Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin

Chitrapur Saraswats are a small Konkani-speaking community of Hindu Brahmins in India. They are traditionally found along the Kanara coast and call themselves Bhanaps in the Konkani language.

Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin
Total population
25,000[1] (est.)
Languages
Konkani
Religion
Hinduism

Susan Bayly says that they were formed from communities engaged in scribal work and commerce and were of "unclear status" until almost the end of the 18th century when they were "Brahmanised" into a caste by some touring Brahmins or gurus.[2] Frank Conlon says they are originally from North India.

Origin

Historian Susan Bayly states that the Ramanandis, who opened up to almost any background were responsible for "Brahmanising" groups of unclear status and Chitrapur Saraswats are one such example.[2] Specifically, she states,

One such case in the Deccan was that of the mixed array of Konkani scribal and commercial specialists who came to be known as members of a single Brahman jati, the Chitrapur Saraswats. Well into the eighteenth century, this group was still in the process of developing a sense of castelike cohesion; this was achieved primarily through bonds of preceptoral affiliation to a line of Brahman renouncer-ascetics with a network of hospices and touring gurus based along the Kanara coast.[2]

History

This is a small community from India spread the world over. They have taken names of villages in Karnataka as surnames. So, their recent history is associated with the State of Karnataka. But some researchers like Bertrand Renaud and Frank Conlon believe they migrated from the banks of River Saraswati in north India.[1] The estimated population of this community is roughly 25,000.[1] The community members refer to themselves as "Bhanaps". The community also has a magazine published every month called Kanara Saraswat from Mumbai which carries articles by members and other news concerning the community.[3]

Notable people

See also

References
  1. Ramanan, Sumana (31 March 2016). "The big footprint of a small community". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  2. Susan Bayly (22 February 2001). Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age. Cambridge University Press. pp. 75–. ISBN 978-0-521-79842-6. These Brahmans who Brahmanised others, including people of comparatively lowly or uncertain status, played a crucial role in spreading and stabilising the values of 'traditional' caste in this period. In both north and south India this task was regularly performed by the sampradaya devotional sects. One such case in the Deccan was that of the mixed array of Konkani scribal and commercial specialists who came to be known as members of a single Brahman jati, the Chitrapur Saraswats. Well into the eighteenth century, this group was still in the process of developing a sense of castelike cohesion; this was achieved primarily through bonds of preceptoral affiliation to a line of Brahman renouncer-ascetics with a network of hospices and touring gurus based along the Kanara coast.
  3. Elangovan, Arvind (21 January 2020). "BN Rau: An idealist and a staunch constitutionalist". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  4. "From Mandi to Welcome to Sajjanpur". Rediff. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  5. Sins and Sinners: Perspectives from Asian Religions. BRILL. 17 August 2012. p. 361. ISBN 978-90-04-23200-6.
  6. "What Guru Dutt & Deepika Padukone have in common?". Rediff.com. 31 December 2004. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  7. Srinivasaraju, Sugata (13 June 2019). "The untold story of Girish Karnad". Mint. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  8. "'We spoke in Konkani but there was no swearing'". Rediff. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  9. The Illustrated Weekly of India. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. July 1970.
  10. Newbigin, Eleanor (19 September 2013). The Hindu Family and the Emergence of Modern India: Law, Citizenship and Community. Cambridge University Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-1-107-43475-2.
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