The Buksa of Bijnor The Buksa of Bijnor

1. The Buksa of Bijnor
The Buksa is a Himalayan tribal group that inhabits the terai areas of Bijnor district of Uttar
Pradesh. The Buksa people are also referred to as Mehre or Mehra in Dehradun district. One of the early
references to the tribe in literature is that of G.R.C. Williams in Memoirs of Dehradun (1874) wherein he
calls them ‘Mehra’, the ‘great eater of fish and drinker of spirits’. Crooke (1896) has mentioned a legend
according to which the Buksa came from Dakhin, while others have specifically stated that they migrated
from Delhi. Nag and Roy Burman (1974) trace the etymology of the word ‘Buksa’ to a legend describing
the conquest over the cannibals (bhakshi) in the terai; thus they came to be known as ‘Buksa’, i.e. the
killers of bhakshi. The other view is that in Hindi language the word ‘ban’ means forest and ‘bonk’ means
forest dwellers, and the combination of the two words, ‘ban-bonk’ might have given rise to the
nomenclature of ‘Buksa or Bhuksa’ (Nag and Roy Burman 1974). A section of the Buksa also claims
descent from the royal family of Raja Jagatdeo, a famous warrior of Rajasthan, who on being defeated by
the Mughals fled to the terai foothills. Some others believe that their ancestor was Udaijit, a Panwar
Rajput. Many Buksas consider themselves to be Kushvanshi Rajputs. Yet another legend is that the Buksa
and their neighbours—the Tharus—believe that their roots can be traced back to the female counterpart of
the royal family. Their belief is that the ruler of Tarai was defeated by some invaders in the ancient past.
After the defeat, the women of the royal family in order to save their honour from the invaders took shelter
in the forests. Their attendants who were Chamars and Sais had accompanied them, and intermarriage with
these men, gave rise to two distinct groups, i.e., the Tharu and the Buksa, the former being descendants of
the Chamars and the latter from the Sais.
Cultural Profile of the Buksa
Until around 1997, the Buksa villages were exclusively inhabited by the Buksa people and were isolated.
Now other communities like the Muslims and Kumauni Pahari have also started living in their villages.
However, the Buksa houses are found in clusters even in these multi-ethnic villages. In Dehradun, the
Buksa are also known as Mehra Rajput, and even today, they have no objection to being identified with
this name, as they perceive that they are Rajputs. The Buksa speak Buxuari dialect, and now a days, they
speak Hindi also. Most of their folk songs are in Buxuari dialect, which is their mother tongue.
Changes in the Constitutional Status of the Buksa
In the year 1950, the Buksa were categorized as a Scheduled Caste (SC), while in the year 1956, they were
deleted from the Scheduled Caste category and were placed under the Backward Class category of the
state. Later in June 1967 they were categorized as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) and thereafter in the year 1981
they were placed in the list of PVTGs. In the year 1983-4, Special Central Assistance (SCA) was provided
for the Buksa of the plain districts which was extended to the Buksa of hill region in the year 1984-5. A
special office was set-up during the 8th Five Year Plan to solve the problems of land alienation and allied
problems of the PVTGs. Establishment of primary schools, hand-pumps, bio-gas plants, distribution of
iodized salt, providing cattle, agricultural subsidies, etc.,
Physical Features
There is a high incidence of blood group ‘B’ among the Buksa followed by ‘A’ and then ‘O’ (Yadav,
Pathi, and Purkait 2003). On the basis of somato-metric measurements, researchers are of the view that
Buksa are preponderantly Mongoloid people who have assimilated certain physical features of the Rajputs
(Yadav and Patni 2004). The Buksa have a height around 5 feet 6 inches, stout stature, small eyes with the
opening of eyelids being narrow, linear and horizontal, the face being very broad across the cheekbones,
and nose being flat, a classical description that fits ‘Mongoloid characteristics’

2. Social Organization and Religion
The Buksa people are divided into several exogamous clans (gotra). While most of their clans do not
appear to be associated with any mythical ancestor, some Buksas of the Kumaon division trace their clan to
‘Khera’, a traditional hamlet which used to be a political unit having a headmen (pradhan) and a shaman
(bharare). Thus, for example, the Buksa of Jogipura Khera belong to Jogipura clan. It is also believed
among the Buksa that the Muswani gotra is derived from the word ‘Mussalman’ (Muslim) and such Buksa
are believed to be originally Muslims who assimilated into the Buksa community with the passage of time.
Livelihood
The traditional and primary occupations of the Buksa are agriculture and animal husbandry. The subsidiary
occupations are wage labour, etc.
Health and Diseases
The common diseases among the Buksa of bijnor are fever, stomach disorder, tuberculosis and body pains.
Likewise, the common diseases reportedly prevalent among the Buksa of Bijnor are stomach disorder and
body pains. The other high occurrences of diseases/illness are headache, ear, nose and throat problems, and
skin diseases.
Conservation-cum-Development (CCD) Plan for PVTGs
POPULATION
SR VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME TEHSIL
POPULATION
OF
BUKSA
COMMUNITY
NO. OF
HOUSEHOLD
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD NAJIBABAD
553 119
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK 77 15
TOTAL 630 134
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI NAGINA
6 1
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI 1323 337
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR 360 91
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD 344 74
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD 296 56
TOTAL 2329 559
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH NAGINA 415 76
G TOTAL 3374 769

3. Development Activities and Schemes
EDUCATION
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME
PRIMARY
SCHOOL
UPPER
PRIMARY
SCHOOL
REMARK
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
1 1
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK 1 0
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
1 0
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI 1 0
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR 1 1
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD 1 0
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD 1 1
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH 1 1
ICDS
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME AWCS
NO. OF
BENEFICI
ARIES
REMARK
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
1 0
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK 0 0
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
1 0
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI 1 122
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR 1 0
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD 0 0
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD 0 0
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH 1 0
HEALTH
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME
HEALTH
SUB
CENTER
PHCS
REMARK
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
0 -
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK 0 -
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
0 0
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI 1 -
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR - -
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD - -
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD - -
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH 1 0

4. AGRICULTURE
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME
PM
KISAN
NIDHI
free Seed Kit
REMAR
K
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
62 11
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK 10 0
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
1 1
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI - -
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR - -
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD - -
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD - -
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH 0 -
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME
OLD AGE
PENSION
PWDS
PENSION
REMAR
K
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
12 15
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK 1 6
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
- -
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI 29 -
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR 13 -
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD 15 13
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD 5 -
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH 4 1
NRLM CBO
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME SHGS RF/CIF
REMAR
K
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
8 8
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK 1 1
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
2 2
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI 6 6
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR 4 4
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD 5 5
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD 0 0
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH 3 3

5. AWAS
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME PMAYG CMAYG
REMAR
K
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
40 26
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK 3 2
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
- -
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI - -
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR - 29
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD 7 21
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD - -
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH 0 23
TOILET
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME
INDIVIDUA
L
COMMUNIT
Y
REMAR
K
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
21 1
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK 9 0
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
- 0
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI - 0
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR 34 1
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD 13 1
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD 3 0
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH 54 1
RATION CARD
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME
ANTYODAY
A
PATRA
GRAHASTI
RATION
REMAR
K
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
14 90
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK 0 15
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
- -
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI - -
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR 55 -
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD 20 51
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD 7 22
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH 13 37

6. MGNREGA
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME
JOB
CARD
TOTAL
MANDAYS
REMAR
K
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
90 3757
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK 13 4
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
- -
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI - -
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR 82 -
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD 82 -
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD - -
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH 41 600
ROAD CONNECTIVITY
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME
All-
weather
road
Internal
road
REMAR
K
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
YES YES
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK YES YES
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
YES YES
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI YES YES
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR YES YES
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD NO NO
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD NO NO
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH YES YES
RECOMMENDATIONS
SR. NO VILLAGE GRAM PANCHAYAT BLOCK NAME NEED-1 NEED-2
REMAR
K
1 MEDUWALA MOHD AMIKHANPUR
NAJIBABAD
INTERNAL ROAD-
1.5KM
MINI HEALTH
CENTRE
2 CHATRUWALA MOTADHAK MAIN ROAD-1KM
PROTECTION
FROM WILD
ANIMALS
3 AURANGJEBPUR SAHLI BAVAN SARAI
KOTWALI
ROAD-3KM
MINI HEALTH
CENTRE
4 DHAKIYA BAVAN SARAI ROAD-1.5KM
WATER
DRAINAGE
1KM
5 BHOGPUR BHOGPUR
MINI HEALTH
CENTRE
AWC
6 BAGNALA JAHANABAD ROAD-1KM
MINI HEALTH
CENTRE
7 BHUMIDAAN COLONY JAHANABAD
WATER DRAINAGE
500MTR
AWC
8 KUAKHERA KUAKHERA AFZALGARH
7-KM CONNECTED
ROAD REQUIRED
Water pipe
line
CONNECTIO
N
Conclusion