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- The Koeri (also known as Koiry or Koiri) are an Indian non-elite caste, found largely in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, whose traditional occupation was agriculture. According to Arvind Narayan Das they were horticulturist rather than agriculturists. Additionally, many of the Koeris of Uttar Pradesh have taken to the occupation of weaving along with members of the Mallah caste and produce cloth for local use. Koeris have attempted Sanskritisation— as part of social resurgence. During the British rule in India, Koeris were described as "agriculturalists" along with Kurmis and other cultivating castes. The Colonial Era writers had also praised them for being quiet, industrious and skilled cultivators. Before the land reforms, Koeris had been mostly poor peasants but after the new policies of the Indian government including the land ceiling laws and communist pressure in the 1970s, upper caste landlords resorted to selling off their lands, often to groups such as Koeris. This allowed the Koeris themselves to aspire to be landholders. In post-independence India, Koeris have been classified as Upper Backwards by virtue of being part of the group of four of the OBC communities in Bihar, who acquired land overtime, adopted improved agricultural technology and attained political power to become a class of rising Kulaks in the agricultural society of India. In some of the districts of Bihar, they have also participated in the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency against the feudal order. The Koeris are found in Saran district and also live in the Samastipur district of Bihar. Outside India, the Koeris are distributed among the Bihari diaspora in Mauritius where they were taken as indentured labourers. They also have a significant population residing in Nepal. In 1977, the government of Bihar introduced an affirmative action of quota in government jobs and universities which has benefitted the backward castes like the Koeris. They are classified as a “Backward caste” or “Other Backwards Caste” under the Indian governments system of positive discrimination. (en)
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