Kishor questioned why Brahmins continued to face economic hardship despite electing community members to political offices.
Invoking Lord Parshuram, he urged the community to reclaim its traditions of education, scholarship and intellectual pursuit.
He claimed Brahmin leaders lost Muslim support after aligning with the BJP and adopting anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has sparked a debate after confronting a gathering of Brahmins in Bihar’s Mithila region over their declining economic condition, political choices and preoccupation with their community’s intellectual past.
Speaking at an event in Mahinam village in Darbhanga district, Kishor questioned why Brahmins continued to face economic hardship despite having elected members of their own community to positions of power for years. His remarks came after a participant demanded that the party field a Brahmin candidate.
“Your MLA is already a Brahmin. And not just for a day or two, but for 15 years. Your MP is also a Brahmin. Then, why are you living in such hardship?” he said, questioning whether caste representation alone could ensure prosperity.
Kishor also contrasted Mithila’s celebrated scholarly heritage with its present economic difficulties. Describing it as once being a land of scholars but now a “land of labourers”, he said the community appeared to be living on the achievements of its ancestors rather than working towards a better future.
He claimed that children in more than half of the families in the region struggled to find jobs paying between ₹10,000 and ₹20,000. He also recounted instances of people owning 20 to 30 bighas of land approaching him for help in securing employment for their children.
Invoking Lord Parshuram, revered in the Brahmin community, Kishor urged its members to return to education and scholarship. He said their real strength lay in books and the pen, rather than the axe, and called upon them to preserve their intellectual traditions.
He also questioned the community’s political alignment with the BJP, claiming that Brahmin leaders had once enjoyed Muslim support but had lost it through their association with the party and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Muslims constitute around 18% of Bihar’s population.
The speech, excerpts of which were shared by Jan Suraaj on social media on November 5 and 6, drew mixed reactions. While several users praised Kishor for speaking candidly about the community’s circumstances, others accused him of insulting Maithils in their own region.
The remarks have also prompted a wider discussion about caste-based political representation, electoral loyalties and the gap between Mithila’s historical intellectual legacy and its present economic realities.
