a powerful king and great warrior. One day, the king went out for hunting with his army. In spite of spending three days in the forest, he hardly got any animal to hunt. The tired, hungry, and thirsty king took shelter to a sage's Ashrama when he was returning to his capital. The sage pleased the king with his hospitality within very short time. When the curious king asked the sage how he managed everything so early, the sage told the story of the mysterious cow named Suravi. The king then tried to forcefully take the mysterious cow. A clash broke out between the king and the sage. The king destroyed all the trees of the ashrama and dishonoured the sage. Then Parashurama, the son of the sage, Jamadeagni and Renuka became angry and killed the king. Later, the sons of the king found the sage along at his ashrama and killed him. Parashuram was shocked and angry, and he committed to free the earth from Kshatriyas. He eliminated Kshatriyas for 21 times. According to the traditional myth, some Kshatriyas took shelter of a den in the Vindhya(also pronounced as Bindya) hill to avoid their elimination. In course of time, these people came out and began to settle in Deccan, Chotanagpur plateau, and Bengal. The term Bind came from mountain Vindhya.

Surnames

People of this cast have various surnames usually depending on which part of country they are from. They use 'Maḏar'(मड़र), 'Mandal', 'Mondol', 'Prasad', 'Prasad Singh', 'Singh', 'Chauhan', 'Bind'. Women usually have 'Devi' in their surname if they don't use their husbands surname.

Marriage

The marriage ceremony of the Binds is very close to orthodox Hindu ritual. After the first negotiations have passed between the parents of the bride and bridegroom, the headman (manjan) and the caste council (panchayat) are consulted on the important question of prohibited degrees. This being settled, the next step is ghardekhai, an exchange of visits, at which the bridegroom’s people see the bride, and vice versa. In the course of the ghardekhai a date is fixed for tilak when the bride’s relatives come to the bridegroom’s house and present to him a rupee, a new cloth, some cooking utensils, some betel leaves and areca-nut, and fix in the presence of the headman and some representatives of the caste council an auspicious date for the celebration of the marriage. The ceremony is described in detail in Chapter III. SPECIAL WEDDING CEREMONIES AMONGST THE HINDUS.^[6]

Present circumstances

The Bind are among 17 Other Backwards Class communities that have been proposed for Scheduled Caste status by the Samajwadi Party-controlled Government of Uttar Pradesh. However, this proposal, which relates to votebank politics and has been made in the past, has been stayed by the courts; a prior attempt was also rejected by the centre.^[7][8]

The Bind have a traditional caste council and, like other occupational castes, maintain strict social control over members. They are Hindu, and customs similar to other similar groupings such as the Kewat. They are concentrated in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and speak Bhojpuri and Maithili..^[9]

In Bihar, the Jethaut are mainly engaged in fishing, well sinking and basket making, while the Kharaut are mainly farmers. They speak the Maithili.^[10]

Controversies

BJP leader and Bihar's Mines and Geology Minister Brij Kishor Bind stirred a controversy by claiming that Lord Shiva is from the Bind caste and that it is mentioned in Shiva Puran .^{[11][12][13][14][15]} The function was organized by Noniya, Bind, Beldar Mahasangh.

Notable People

• Brij Kishor Bind was the former cabinet minister of Mines, Geology, Backward and EBC Welfare department in the Government of Bihar.
• Smt. Bina Devi famously known as Mushroom Mahila was awarded with Nari Shakti Puraskar by President Ram Nath Kovind.

References

1. https://bcmbcmw.tn.gov.in/obc/faq/bihar.pdf
2. "List of caste wise population of Bihar". live Hindustan. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
3. "Historical Genesis of Bind Community in West Bengal" (PDF). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
4. "The Tribes and Castes of Bengal (Vol. I), 1891, reprint ed". Calcutta, Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd. 1981. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
5. NORTH BENGAL UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF HISTORY, Vol 7 (PDF). DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY University of North Bengal. 2014. p. 114.
6. George A. Grierson. "Bihar Peasant Life". Retrieved 29 December 2023.
7. "Setback for Akhilesh government as High Court stays their order to include 17 sub-castes in the SC category". Financial Express. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
8. "UP govt to include 17 other backward castes in SC list". Hindustan Times. PTI. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
9. People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part One edited by A Hasan & J C Das page 333
10. People of India Bihar Volume XVI Part One edited by S Gopal & Hetukar Jha pages 184 to 186 Seagull Books
11. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bihar-lord-shiva-is-from-bind-caste-claims-bjp-minister-1592325-2019-08-27
12. "Bihar Minister Brij Kishor says Lord Shiva was from Bind caste". news.abplive.com. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
13. "Shiva, Hanuman of Bind caste, says Bihar minister". Hindustan Times. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
14. "Lord Shiva Belonged To A Backward Caste, Bihar Minister Says". NDTV.com. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
15. "Lord Shiva was from Bind caste, claims Bihar's Mines and Geology Minister Brij Kishor Bind". www.timesnownews.com. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2023.

Further reading

• Balfour, Edward (1885). The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia: Commercial, Industrial and Scientific, Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures.