Bhogta
The Bhogta is an agricultural community, primarily inhabiting the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. They speak Sadri language as mother tongue except Bhogta of West Bengal, who are adopted Bengali as mother tongue and use Hindi Language as link language.
Social structure
The Bhogta are traditionally cultivators and Hindu by religion. The Bhogta of Bihar divided into eight clan, i.e. Damajhwar, Saichumair, Bhumchuriar, Rimrimria, Pathbhandhi, Musuar, Kmariar, Beharwar and the Bhogta of West Bengal divided into Hans, Mur, Kaua, etc. They use surname like Bhogta, Ganjhu and Singh.Official classification
As per 1981 census the Bhogta population in Bihar was 137,175 and as per 1952 census their population was 13,807 in West Bengal. They were previously classified as Scheduled Castes for affirmative action. But in 2022, the Bhogta of Jharkhand state are classified as a Scheduled Tribe, as a synonym of Kharwar. In Odisha, they lives in neighbouring districts of Jharkhand such as Sundargarh, and Sambalpur. They are notified as Other Backward Classes since 1994.Notable people
- Nilamber and Pitamber, freedom fighter in 1857
- Jay Prakash Singh Bhogta, politician
- Mahendra Prakash Singh Bhogta, politician
- Satyanand Bhogta, politician
- Nikki Pradhan, hockey player