‘Rat-eating’, Labour Servitude and Colonial Narratives: Constructing Identity of the Musahar Community in Colonial Bihar, India

The Musahar community in Bihar experienced a series of identity constructions in the last couple of centuries. The lingering impact of the identity constructions is deeply rooted in society as the upper castes stigmatised the entire community in Bihar. The critical engagement with the colonial archives put forward various strands of their identity constructions, such as ‘rat eating’, ‘timid’, ‘semi-Hinduised’, ‘servile caste’ and many more. In this backdrop, the article examines the way in which the Musahar identity was constructed and reinforced during the colonial period. It further comprehends the relationships between the Musahar identity and their material conditions in Bihar. The prevalence of labour servitude in Bihar and its association with Musahars reflects a socio-economic reality where the community was forced to survive as a ‘rat eater’ in a caste-ridden society. With help from the content analysis, the archival records like survey reports, census reports, monographs, ethnographic accounts, along with a few other relevant documents, are critically assessed to understand the magnitude of the Musahar identity and their socioeconomic conditions in colonial Bihar.