Singh, Dhananjay <br/><br/>
Entitlement versus exploitation: A critical examination of Bhikhari Thakur’s Nai Bahar 

 - Economic & Political Weekly   
 - 60(48), Nov 29, 2025: p.69-78 
<br/><br/> Nai Bahar (1932), a Bhojpuri composition by Bhikhari Thakur (1887–1971), is critically examined through the discourse of hakdari (entitlement) and hakmari (exploitation). Unlike caste histories aligned with Sanskritisation, Nai Bahar serves as a lived autobiography of the Nai (barber) caste, exposing systemic oppression within the varna order. Thakur critiques the jajmani system that exploits barbers despite their ritual importance and proposes migration as a means of liberation, dignity, and economic survival. By linking local caste struggles with broader labour migrations, including the girmitiya experience, the text redefines migration as resistance and self-assertion. As the first caste-based autobiographical narrative in Bhojpuri literature, Nai Bahar offers a powerful intervention in Dalit–backward caste histories and labour discourse.- Reproduced <br/><br/>https://www.epw.in/journal/2025/48/special-articles/entitlement-versus-exploitation.html<br/>