Correct Option
The correct option isLandlords
Explanation
In the medieval history of Eastern India, particularly Assam and Bengal, the term 'Bhuiyan' (derived from the Sanskrit word Bhumi, meaning land) referred to a class of landlords, chieftains, or petty independent rulers. They played a significant role in the socio-political structure before the consolidation of centralized powers like the Ahoms or the Mughals in the region.
Detailed Analysis
- Landlords: Landlords - Correct. The Bhuiyans were hereditary landed chiefs who exercised administrative and judicial authority within their territories. In Assam, the Baro-Bhuyans (Twelve Bhuiyans) were a confederacy of such landlords who maintained independence or semi-independence during the transition periods between major dynasties. The great Vaishnavite saint of Assam, Srimanta Sankardeva, belonged to a Bhuiyan family (the Siromani Bhuiyans).
- Tribal priests: Tribal priests - Incorrect. While medieval Assam had various tribal communities with their own priestly classes (such as the Deodhais or Bailungs among the Ahoms), the term Bhuiyan is strictly associated with land ownership and political chieftaincy, not priesthood.
- River traders: River traders - Incorrect. Trade was an important economic activity, but the Bhuiyans were defined by their control over land and agricultural revenue, not primarily by riverine trade.
- Forest guards: Forest guards - Incorrect. There is no historical association between the title Bhuiyan and the specific role of forest guarding.
Key Takeaway
Bhuiyans were powerful landlords or chieftains in medieval Assam and Bengal. The Baro-Bhuyans were a notable group of these chiefs who resisted external aggression and maintained local authority.