The Banaut (also known as "Bandaut" and "Bandawat") is a branch of Bundela Rajput clan found in the Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand. Their loved ones called them Banaut which closely relates to them inhabiting the forest prone areas of Purnea , Bhagalpur and Hazaribagh. They are said to have left Orchha, Jhansi, Mahoba and other parts of Bundelkhand during Mughal Empire and migrated to Bihar and Jharkhand. Many of them died fighting against the invaders . They were prominent during the Independence Movement against the British East India Company.
Origin and History
The Banaut originated from Bundelkhand, but later came to parts of Bihar and Jharkhand. As they were from land-owning community, they became wealthy zamindars over time and also had strong political positions.They were able to acquire notable estates like Chandwa Rupaspur in Katihar under Thakur Dhanpat Singh and Shahkund under Babu Jaikaran Singh who also served as the tehsildar to Banaili Raj. Tarar Estate was dominated and ruled by Banauts . Babu Manorath Singh of Dharhara ,Babu Vishwanath Singh of Sarsi, Babu Rajkumar Singh of Bhawanpura and Babu Agrichand Rai of Aligunj are some of the notable landlords from their respective villages.
Deities Banaut have their particular village deities such as Maa Kali, HanumanJi, Ram-Janaki Radhakrishna . For example , Maa Jaleshwari Mandir in Bhawanpura and Maa Bhadrakali Temple in Itkhori .
Gotra The Gotras of Banaut Rajputs are Bhardwaj, Sandilya, Dhenu, Vaksh, Kashyap, Kaushik, Garg,and Vishwamitra.
Notables of Clan
Chhatrasaal Bundela Rudra Pratap Singh Vir Singh Deo Jhujhar Singh Alha Singh Udal Singh
Politicians Leshi Singh Shankar Singh Lakshmi Narayan Sudhanshu
Population and Language Most of the Banauts live in the native villages of Anga Region of Bihar namely Bhagalpur, Munger, Katihar, Purnia, Banka, Madhepura and in some parts of Saharsa and Araria too. They live in parts of Jharkhand namely Hazaribagh . Many have migrated to bigger cities like Patna, Ranchi and Delhi for better job opportunities and lifestyle.
Majority of them speak the regional language of Anga Region - Angika along with other languages like Hindi, English.
Villages Some of the Villages of Bundela (collective data) with significance:
Bihar
Bhagalpur District Tarar Dogachchhi Makarpur Sahjadpur Bhawanpura Dharhara Kaharpur Lokmanpur
Munger district Belari Rahmatpur Lakhanpur Asarganj (township and surrounding villages)
Purnia district Sarsi Dhamdhaha Jalalgarh Aligunj Sukhasana Baghmara
Araria district Tamghatti Pothiya Nadhki Uphrail Narsinghpur Pahunsara
Madhepura district
Kalasan Katihar district Guagachhi Baluaghatti Chandwa Rupaspur
Jharkhand
Hazaribagh district Hazaribagh City Chouparan
Chatra district
Itkhori
See also Babu Saheb Bundela Rajputs Banaphar Rajputs Rajput Rajput clans of Bihar Dharahara, Tarar Angika
References