The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India
Chapter 240 : 12. Occupation and social rules.The tribe consider military service to be their tradit

12. Occupation and social rules.

The tribe consider military service to be their traditional occupation, but the bulk of them are now cultivators and labourers. Many of them are farmers of villages in the zamindaris. Rautias weave ropes and make sleeping-cots, but the other Kawars consider such work to be degrading. They have the ordinary Hindu rules of inheritance, but a son claiming part.i.tion in his father's lifetime is ent.i.tled to two bullocks and nothing more. When the property is divided on the death of the father, the eldest son receives an allowance known as jithai over and above his share, this being a common custom in the Chhattisgarh country where the Kawars reside. The tribe do not admit outsiders with the exception of Kaurai Rawat girls married to Kawars. They have a tribal panchayat or committee, the head of which is known as Pardhan. Its proceedings are generally very deliberate, and this has led to the saying: "The Ganda's panchayat always ends in a quarrel; the Gond's panchayat cares only for the feast; and the Kawar's panchayat takes a year to make up its mind." But when the Kawars have decided, they act with vigour. They require numerous goats as fines for the caste feast, and these, with fried urad, form the regular provision. Liquor, however, is only sparingly consumed. Temporary exclusion from caste is imposed for the usual offences, which include going to jail, getting the ears split, or getting maggots in a wound. The last is the most serious offence, and when the culprit is readmitted to social intercourse the Dhobi (washerman) is employed to eat with him first from five different plates, thus taking upon himself any risk of contagion from the impurity which may still remain. The Kawar eats flesh, fowls and pork, but abjures beef, crocodiles, monkeys and reptiles. From birds he selects the parrot, dove, pigeon, quail and partridge as fit for food. He will not eat meat sold in market because he considers it halali or killed in the Muhammadan fas.h.i.+on, and therefore impure. He also refuses a particular species of fish called rechha, which is black and fleshy and has been nicknamed 'The Teli's bullock.' The higher subtribes have now given up eating pork and the Tanwars abstain from fowls also. The Kawars will take food only from a Gond or a Kaurai Rawat, and Gonds will also take food from them. In appearance and manners they greatly resemble the Gonds, from whom they are hardly distinguished by the Hindus. Dalton [421] described them as "A dark, coa.r.s.e-featured, broad-nosed, wide-mouthed and thick-lipped race, decidedly ugly, but taller and better set up than most of the other tribes. I have also found them a clean, well-to-do, industrious people, living in comfortable, carefully-constructed and healthily-kept houses and well dressed."

Of their method of dancing Ball [422] writes as follows: "In the evening some of the villagers--Kaurs they were I believe--entertained us with a dance, which was very different from anything seen among the Santals or Kols. A number of men performed a kind of ladies' chain, striking together as they pa.s.sed one another's p.r.o.nged sticks which they carried in their hands. By foot, hand and voice the time given by a tom-tom is most admirably kept."

KAYASTH

List of Paragraphs

1. General notice and legend of origin.

2. The origin of the caste.

3. The rise of the Kayasths under foreign rulers.

4. The original profession of the Kayasths.

5. The caste an offshoot from Brahmans.

6. The success of the Kayasths and their present position.

7. Subcastes.

8. Exogamy.

9. Marriage customs.

10. Marriage songs.

11. Social rules.

12. Birth Customs.

13. Religion.

14. Social customs.

15. Occupation.

1. General notice and legend of origin.

Kayasth, [423] Kaith, Lala.--The caste of writers and village accountants. The Kayasths numbered 34,000 persons in 1911 and were found over the whole Province, but they are most numerous in the Saugor, Damoh, Jubbulpore and Narsinghpur Districts. In the Maratha country their place is to some extent taken by the Prabhus, the Maratha writer caste, and also by the Vidurs. No probable derivation of the name Kayasth appears to have been suggested. The earliest reference to Kayasths appears in an inscription in Malwa dated A.D. 738-739. The inscription is of a Maurya king, and the term Kayasth is used there as a proper noun to mean a writer. Another dated A.D. 987 is written by a Kayasth named Kanchana. An inscription on the Delhi Siwalik pillar dated A.D. 1164 is stated to have been written by a Kayasth named Sispati, the son of Mahava, by the king's command. The inscription adds that the Kayasth was of Gauda (Bengal) descent, and the term Kayasth is here used in the sense of a member of the Kayasth caste and not simply meaning a writer as in the Malwa inscription. [424] From the above account it seems possible that the caste was of comparatively late origin. According to their own legend the first progenitor of the Kayasths was Chitragupta, who was created by Brahma from his own body and given to Yama the king of the dead, to record the good and evil actions of all beings, and produce the result when they arrived in the kingdom of the dead. Chitragupta was called Kayastha, from kaya stha, existing in or incorporate in the body, because he was in the body of Brahma. Chitragupta was born of a dark complexion, and having a pen and ink-pot in his hand. He married two wives, the elder being the granddaughter of the sun, who bore him four sons, while the younger was the daughter of a Brahman Ris.h.i.+, and by her he had eight sons. These sons were married to princesses of the Naga or snake race; the Nagas are supposed to have been the early nomad invaders from Central Asia, or Scythians. The twelve sons were entrusted with the government of different parts of India and the twelve subcastes of Kayasths are named after these localities.

2. The origin of the caste.

There has been much discussion on the origin of the Kayasth caste, which now occupies a high social position owing to the ability and industry of its members and their attainment of good positions in the public services. All indications, however, point to the fact that the caste has obtained within a comparatively recent period a great rise in social status, and formerly ranked much lower than it does now. Dr. Bhattacharya states: [425] "The Kayasths of Bengal are described in some of the Hindu sacred books as Kshatriyas, but the majority of the Kayasth clans do not wear the sacred thread, and admit their status as Sudra also by the observance of mourning for thirty days. But whether Kshatriya or Sudra, they belong to the upper layer of Hindu society, and though the higher cla.s.ses of Brahmans neither perform their religious ceremonies nor enlist them among their disciples, yet the gifts of the Kayasths are usually accepted by the great Pandits of the country without hesitation." There is no doubt that a hundred years ago the Kayasths of Bengal and Bihar were commonly looked upon as Sudras. Dr. Buchanan, an excellent observer, states this several times. In Bihar he says that the Kayasths are the chief caste who are looked upon by all as pure Sudras and do not reject the appellation. [426] And again that "Pandits in Gorakhpur insist that Kayasths are mere Sudras, but on account of their influence included among gentry (Ashraf). All who have been long settled in the district live pure and endeavour to elevate themselves; but this has failed of success as kindred from other countries who still drink liquor and eat meat come and sit on the same mat with them." [427] Again he calls the Kayasths the highest Sudras next to Vaidyas. [428] And "In Bihar the penmen (Kayasthas) are placed next to the Kshatris and by the Brahmans are considered as illegitimate, to whom the rank of Sudras has been given, and in general they do not presume to be angry at this decision, which in Bengal would be highly offensive. [429]

Colebrooke remarks of the caste: "Karana, from a Vaishya by a woman of the Sudra cla.s.s, is an attendant on princes or secretary. The appellation of Kayastha is in general considered as synonymous with Karana; and accordingly the Karana tribe commonly a.s.sumes the name of Kayastha; but the Kayasthas of Bengal have pretensions to be considered as true Sudras, which the Jatimala seems to authorise, for the origin of the Kayastha is there mentioned before the subject of mixed castes is introduced, immediately after describing the Gopa as a true Sudra." [430] Similarly Colonel Dalton says: "I believe that in the present day the Kayasths arrogate to themselves the position of first among commoners, or first of the Sudras, but their origin is involved in some mystery. Intelligent Kayasths make no pretension to be other than Sudras." [431] In his Census Report of the United Provinces Mr. R. Burn discusses the subject as follows: [432] "On the authority of these Puranic accounts, and in view of the fact that the Kayasths observe certain of the Sanskars in the same method as is prescribed for Kshatriyas, the Pandits of several places have given formal opinions that the Kayasths are Kshatriyas. On the other hand, there is not the slightest doubt that the Kayasths are commonly regarded either as a mixed caste, with some relations.h.i.+p to two if not three of the twice-born castes, or as Sudras. This is openly stated in some of the reports, and not a single Hindu who was not a Kayasth of the many I have personally asked about the matter would admit privately that the Kayasths are twice-born, and the same opinion was expressed by Muhammadans, who were in a position to gauge the ordinary ideas held by Hindus, and are entirely free from prejudice in the matter. One of the most highly respected orthodox Brahmans in the Provinces wrote to me confirming this opinion, and at the same time asked that his name might not be published in connection with it. The matter has been very minutely examined in a paper sent up by a member of the Benares committee who came to the conclusion that while the Kayasths have been declared to be Kshatriyas in the Puranas, by Pandits, and in several judgments of subordinate courts, and to be Sudras by Manu and various commentators on him, by public opinion, and in a judgment of the High Court of Calcutta, they are really of Brahmanical origin. He holds that those who to-day follow literary occupations are the descendants of Chitragupta by his Brahman and Kshatriya wives, that the so-called Unaya Kayasths are descended from Vaishya mothers, and the tailors and cobblers from Sudra mothers. It is possible to trace to some extent points which have affected public opinion on this question. The Kayasths themselves admit that in the past their reputation as hard drinkers was not altogether unmerited, but they deserve the highest credit for the improvements which have been effected in this regard. There is also a widespread belief that the existing general observance by Kayasths of the ceremonies prescribed for the twice-born castes, especially in the matter of wearing the sacred thread, is comparatively recent. It is almost superfluous to add that notwithstanding the theoretical views held as to their origin and position, Kayasths undoubtedly rank high in the social scale. All European writers have borne testimony to their excellence and success in many walks of life, and even before the commencement of British power many Kayasths occupied high social positions and enjoyed the confidence of their rulers."

3. The rise of the Kayasths under foreign rulers.

It appears then a legitimate conclusion from the evidence that the claim of the Kayasths to be Kshatriyas is comparatively recent, and that a century ago they occupied a very much lower social position than they do now. We do not find them playing any prominent part in the early or mediaeval Hindu kingdoms. There is considerable reason for supposing that their rise to importance took place under the foreign or non-Hindu governments in India. Thus a prominent Kayasth gentleman says of his own caste: [433] "The people of this caste were the first to learn Persian, the language of the Muhammadan invaders of India, and to obtain the posts of accountants and revenue collectors under Muhammadan kings. Their chief occupation is Government service, and if one of the caste adopts any other profession he is degraded in the estimation of his caste-fellows." Malcolm states: [434] "When the Muhammadans invaded Hindustan and conquered its Rajput princes, we may conclude that the Brahmans of that country who possessed knowledge or distinction fled from their intolerance and violence; but the conquerors found in the Kayastha or Kaith tribe more pliable and better instruments for the conduct of the details of their new Government. This tribe had few religious scruples, as they stand low in the scale of Hindus. They were, according to their own records, which there is no reason to question, qualified by their previous employment in all affairs of state; and to render themselves completely useful had only to add the language of their new masters to those with which they were already acquainted. The Muhammadans carried these Hindus into their southern conquests, and they spread over the countries of Central India and the Deccan; and some families who are Kanungos [435] of districts and patwaris of villages trace their settlement in this country from the earliest Muhammadan conquest." Similarly the Bombay Gazetteer states that under the arrangements made by the Emperor Akbar, the work of collecting the revenues of the twenty-eight Districts subordinate to Surat was entrusted to Kayasths. [436]

And the Mathur Kayasths of Gujarat came from Mathura in the train of the Mughal viceroys as their clerks and interpreters. [437] Under the Muhammadans and for some time after the introduction of English rule, a knowledge of Persian was required in a Government clerk, and in this language most of the Kayasths were proficient, and some were excellent clerks. [438] Kayasths attained very high positions under the Muhammadan kings of Bengal and were in charge of the revenue department under the Nawabs of Murs.h.i.+dabad; while Rai Durlao Ram, prime minister of Ali Verdi Khan, was a Kayasth. The governors of Bihar in the period between the battle of Pla.s.sey and the removal of the exchequer to Calcutta were also Kayasths. [439] The Bhatnagar Kayasths, it is said, came to Bengal at the time of the Muhammadan conquest. [440] Under the Muhammadan kings of Oudh, too, numerous Kayasths occupied posts of high trust. [441] Similarly the Kayasths entered the service of the Gond kings of the Central Provinces. It is said that when the Gond ruler Bakht Buland of Deogarh in Chhindwara went to Delhi, he brought a number of Kayasths back with him and introduced them into the administration. One of these was appointed Baks.h.i.+ or paymaster to the army of Bakht Buland. His descendant is a leading landholder in the Seoni District with an estate of eighty-four villages. Another Kayasth landholder of Jubbulpore and Mandla occupied some similar position in the service of the Gond kings of Garha-Mandla.

Finally in the English administration the Kayasths at first monopolised the ministerial service. In the United Provinces, Bengal and Bihar, it is stated that the number of Kayasths may perhaps even now exceed that of all other castes taken together. [442] And in Gujarat the Kayasths have lost in recent years the monopoly they once enjoyed as Government clerks. [443] The Mathura Kayasths of Gujarat are said to be declining in prosperity on account of the present keen compet.i.tion for Government service, [444] of which it would thus appear they formerly had as large a share as they desired. The Prabhus, the writer-caste of western India corresponding to the Kayasths, were from the time of the earliest European settlements much trusted by English merchants, and when the British first became supreme in Gujarat they had almost a monopoly of the Government service as English writers. To such an extent was this the case that the word Prabhu or Purvu was the general term for a clerk who could write English, whether he was a Brahman, Sunar, Prabhu, Portuguese or of English descent. [445]

Similarly the word Cranny was a name applied to a clerk writing English, and thence vulgarly applied in general to the East Indians or half-caste cla.s.s from among whom English copyists were afterwards chiefly recruited. The original is the Hindi karani, kirani, which Wilson derives from the Sanskrit karan, a doer. Karana is also the name of the Orissa writer-caste, who are writers and accountants. It is probable that the name is derived from this caste, that is the Uriya Kayasths, who may have been chiefly employed as clerks before any considerable Eurasian community had come into existence. Writers'

Buildings at Calcutta were recently still known to the natives as Karani ki Barik, and this supports the derivation from the Karans or Uriya Kayasths, the case thus being an exact parallel to that of the Prabhus in Bombay. [446]

4. The original profession of the Kayasths.

From the above argument it seems legitimate to deduce that the Kayasths formerly occupied a lower position in Hindu society. The Brahmans were no doubt jealous of them and, as Dr. Bhattacharya states, would not let them learn Sanskrit. [447] But when India became subject to foreign rulers the Kayasths readily entered their service, learning the language of their new employers in order to increase their efficiency. Thus they first learnt Persian and then English, and both by Muhammadans and English were employed largely, if not at first almost exclusively, as clerks in the public offices. It must be remembered that there were at this time practically only two other literate castes among Hindus, the Brahmans and the Banias. The Brahmans naturally would be for long reluctant to lower their dignity by taking service under foreign masters, whom they regarded as outcaste and impure; while the Banias down to within the last twenty years or so have never cared for education beyond the degree necessary for managing their business. Thus the Kayasths had at first almost a monopoly of public employment under foreign Governments. It has been seen also that it is only within about the last century that the status of the Kayasths has greatly risen, and it is a legitimate deduction that the improvement dates from the period when they began to earn distinction and importance under these governments. But they were always a literate caste, and the conclusion is that in former times they discharged duties to which literacy was essential in a comparatively humble sphere. "The earliest reference to the Kayasths as a distinct caste," Sir H. Risley states, "occurs in Yajnavalkya, who describes them as writers and village accountants, very exacting in their demands from the cultivators." The profession of patwari or village accountant appears to have been that formerly appertaining to the Kayasth caste, and it is one which they still largely follow. In Bengal it is now stated that Kayasths of good position object to marry their daughters in the families of those who have served as patwaris or village accountants. Patwaris, one of them said to Sir H. Risley, however rich they may be, are considered as socially lower than other Kayasths, e.g. Kanungo, Akhauri, Pande or Baks.h.i.+. Thus it appears that the old patwari Kayasths are looked down upon by those who have improved their position in more important branches of Government service. Kanungo, as explained, is a sort of head of the patwaris; and Baks.h.i.+, a post already noticed as held by a Kayasth in the Central Provinces, is the Muhammadan office of paymaster.

Similarly Mr. Crooke states that while the higher members of the caste stand well in general repute, the village Lala (or Kayasth), who is very often an accountant, is in evil odour for his astuteness and chicanery. In Central India, as already seen, they are Kanungos of Districts and patwaris of villages; and here again Malcolm states that these officials were the oldest settlers, and that the later comers, who held more important posts, did not intermarry with them. [448]

In Gujarat the work of collecting the revenue in the Surat tract was entrusted to Kayasths. Till 1868, in the English villages, and up to the present time in the Baroda villages, the subdivisional accountants were mostly Kayasths. [449] In the Central Provinces the bulk of the patwaris in the northern Districts and a large proportion in other Districts outside the Maratha country are Kayasths. If the Kayasths were originally patwaris or village accountants, their former low status is fully explained. The village accountant would be a village servant, though an important one, and would be supported like the other village artisans by contributions of grain from the cultivators. This is the manner in which patwaris of the Central Provinces were formerly paid. His status would technically be lower than that of the cultivators, and he might be considered as a Sudra or a mixed caste.

5. The caste an offshoot from Brahmans.

As regards the origin of the Kayasths, the most probable hypothesis would seem to be that they were an offshoot of Brahmans of irregular descent. The reason for this is that the Kayasths must have learnt reading and writing from some outside source, and the Brahmans were the only cla.s.s who could teach it them. The Brahmans were not disposed to spread the benefits of education, which was the main source of their power, with undue liberality, and when another literate cla.s.s was required for the performance of duties which they disdained to discharge themselves, it would be natural that they should prefer to educate people closely connected with them and having claims on their support. In this connection the tradition recorded by Sir H. Risley may be noted to the effect that the ancestors of the Bengal Kayasths were five of the caste who came from Kanauj in attendance on five Brahmans who had been summoned by the king of Bengal to perform for him certain Vedic ceremonies. [450] It may be noted also that the Vidurs, another caste admittedly of irregular descent from Brahmans, occupy the position of patwaris and village accountants in the Maratha districts. The names of their subcastes indicate generally that the home of the Kayasths is the country of Hindustan, the United Provinces, and part of Bengal. This is also the place of origin of the northern Brahmans, as shown by the names of their most important groups. The Rajputs and Banias on the other hand belong mainly to Rajputana, Gujarat and Bundelkhand, and in most of this area the Kayasths are immigrants. It has been seen that they came to Malwa and Gujarat with the Muhammadans; the number of Kayasths returned from Rajputana at the census was quite small, and it is doubtful whether the Kayasths are so much as mentioned in Tod's Rajasthan. The hypothesis therefore of their being derived either from the Rajputs or Banias appears to be untenable. In the Punjab also the Kayasths are found only in small numbers and are immigrants. As stated by Sir H. Risley, both the physical type of the Kayasths and their remarkable intellectual attainments indicate that they possess Aryan blood; similarly Mr. Sherring remarks: "He nevertheless exhibits a family likeness to the Brahman; you may not know where to place him or how to designate him; but on looking at him and conversing with him you feel quite sure that you are in the presence of a Hindu of no mean order of intellect." [451] No doubt there was formerly much mixture of blood in the caste; some time ago the Kayasths were rather noted for keeping women of other castes, and Sir H. Risley gives instances of outsiders being admitted into the caste. Dr. Bhattacharya states [452] that, "There are many Kayasths in eastern Bengal who are called Ghulams or slaves. Some of them are still attached as domestic servants to the families of the local Brahmans, Vaidyas and aristocratic Kayasths. Some of the Ghulams have in recent times become rich landholders, and it is said that one of them has got the t.i.tle of Rai Bahadur from Government. The marriage of a Ghulam generally takes place in his own cla.s.s, but instances of Ghulams marrying into aristocratic Kayasth families are at present not very rare."

Further, the Daks.h.i.+na Rarhi Kayasths affect the greatest veneration for the Brahmans and profess to believe in the legend that traces their descent from the five menial servants who accompanied the five Brahmans invited by king Adisur. The Uttara Rarhi Kayasths or those of northern Burdwan, on the other hand, do not profess the same veneration for Brahmans as the southerners, and deny the authenticity of the legend. It was this cla.s.s which held some of the highest offices under the Muhammadan rulers of Bengal, and several leading zamindars or landholders at present belong to it. [453] It was probably in this capacity of village accountant that the Kayasth incurred the traditional hostility of one or two of the lower castes which still subsists in legend. [454] The influence which the patwari possesses at present, even under the most vigorous and careful supervision and with the liability to severe punishment for any abuse of his position, is a sufficient indication of what his power must have been when supervision and control were almost nominal. On this point Sir Henry Maine remarks in his description of the village community: "There is always a village accountant, an important personage among an unlettered population; so important indeed, and so conspicuous that, according to the reports current in India, the earliest English functionaries engaged in settlements of land were occasionally led, by their a.s.sumption that there must be a single proprietor somewhere, to mistake the accountant for the owner of the village, and to record him as such in the official register. [455] In Bihar Sir H. Risley shows that Kayasths have obtained proprietary right in a large area.

6. The success of the Kayasths and their present position.

It may be hoped that the leading members of the Kayasth caste will not take offence, because in the discussion of the origin of their caste, one of the most interesting problems of Indian ethnology, it has been necessary to put forward a hypothesis other than that which they hold themselves. It would be as unreasonable for a Kayasth to feel aggrieved at the suggestion that centuries ago their ancestors were to some extent the offspring of mixed unions as for an Englishman to be insulted by the statement that the English are of mixed descent from Saxons, Danes and Normans. If the Kayasths formerly had a comparatively humble status in Hindu society, then it is the more creditable to the whole community that they should have succeeded in raising themselves by their native industry and ability without advent.i.tious advantages to the high position in which by general admission the caste now stands. At present the Kayasths are certainly the highest caste after Brahman, Rajput and Bania, and probably in Hindustan, Bengal and the Central Provinces they may be accounted as practically equal to Rajputs and Banias. Of the Bengal Kayasths Dr. Bhattacharya wrote: [456] "They generally prove equal to any position in which they are placed. They have been successful not only as clerks but in the very highest executive and judicial offices that have yet been thrown open to the natives of this country. The names of the Kayastha judges, Dwarka Nath Mitra, Ramesh Chandra Mitra and Chandra Madhava Ghose are well known and respected by all. In the executive services the Kayasths have attained the same kind of success. One of them, Mr. R. C. Dutt, is now the Commissioner of one of the most important divisions of Bengal. Another, named Kalika Das Datta, has been for several years employed as Prime Minister of the Kuch Bihar State, giving signal proofs of his ability as an administrator by the success with which he has been managing the affairs of the princ.i.p.ality in his charge." In the Central Provinces, too, Kayasth gentlemen hold the most important positions in the administrative, judicial and public works departments, as well as being strongly represented in the Provincial and subordinate executive services. And in many Districts Kayasths form the backbone of the ministerial staff of the public offices, a cla.s.s whose patient laboriousness and devotion to duty, with only the most remote prospects of advancement to encourage them to persevere, deserve high commendation.

7. Subcastes.

The northern India Kayasths are divided into the following twelve subcastes, which are mainly of a territorial character:

(a) Srivastab.

(b) Saksena.

(c) Bhatnagar.

(d) Ambastha or Amisht.

(e) Ashthana or Aithana.

(f) Balmik or Valmiki.