 A Kayastha of Calcutta, from a 19th century book | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Bengal | |
| Languages | |
| Bengali | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism |
Bengali Kayastha (Bengali: বাঙালি কায়স্থ) is a Bengali Hindu caste originated from the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent, and is one of the main subgroups of the Kayastha community. The historical caste occupation of Kayasthas throughout India has been that of scribes, administrators, ministers and record-keepers;[1] the Kayasthas in Bengal, along with Brahmins and Baidyas, are regarded among the three traditional higher castes[2][3] that comprise the "upper layer of Hindu society".[4] During the British Raj, the Bhadraloks of Bengal were drawn primarily, but not exclusively, from these three castes, who continue to maintain a collective hegemony in West Bengal.[5][6][7]
- ^ Arnold P. Kaminsky; Roger D. Long (2011). India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic. ABC-CLIO. p. 404. ISBN 978-0-313-37462-3. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ Hutton, John Henry (1961). Caste in India: Its Nature, Function, and Origins. Indian Branch, Oxford University Press. p. 65.
- ^ Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar (2004). Caste, Culture, and Hegemony: Social Dominance in Colonial Bengal. Sage Publications. p. 20. ISBN 81-7829-316-1.
- ^ Wink (1991), p. 269
- ^ Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar (2004). Caste, Culture, and Hegemony: Social Dominance in Colonial Bengal. Sage Publications. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-761-99849-5.
- ^ Chakrabarti, Sumit (2017). "Space of Deprivation: The 19th Century Bengali Kerani in the Bhadrolok Milieu of Calcutta". Asian Journal of Social Science. 45 (1/2): 56. doi:10.1163/15685314-04501003. ISSN 1568-4849. JSTOR 44508277.
- ^ Ghosh, Parimal (2016). What Happened to the Bhadralok?. Delhi: Primus Books. ISBN 978-93-84082-99-4.