Kayastha | |
---|---|
![]() "Calcutta Kayastha", a late 18th-century depiction byFrans Balthazar Solvyns | |
Religions | Majority:Hinduism Minority:Islam[1] |
Country | India,Pakistan,Nepal |
Region | Uttar Pradesh,Assam,Delhi,Bihar,Jharkhand,West Bengal,Orissa,Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh,Maharashtra |
Subdivisions |
Kayastha (orKayasth) denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of theIndian subcontinent in which they were traditionally located—theChitraguptavanshi Kayasthas ofNorth India, theChandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus ofMaharashtra, theBengali Kayasthas ofBengal andKaranas[2][3] ofOdisha. All of them were traditionally considered "writingcastes", who had historically served the ruling powers as administrators, ministers and record-keepers.[4][5]
The earliest known reference to the termKayastha dates back to theKushan Empire,[6] when it evolved into a common name for a writer orscribe.[7] In theSanskrit literature andinscriptions, it was used to denote the holders of a particular category of offices in the government service.[8] In this context, the term possibly derived fromkaya- ('principal, capital, treasury') and -stha ('to stay') and perhaps originally stood for an officer of the royal treasury, or revenue department.[9][6]
Over the centuries, the occupational histories of Kayastha communities largely revolved aroundscribal services. However, these scribes did not simply take dictation but acted in the range of capacities better indicated by the term "secretary". They used their training in law, literature, court language, accounting, litigation and many other areas to fulfill responsibilities in all these venues.[10][11] Kayasthas, along withBrahmins, had access to formal education as well as their own system of teaching administration, including accountancy, in the early-medieval India.[12]
Modern scholars list them among Indian communities that were traditionally described as "urban-oriented", "upper caste" and part of the "well-educated" pan-Indian elite, alongsidePunjabi Khatris,Kashmiri Pandits,Parsis,Nagar Brahmins of Gujarat,Bengali Bhadraloks,Chitpawans andChandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus (CKPs) of Maharashtra, South-Indian Brahmins includingDeshastha Brahmins from Southern parts of India and upper echelons of theMuslim as well asChristian communities that made up themiddle class at the time ofIndian independence in 1947.[13][14][15]
According toMerriam-Webster, the wordKāyastha is probably formed from theSanskritkāya (body), and the suffix-stha (standing, being in).[16]
As evidenced by literary and epigraphical texts, Kayasthas had emerged as a 'class of administrators' between late-ancient and early-mediaeval period of Indian history. Their emergence is explained by modern scholars as a result of growth of state machinery, complication of taxation system and the "rapid expansion of land-grant practice that required professional documenting fixation".[17][6] The term also finds mention in an inscription of theGupta emperorKumaragupta I, dated to 442CE, in whichprathama-kāyastha (transl. 'chief officer') is used as an administrative designation.[18] TheYājñavalkya Smṛti, also from the Gupta era, and theVishnu Smriti describekayasthas as record-keepers and accountants, but not asjāti (caste or clan).[19] Similarly, the termKayastha is used in the works ofKshemendra,Kalhana andBilhana to refer to members ofbureaucracy varying fromGṛhakṛtyamahattama (transl. 'the chief secretary in the charge of home affairs') to theAśvaghāsa-kāyastha (transl. 'officer in charge of the fodder for horses').[20]
According toRomila Thapar, the offices that demanded formal education including that of akayastha were generally occupied by the "Brahmins, revenue collectors,treasurers and those concerned with legal matters".[21]
According to Chitrarekha Gupta, it is possible thatBuddhists, in their effort to create an educated non-Brahmin class, strove to popularize the utility of education and fostered those vocations that required a knowledge of writing. This is corroborated inUdāna, where thelekha-sippa ('craft of writing'), was regarded as the highest of all the crafts. It is also backed by the fact that the earliest epigraphical records mentioninglekhaka ('writer') orkayastha have been made in association withBuddhism.[22]
It is possible thatkayasthas may have started out as a separate profession, similar tobankers,merchants, andartisans. As suggested in certain epigraphs, they had a representative in the district-level administration, along with those of bankers and merchants. This is also implied inMudrarakshasa, where akayastha would work for any man who paid his wages on time. Possibly secular knowledge, like writing, administration, and jurisprudence, was monopolised by a non-Brahmin professional elite that later came be referred askayasthas.[23]
The Kayasthas, at least as an office, played an important role in administering theNorthern India from the Gupta period.[24] The earliest evidence comes from aMathura inscription ofVasudeva I, composed by a KayasthaŚramaṇa.[6] From this point we find, the termkayastha occurring in the inscription of the Gupta EmperorKumaragupta I asprathama-kāyastha,[25] askaraṇa-kāyastha inVainayagupta’s inscription,[26] and asgauḍa-kāyastha in an Apshadha inscription dated 672CE.[27]: 104 The occasional references to individuals of theKaraṇa caste occupying high government offices are made in inscriptions and literary works too.[28] Razia Banu has suggested that Brahmin and Kayastha migrants were brought toBengal during the reign of theGupta Empire to help manage the state affairs.[29]: 5–6 According to a legend, aBengali King namedAdisur had invited Brahmins accompanied by Kayasthas fromKannauj who became an elite sub-group described asKulin.[30] However, such claims are disputable and even rejected by some scholars.[27]: 99
From the ninth-century and perhaps even earlier, Kayasthas had started to consolidate into a distinct caste.[31] TheKayastha appears as a figure in Act IX of theMṛcchakatika,a kāyastha is shown accompanying a judge (adhikaraṇika) and assisting him. In Act V there is mention that:[6]
Moreover, O friend, a courtesan, an elephant, a Kayastha, a mendicant, a spy and a donkey—where these dwell, there not even villains can flourish.
InMudrarakshasa, a Kayastha namedŚakaṭadāsa is a crucial character and one of the trusted men of the Prime Minister of theNanda King. According to Chitrarekha Gupta, the titleĀrya added to the name ofŚakaṭadāsa implies that he was a member of the nobility.[32] Another Kayastha calledAcala is the scribe ofChanakya.[33]
In early-mediaeval Kashmir too, the termkayastha denoted an occupational class whose principal duty, besides carrying on the general administration of the state, consisted in the collection of revenue and taxes.Kshemendra’sNarmamālā composed during the reign ofAnanta (1028-1063CE) gives a list of contemporary Kayastha officers that includedGṛhakṛtyadhipati,Paripālaka,Mārgapati,Gañja-divira,Āsthāna-divira,Nagara-divira,Lekhakopādhya andNiyogi. Kalhana’sRājataraṃgiṇī ('The River of Kings') andBilhana'sVikramāṅkadevacarita ('Life of King Vikramaditya') also mention Kayasthas.[34][35] It is also mentioned that father ofLalitaditya Muktapida of theKarkota Dynasty, Durlabhavardhan, had held the post ofAśvaghāsa-kāyastha.[36]
Kayasthas have been authors of severalSanskrit texts too.
Work(s) | Genre(s) | Author | Author's lineage | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rāmacarita | Biography | Sandhyākaranandin | Karana[37] | 12th c. |
Udayasundarī Kathā | Champu | Soḍḍhala | Vālabhya[38] | 11th c. |
Rasa Saṅketa Kalikā, Varṇanighaṇṭu | Medicine,Tantra | Kāyastha Cāmuṇḍa | Naigama[39] | 15th c. |
Kṛtyakalpataru | Administration | Lakṣmīdhara | Vāstavya[40] | 12th c. |
Kayasthas have been recorded as a separate caste responsible for writing secular documents and maintaining records inBrahmanical religious writings dating back to the seventh-century.[41] In these texts, some described Kayasthas asKshatriyas, while others often described them as a 'mixed-origin' caste withBrahmin andShudra components. This was probably an attempt by the Brahmins to rationalize their rank in the traditional caste hierarchy and perhaps a later invention rather than a historical fact.[42][43]
After theMuslim conquest of India, they masteredPersian, which became the official language of the Mughal courts.[44] Some converted toIslam and formed theMuslim Kayasth community innorthern India.
Bengali Kayasthas had been the dominant landholding caste prior to the Muslim conquest, and continued this role under Muslim rule. Indeed, Muslim rulers had from a very early time confirmed the Kayasthas in their ancient role as landholders and political intermediaries.[45]
Bengali Kayasthas served as treasury officials andwazirs (government ministers) under Mughal rule. Political scientist U. A. B. Razia Akter Banu writes that, partly because ofMuslim sultans' satisfaction with them as technocrats, many Bengali Kayasthas in the administration becamezamindars andjagirdars. According to Abu al-Fazl, most of the Hinduzamindars in Bengal were Kayasthas.[29]: 24–25
Maharaja Pratapaditya, the king of Jessore who declared independence from Mughal rule in the early 17th century, was a Bengali Kayastha.[46]
During the British Raj, Kayasthas continued to proliferate in public administration, qualifying for the highest executive and judicial offices open to Indians.[47][page needed]
Bengali Kayasthas took on the role occupied by merchant castes in other parts of India and profited from business contacts with the British. In 1911, for example, Bengali Kayasthas and Bengali Brahmins owned 40% of all the Indian-owned mills, mines and factories in Bengal.[48]
The Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas, Bengali Kayasthas and CKPs were among the Indian communities in 1947, at the time ofIndian independence, that constituted the middle class and were traditionally "urban and professional" (following professions like doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, etc.) According to P. K. Varma, "education was a common thread that bound together this pan Indian elite" and almost all the members of these communities could read and write English and were educated beyond school.[49]
The Kayasthas today mostly inhabit central, eastern, northern India, and particularly Bengal.[50] They are considered aForward Caste, as they do not qualify for any of thereservation benefits allotted toScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes andOther Backward Classes that are administered by theGovernment of India.[51] This classification has increasingly led to feelings of unease and resentment among the Kayasthas, who believe that the communities that benefit from reservation are gaining political power and employment opportunities at their expense. Thus, particularly since the 1990 report of theMandal Commission on reservation, Kayastha organisations have been active in areas such as Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal and Orissa. These groups are aligning themselves with various political parties to gain political and economic advantages; by 2009 they were demanding 33 percent reservation in government jobs.[52]
The Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of Northern India are named thus because they have amyth of origin that says they descend from the 12 sons of the Hindu godChitragupta, the product of his marriages to Devi Shobhavati and Devi Nandini.[19] The suffix-vanshi isSanskrit and translates asbelonging to a particular family dynasty.[53]
At least some Chitraguptavanshi subcastes seem to have formed by the 11th or 12th century, evidenced by various names being used to describe them in inscriptions.[54] Although at that time, prior to theMuslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent, they were generally outnumbered byBrahmins in the Hindu royal courts of northern India, some among these Kayasthas wrote eulogies for the kings. Of the various regional Kayastha communities it was those of north India who remained most aligned to their role of scribes, whereas in other areas there became more emphasis on commerce.[55][56]
The group ofBhatnagar,Srivastava,Ambashtha andSaxena ofDoab were classified by variousIndian,British and missionary observers to be the most learned and dominant of the "service castes".[57]
In eastern India, Bengali Kayasthas are believed to have evolved from a class of officials into a caste between the 5th-6th centuries and 11th-12th centuries, its component elements being putative Kshatriyas and mostly Brahmins. They most likely gained the characteristics of a caste under theSena dynasty.[58] According to Tej Ram Sharma, an Indian historian, the Kayasthas of Bengal had not yet developed into a distinct caste during the reign of the Gupta Empire, although the office of the Kayastha (scribe) had been instituted before the beginning of the period, as evidenced from the contemporarySmritis. Sharma further states:
Noticing brahmanic names with a large number of modern Bengali Kayastha cognomens in several early epigraphs discovered in Bengal, some scholars have suggested that there is a considerable brahmana element in the present day Kayastha community of Bengal. Originally the professions of Kayastha (scribe) and Vaidya (physician) were not restricted and could be followed by people of different varnas including the brahmanas. So there is every probability that a number of brahmana families were mixed up with members of other varnas in forming the present Kayastha and Vaidya communities of Bengal.[59]
In Maharashtra,Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus (CKP) claim descent from the warrior Chandrasen.[60] Historically they produced prominent warriors and also held positions such asDeshpandes andGadkaris (fort holder, an office similar to that of acastellan.[61] The CKPs have theupanayana (thread ceremony) and have been granted the rights to study thevedas and performvedic rituals along with the Brahmins.[62]
Karana is a community found predominantly inOdisha andAndhrapradesh. They are a prosperous and influential caste in Odisha and rank next to theBrahmins.[63][64] They exclusively served the ruling powers as their ministers, advisors, governors, military commanders, record keepers and diwans.[65][66][67][68] They have the highest literacy caste-wise and are highly prosperous.[69] Karanas owned mostZamindaris in Odisha and were extremely rich.[70][71][72] They also received large amounts of land grants in Khurda administration ofKhurda Kingdom.[73] They represent around 5% of Odia people. The Karanas are a forward caste of Odisha.[74]
As the Kayasthas are a non-cohesive group with regional differences rather than a single caste, their position in the Hindu varna system of ritual classification has not been uniform.
This was reflected in Raj era court rulings. Hayden Bellenoit gives details of various Raj era law cases and concludes the varna Kayastha was resolved in those cases by taking into account regional differences and customs followed by the specific community under consideration. Bellenoit disagrees with Rowe, showing that Risley's theories were in fact used ultimately to classify them as Kshatriyas by the British courts. The first case began in 1860 inJaunpur,Uttar Pradesh with a property dispute where theplaintiff was considered an "illegitimate child" by the defendants, a north-Indian Kayastha family. The British court denied inheritance to the child, citing that Kayasthas are Dvija, "twice-born" or "upper-caste" and that the illegitimate children of Dwijas have no rights to inheritance. In the next case in 1875 in theAllahabad High Court, a north Indian Kayastha widow was denied adoption rights as she was an upper-caste i.e. Dwija woman. However, the aforementioned 1884 adoption case and the 1916 property dispute saw theCalcutta High Court rule that the Bengali Kayasthas were shudras. The Allahabad High Court ruled in 1890 that Kayasthas were Kshatriyas.[75][76] Hayden Bellenoit concludes from an analysis of those that
in the suits originating in the Bihari and Doabi heartlands rulings that Kayasthas were oftwice-born status were more likely. Closer to Bengal country, though, the legal rulings tended to assign ashudra status.
Even where the shudra designation was adjudged, the Raj courts appear to have sometimes recognised that the Bengali Kayasthas were degraded from an earlierkshatriya status due to intermarrying with both shudras and slaves ('dasa') which resulted in the common Bengali Kayastha surname of 'Das'.[75] The last completedcensus of the British Raj (1931) classified them as an "upper caste", i.e.Dwija,[76] and the final British Raj law case involving their varna in 1926 determined them to be Kshatriya.[75]
Other than literature by Europeans such asMax Müller and others, several Hindu religious scriptures and Hindu scholars' opinions were also used by the courts to decide the varna as well as make decisions in the specific cases. The Hindu texts referenced wereMitākṣarā, thePadmapurāṇa, “originalVyavashta of the Pundits of Kashmir”,Vishvanath Narayan Mandlik's books, (8th to 5th century BC authored)Yājñavalkya Smṛti,Vīramitrodaya (17th century),Bhaviṣyapurāṇa,Skandapurāṇa,Vivādacintāmaṇi ofVāchaspati Misra, Sanskrit Professor Sarvadhikari's literature,Dattakamīmāṃsā, Shyamcharan Sarkar’sVyavasthādarpaṇa, etc. Some contemporary Hindu scholars referenced (as witnesses in person or indirectly by their writings) were two Benaras Pandits(Nityananda and Bast Ram Dube), Raja Ram Shastra( a Benares Sanskrit College professor, well versed in HinduDharmaśāstras) andVishvanath Narayan Mandlik.[77]
Earlier, in Bihar, in 1811–1812, botanist and zoologistFrancis Buchanan had recorded the Kayastha of that region as "pure shudra" and accordingly kept them at the par with other producer caste groups like goldsmiths,Ahirs,Kurmis and theKoeris. William Pinch, in his study ofRamanandi Sampradaya in the north describes the emergence of the concept of "pure Shudra" in growing need of physical contact with some of the low caste groups who were producer and seller of essential commodities or were the provider of services without which the self sufficiency of rural society couldn't persist. However, many of these adopted Vaishnavism in the aim to become Kshatriya. In 1901 Bihar census, Kayasthas of the area were classified along with Brahmins and Rajputs in Bihar as "other castes of twice-born rank"[78] According to Arun Sinha, there was a strong current since the end of the 19th century amongShudras of Bihar to change their status in caste hierarchy and break the monopoly of bipolar elite ofBrahmins andRajputs of having "dvija" status. The education and economic advancement made by some of the former Shudra castes enabled them to seek the higher prestige andvarna status. Sinha further mentions that the Kayasthas of Bihar along with theBhumihars were first among the shudras to attain the recognition as "upper caste" leaving the other aspirational castes to aspire for the same.[79]
The Raj era rulings were based largely upon the theories ofHerbert Hope Risley, who had conducted extensive studies on castes and tribes of theBengal Presidency. According to William Rowe, the Kayasthas of Bengal,Bombay and theUnited Provinces repeatedly challenged this classification by producing a flood of books, pamphlets, family histories and journals to pressurise the government to recognise them as kshatriya and to reform the caste practices in the directions ofsanskritisation andwesternisation.[80][clarification needed]Rowe's opinion has been challenged, with arguments that it is based on "factual and interpretative errors", and criticised for making "unquestioned assumptions" about the Kayastha Sanskritisation and westernisation movement.[81][82]
In post-Raj assessments, the Bengali Kayasthas, alongsideBengali Brahmins, have been described as the "highest Hindu castes".[83] After the Muslim conquest of India, they absorbed remnants of Bengal's old Hindu ruling dynasties—including theSena,Pala,Chandra, andVarman—and, in this way, became the region's surrogate kshatriya or "warrior" class. During British rule, the Bengali Kayasthas, the Bengali Brahmins and theBaidyas considered themselves to beBhadralok, a term coined in Bengal for thegentry or respectable people. This was based on their perceived refined culture, prestige and education.[45][84]
Modern scholars likeJohn Henry Hutton andRonald Inden[a] consider the present varna status of Bengali Kayasthas as 'twice-born',[85][86] whileJulius J. Lipner considers their varna as disputed.[87]
According to Christian Novetzke, in medieval India, Kayastha in certain parts were considered either as Brahmins or equal to Brahmins.[88] Several religious councils and institutions have subsequently stated the varna status of CKPs as Kshatriya.[89][90][91]
In 2023,Government of Bihar published the data of2022 Bihar caste-based survey. It showed that amongst theForward castes ofBihar, Kayastha was the most prosperous one with lowest poverty. Out of total families of Kayasthas residing in the state, only 13.38% were poor. The community totally numbered 1,70,985 families, out of which 23,639 families were poor.[92]
TheCentral Bureau of Statistics of Nepal classifies the Kayastha as a subgroup within the broader social group ofMadheshi Brahmin/Chhetri (together with TeraiBrahmins andRajputs).[93] At the time of the2011 Nepal census, 44,304 people (0.2% of the population of Nepal) were Kayastha. The frequency of Kayasthas by province was as follows:
The frequency of Kayasthas was higher than national average (0.2%) in the following districts:[94]
This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(December 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
This is a list of notable people from all the subgroups of Kayasthas.
All three were "writing castes", traditionally serving the ruling powers as administrators and record keepers.
The short inscriptions mentioned earlier indicate that from about the first century B.C. the scribes or writers played an important role in society and their profession was regarded as a respectable one ... the first mention of the term Kayastha, which later became the generic name of the writers, was during this phase of Indian history
Such an argument is supported by the manner in which the term "Kayastha" is used in Sanskrit literature and inscriptions—i.e., as a term for the various state officials ... It seems appropriate to suppose that they were originally from one or more than one existing endogamous units and that the term "Kayastha" originally meant an office or the holder of a particular office in the state service.
In this context, a possible derivation o the word "Kayastha" is "from ...kaya (principal, capital, treasury) andstha, to stay" and perhaps originally stood for an officer of royal treasury, or the revenue department.
There was no idea of mass education at that time. People learnt what they felt was needed for their livelihood. Reading and writing was confined to a small section, mostly Brahmans and some sections of the upper classes, especially Kayasthas ... The Kayasthas had their own system of teaching the system of administration, including accountancy.
its main adherents came from those in government service, qualified professionals such as doctors, engineers and lawyers, business entrepreneurs, teachers in schools in the bigger cities and in the institutes of higher education, journalists [etc] ... The upper castes dominated the Indian middle class. Prominent among its members were Punjabi Khatris, Kashmiri Pandits and South Indian brahmins. Then there were the 'traditional urban-oriented professional castes such as the Nagars of Gujarat, the Chitpawans and the Ckps (Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus)s of Maharashtra and the Kayasthas of North India. Also included were the old elite groups that emerged during the colonial rule: the Probasi and the Bhadralok Bengalis, the Parsis and the upper crusts of Muslim and Christian communities. Education was a common thread that bound together this pan-Indian elite ... But almost all its members spoke and wrote English and had had some education beyond school
During much of the 19th century, Maratha Brahman Desasthas had held a position of such strength throughout South India that their position can only be compared with that of the Kayasthas and Khatris of North India.
This group as demonstrated by epigraphical and literary texts, emerged in the period between the late ancient and early medieval times. Modern scholars explained this by the growth of state-machinery, complication of taxation system and fast spreading land-grant practice that required professional documenting fixation...Initially, these term referred only to the appointment of men from various castes, mainly Brahmans, into the Kayastha post. Gradually, the Kayasthas emerged as a caste-like community...
According to Romila Thapar, the offices which required formal education were usually occupied by the Brahmins, revenue collectors, treasurers and those concerned with legal matters belonged to this category. She says that the same was probably true of the important but less exalted rank of scribes, recorders and accountants.
They seem to have had guilds of their own and the head of the guild, the prathama-kayastha, represented his class in the administration of the city. The profession of the kàyasthas, like those of the bankers, merchants and the artisans, was an independent one and was not necessarily associated with the king and his court....Thus it may be assumed that while the Brahmanas were engaged in studying religious literature, secular knowledge of document writing, etc., was the monopoly of a professional group, who came to be called Kayasthas.
The Gupta period witnessed the rise of the writers' class (Kayastha/Karana) with other symmetrical developments such as the spread of local state formation. Besides maintaining records, they also helped the administration of justice and commercial activities.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)As we have got reference to the Gauda Kayasthas in the Apshad inscription, dated 672 AD...
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)...which claimed that the Bengali King Adisur had invited five Brahmins from Kannauj, an ancient city in the northern Gangetic plains located in the present Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, to migrate to Bengal, in eastern India. According to legend, these five Brahmins from Kannauj were accompanied by five Kayasthas, who became an "elite" subgroup described as "kulin" among the Kayasthas of Bengal...
We have seen that the Kayasthas as a caste (as distinguished from the profession called by that name) can be traced back with the help of literary and epigraphic records to the latter half of the ninth century.
He also mentions the names of a few of the minor offices which had come into existence in the meantime. One of these was the office of the avaghasa-kayąstha, (fodderer for the horses) a position held for sometime by Durlabhavardhana.
He states that he comes from a family of scribes, his caste being karana (kāyastha).
..Kayastha Camunda, a kayastha of the Naigama community, son of Kumbha and protégé of king Rajamalla of Mewad..
Lachmidhara composed a treatise on administrative justice by command of Govindachandra a king of Casi, sprung from the Vastava race of Cayasthas...
A number of new castes, such as the Kayasthas...According to the Brahmanic sources, they originated from intercaste marriages, but this is clearly an attempt at rationalizing their rank in the hierarchy.
Some described them as kshatriyas , others ascribed their origin to a brahman-shudra combination. The mixed-caste origin ascribed to them may well have been a later invention of those who had to fit them into a caste hierarchy.
One thing is clear that by this time, Kayasthas had come to acquire prominent places in the court and officialdom and some were financially well-off to commission the construction of temples, while others were well-versed in the requisite fields of Vedic lore to earn the title of pandita for themselves. In our study, the epigraphic sources do not indicate the oppressive nature of Kayastha officials.
And while these Bhatnagar, Ambastha, Srivastava and Saxena families were important for the colonial state by the 1860s, they were also beneficiaries of British success and power in India. They shaped the materiality of administration and populated the ranks of the Raj's intermediary enforcement.....by 1900 they were broadly considered by various Indian , British and missionary observers to the most educated and influential of the service castes.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)The [Chandraseniya] Kayastha Prabhus, though small in number, were another caste of importance in Maharashtra. They formed one of the elite castes of Maharashtra. They also held the position of Deshpandes and Gadkaris and produced some of the best warriors in the Maratha history
(index)108. Buchanan, Bihar and Patna, 1811–1812, 1:329–39; (pg)Bhagvan Prasad's ministrations reflected his own personal interpretation of the social mandate implicit in the religious message of Ramanand. However, Ramanandi ambivalence toward caste emerged in discussions about the prescribed stages of a sadhu's entry into the sampraday. In his biography of Bhagvan Prasad, Sahay expressed the view that originally anyone (including untouchables) could have become Ramanandi sadhus, but that by his time (the early 1900s), "Ramanandis bring disciples from only those jatis from whom water can be taken."[107] For those designated shudra by the elite, this phrase, "from whom water can be taken," was a common enough euphemism for a person of "pure shudra" status, with whom restricted physical contact could be made. From the elite perspective, such physical contact would have occurred in the course of consuming goods and services common in everyday life; the designation "pure shudra" implied a substantial body of "impure"—hence untouchable—people with whom physical contact was both unnecessary and improper. Buchanan, in the early nineteenth century, had included in the term "pure shudra" the well-known designations of Kayasth, Koiri, Kurmi, Kahar, Goala, Dhanuk (archers, cultivators, palanquin bearers), Halwai (sweet vendors), Mali (flower gardener), Barai (cultivator and vendor of betel leaves), Sonar (goldsmith), Kandu (grain parchers), and Gareri (blanket weavers and shepherds). As a result of their very public campaign for kshatriya status in the last quarter of the century, not to mention their substantial economic and political clout, Kayasths were classified along with "Babhans" and Rajputs as "other castes of twice-born rank" in the 1901 census hierarchy for Bihar.
Lucy Carroll has revealed how one cannot identify a temporal evolution from Sanskritist sacred goals to Westernised secular aims because the strategies of caste associations were mixed [...] She indicates that several of the apparently Sanskritist ascetic reforms advocated by caste associations derived from the influence of Victorian puritanism and other Western values [...] In three articles: 1975, 1977 and 1978. In these essays she also pinpoints factual and interpretative errors in William L. Rowe's presentation of the Kayastha movement.
In Bengal, the new middle class emergent under the British rule styled itself 'bhadralok', the gentry or "respectable people", and its principal constituents were the three Bengali high castes, Brahmans, Baidyas, and Kayasthas. Moreover, for the Bhadralok, a prestigious, refined culture based on education literacy and artistic skills, and the mastery of the Bengali language, counted for more than caste status itself for their social dominance in Bengal.
And Ronald Inden confirms, after spending 1964 and part of 1965 in Bengal preparing a dissertation on Kayasthas, that intermarriage is becoming increasingly frequent among the urban sections of the Kayasthas, Brahmans, and Vaidyas, that is, among those Westernized and educated twice-born castes dominating the modern, better-paying, and more prestigious occupations of metropolitan Calcutta and constituting perhaps half of the city's population
The [Chandraseniya] Kayastha Prabhus ... They performed three of the vedic duties or karmas, studying the Vedas adhyayan, sacrificing yajna and giving alms or dana ... The creed mostly accepted by them is that of the advaita school of Shankaracharya, though they also worship Vishnu, Ganapati and other gods.
Aurobindo's father, Dr Krishnadhan Ghose, came from a Kayastha family associated with the village of Konnagar in Hooghly District near Calcutta, Dr. Ghose had his medical training in Edinburgh...
Satyendra Nath was born in Calcutta on the first of January, 1894, in a high caste Kayastha family with two generations of English education behind him.
Bipin Chandra Pal (1858–1932) a patriot, nationalist politician, renowned orator, journalist, and writer. Bipin Chandra Pal was born on 7 November 1858 in Sylhet in a wealthy Hindu Kayastha family