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Kulin Kayastha
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Kulina Kayasthas (Bengali- কুলীন কাযস্থ) are the highest sub-caste of Bengali Kayasthas. In the Hindu Bengali caste system, the Brahmins and the Kayasthas are divided into sub-castes, in which the "Kulinas" are accorded the highest position, this system is known as "Kulininsm". As per traditional accounts, it was started by King Vallalasena (12th century), but it may have earlier origins.^[1]. The word kulina is derived from the word kula, meaning a man of pure lineage. These were the orders of nobility as introduced by King Ballal Sen, in order to maintain the purity of different families.^[2]

The Kayasthas are regarded in Bengal, along with the Brahmins, as being the "highest Hindu castes"^[3] that comprise the "upper layer of Hindu society".^[4]

Origin

During the Gupta Empire, the Kayasthas had not developed into a distinct caste, although the office of the Kayasthas (scribes) had been instituted before the beginning of the period, this can be made out from the contemporary smritis. In many early epigraphs discovered in Bengal, brahmanic names with large number of modern Bengali Kayastha cognomens can be found, suggesting that a large number of Brahmin communities intermixed with oher varnas to form the present day Kayasthas and Vaidyas of Bengal.^[5]

The Kayasthas throught out Northern India claim descent from Chitragupta, the book keeper of Yama, and their classification into one single varna has been a matter of debate, but on many occasions, the courts in British India pronounced the Kayasthas as being "sankers" of mixed descent.^[6]. In Bengal though, the Kayasthas fought numerous court battles to establish themselves as Kshatriyas but the courts ruled otherwise as in the rest of India.^[7]. Some scholars have also expressed surprise over this tendency of the Kayasthas of Bengal to trace descent from Kshatriyas instead of Brahmins, of whom they were initially a part.^[8]. Kayasthas, like the Khatris, are a community of unrelated people who came from different local castes, with an inclination towards clerical work and learning foreign languages, i.e. the languages imposed in the Indian courts by different rulers from time to time, egs. Persian, Arabic and later, English. This gave them pre-eminence over others as Government Servants, and secured them a high social status and position.^[9].

Kulinism in Bengal

According to traditional accounts, the system of Kulinism in Bengal was started by King Ballal Sena, in order to give pre-eminence to the five-Brahmins and five Kayasthas brought to Bengal by Adisura, during his reign as King.^[10] The Sanskrit word kula means race, tribe or family and may be compared to Celt or Kelt, and the word kulina or kulin means "of good family". Kula-Dharma means strict observance of religious rules and regulations prescribed for the concerned kula in order to preserve the purity of blood, in this case, considered pure Aryan blue blood.^[11] The Kulins of Bengal are represented by the Brahmin family names of Chatterjee, Banerjee, Mukherjee and Ganguly and the Kayastha family names of Bose, Ghosh, Mitra and Dutta who became attached with the Brahmin Kulins on their arrival in Anga-Vanga (Bengal). In the old caste hierarchy of bengal the Kulins were considered the most honourable of all men, Kulin being the equivalent of "The Honourable" or "The Rt. Honourable".^[12]

History

A period of rule by various Muslim dynasties began in Bengal from the thirteenth century and lasted until 1765, when the British gained control. Many of the population converted to Islam and the lack of a Hindu king as a focal point caused the isolation of those Hindu communities which remained. The Kulin communities suffered particularly badly because their ritual role was to serve a Hindu king via appointments to high state and religious offices, which were denied to them by Muslim rule. Those Hindus, including some Kulins, who did assist, co-operate or mingle with the Muslim rulers were often shunned by the increasingly conservative Hindu community, which was intent on self-preservation and withdrew into its own cultural norms in order to achieve that. Thomas J. Hopkins has said that

In relations with Muslims, it was clear that high-caste Hindus played a zero-sum game in which the degree of involvement with non-Hindu rulers meant a corresponding loss in Hindu social ranking.^[13]

Similarly, the Kulin castes generally ignored the British who came into the area and eventually took it over. The British were non-Hindu and so they, like the Muslims before them, were unable to satisfy the Kulin need for roles befitting their ritual status. Other Hindu communities, however, did co-operate with the British and by the early years of the nineteenth century some had become substantial landowners and wealthy people as a consequence. These non-Kulin communities also were the first to take steps towards Westernisation, in part because they realised that alignment with Western ideas would provide a route by which they could advance their social status, and that was something which could never occur under the Hindu ritual system as they would always be ranked lower than the Kulins.^[14]

References

^ Pruthi, R.K. (2004). Indian Caste Sytem. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House. p. 80.
^ Gupta, Swarupa. Notions of Nationhood in Bengal: Perspectives in Samaj, C-1867-1905. Netherlands: BRILL. p. 159. ISBN 9789004171640.
^ Inden, Ronald B. (1976). Marriage and Rank in Bengali Culture: A History of Caste and Clan in Middle Period Bengal. University of California Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-520-02569-1. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
^ Bhattacharya, Jogendra Nath (1896). Hindu Castes and Sects. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co. p. 175. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
^ Sharma, Tej Ram (1978). Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Inscriptions. Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. p. 115.
^ Sadasivan, S.N. (2000). A Social History of India. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation. p. 258. ISBN 81-7648-170x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
^ Sadasivan, S.N. (2000). A Social History of India. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation. p. 258. ISBN 81-7648-170x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
^ Sadasivan, S.N. (2000). A Social History of India. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation. p. 258. ISBN 81-7648-170x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
^ Sadasivan, S.N. (2000). A Social History of India. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation. p. 259. ISBN 81-7648-170x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
^ Lethbridge, KCIE, Sir Loper (1893, 2005 Edn.). The Golden Book of India. New Delhi: Aakar Books. p. 525. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
^ Risley, Sir Herbert (1915, Reprint- 1999). The People of India. Madras/ New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. pp. 426, 427. ISBN 81-206-1265-5. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
^ Risley, Sir Herbert (1915, Reprint- 1999). The People of India. Madras/ New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. pp. 426, 427. ISBN 81-206-1265-5. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
^ Hopkins, Thomas J. (1989). "The Social and Religious Background for Transmission of Gaudiya Vaisnavism to the West". In Bromley, David G.; Shinn, Larry D. (eds.). Krishna consciousness in the West. Bucknell University Press. pp. 36, 38. ISBN 978-0-8387-5144-2. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
^ Hopkins, Thomas J. (1989). "The Social and Religious Background for Transmission of Gaudiya Vaisnavism to the West". In Bromley, David G.; Shinn, Larry D. (eds.). Krishna consciousness in the West. Bucknell University Press. pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-0-8387-5144-2. Retrieved 2011-10-31.

[1] Pruthi, R.K. (2004). Indian Caste Sytem. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House. p. 80.

[2] Gupta, Swarupa. Notions of Nationhood in Bengal: Perspectives in Samaj, C-1867-1905. Netherlands: BRILL. p. 159. ISBN 9789004171640.

[Inden1976p1-3] Inden, Ronald B. (1976). Marriage and Rank in Bengali Culture: A History of Caste and Clan in Middle Period Bengal. University of California Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-520-02569-1. Retrieved 2011-10-31.

[4] Bhattacharya, Jogendra Nath (1896). Hindu Castes and Sects. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co. p. 175. Retrieved 2011-10-31.

[5] Sharma, Tej Ram (1978). Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Inscriptions. Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. p. 115.

[6] Sadasivan, S.N. (2000). A Social History of India. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation. p. 258. ISBN 81-7648-170x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

[7] Sadasivan, S.N. (2000). A Social History of India. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation. p. 258. ISBN 81-7648-170x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

[8] Sadasivan, S.N. (2000). A Social History of India. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation. p. 258. ISBN 81-7648-170x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

[9] Sadasivan, S.N. (2000). A Social History of India. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation. p. 259. ISBN 81-7648-170x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

[10] Lethbridge, KCIE, Sir Loper (1893, 2005 Edn.). The Golden Book of India. New Delhi: Aakar Books. p. 525. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)

[11] Risley, Sir Herbert (1915, Reprint- 1999). The People of India. Madras/ New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. pp. 426, 427. ISBN 81-206-1265-5. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)

[12] Risley, Sir Herbert (1915, Reprint- 1999). The People of India. Madras/ New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. pp. 426, 427. ISBN 81-206-1265-5. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)

[13] Hopkins, Thomas J. (1989). "The Social and Religious Background for Transmission of Gaudiya Vaisnavism to the West". In Bromley, David G.; Shinn, Larry D. (eds.). Krishna consciousness in the West. Bucknell University Press. pp. 36, 38. ISBN 978-0-8387-5144-2. Retrieved 2011-10-31.

[14] Hopkins, Thomas J. (1989). "The Social and Religious Background for Transmission of Gaudiya Vaisnavism to the West". In Bromley, David G.; Shinn, Larry D. (eds.). Krishna consciousness in the West. Bucknell University Press. pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-0-8387-5144-2. Retrieved 2011-10-31.

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 {{Infobox Ethnic group
 |group=Kulin Kayastha
+|image    = [[File:Subhas Bose.jpg|60px]][[File:AatyenBose1925.jpg|60px]][[File:J.C.Bose.JPG|60px]]<br /> [[File:Sri aurobindo.jpg|60px]][[File:Amitav Ghosh by David Shankbone.jpg|60px]][[File:Jyoti Basu - Calcutta 1996-12-21 089 Cropped.png|60px]]<br/>[[File:Shyamal Mitra.jpg|60px]][[File:Koena Mitra at the launch of her website (2).jpg|60px]][[File:Amit Mitra.jpg|60px]]
-|image=[[File:Calcuttakayasth.jpg|200 px]]
+|caption    = <span style="font-size:80%;"><small>1st:</small> [[Subhash Chandra Bose]]{{•}}[[Satyendra Nath Bose]]{{•}}[[Jagadish Chandra Bose]]<br />
-|caption= A Kayastha of Calcutta, from a 19th century book
+<small>2nd: </small>[[Aurobindo Ghosh]]{{•}}[[Amitav Ghosh]]{{•}}[[Jyoti Basu]]<br />
+<small>3rd: </small>[[Shyamal Mitra]]{{•}}[[Koena Mitra]]{{•}}[[Amit Mitra]]</span>
 |languages=[[Bengali language|Bengali]]}}
-'''Kulin Kayasthas''' are a sub-caste of the [[Kayastha]] caste in [[Bengal]], India. They are also known as the Kulina Kayasthas.
+''Kulina'' Kayasthas (Bengali- কুলীন কাযস্থ) are the highest sub-caste of Bengali Kayasthas. In the Hindu Bengali caste system, the [[Brahmin]]s and the [[Kayastha]]s are divided into sub-castes, in which the "''Kulinas''" are accorded the highest position, this system is known as "Kulininsm". As per traditional accounts, it was started by King Vallalasena (12th century), but it may have earlier origins.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pruthi|first=R.K.|title=Indian Caste Sytem|year=2004|publisher=Discovery Publishing House|location=New Delhi|pages=80|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=rC1bJcd-MDUC&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13&dq=caste+system+in+bengal&source=bl&ots=dPMvSWPSH5&sig=Y6pp660_vkEQi39ksaAE_W5ZCPk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Xr1dUN7BM4vjrAeNyYGgCg&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=kayastha&f=false}}</ref>.
-The Kayasthas are regarded in Bengal, along with the [[Bengali Brahmins|Brahmins]], as being the "highest Hindu castes"<ref name=Inden1976p1>{{cite book|first=Ronald B. |last=Inden|title=Marriage and Rank in Bengali Culture: A History of Caste and Clan in Middle Period Bengal|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=P8b9A7J_v-UC&pg=PA133|accessdate=2011-10-31|year=1976|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-02569-1|page=1}}</ref> that comprise the "upper layer of Hindu society".<ref>{{cite book|first=Jogendra Nath |last=Bhattacharya |authorlink=Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya |title=Hindu Castes and Sects|url=http://www.archive.org/details/hinducastesands00bhatgoog|accessdate=2011-10-31|year=1896|publisher=Thacker, Spink & Co. |location=Calcutta|page=175}}</ref> They are subdivided into numerous clans in that region, of which the ''Kulin'' are a high-ranking example.<ref name=Inden1976p1/>
+The word ''kulina'' is derived from the word ''kula'', meaning a man of pure lineage. These were the orders of nobility as introduced by King Ballal Sen, in order to maintain the purity of different families.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gupta|first=Swarupa|title=Notions of Nationhood in Bengal:  Perspectives in Samaj, C-1867-1905|publisher=BRILL|location=Netherlands|isbn=9789004171640|pages=159|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=AGSuVgPH9T4C&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=caste+system+in+bengal&source=bl&ots=kFbNIA58be&sig=Pbmj_66BbHcooSh_2AKTmORQQHc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Xr1dUN7BM4vjrAeNyYGgCg&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Kayastha&f=false}}</ref>
+The Kayasthas are regarded in Bengal, along with the [[Bengali Brahmins|Brahmins]], as being the "highest Hindu castes"<ref name=Inden1976p1>{{cite book|first=Ronald B. |last=Inden|title=Marriage and Rank in Bengali Culture: A History of Caste and Clan in Middle Period Bengal|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=P8b9A7J_v-UC&pg=PA133|accessdate=2011-10-31|year=1976|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-02569-1|page=1}}</ref> that comprise the "upper layer of Hindu society".<ref>{{cite book|first=Jogendra Nath |last=Bhattacharya |authorlink=Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya |title=Hindu Castes and Sects|url=http://www.archive.org/details/hinducastesands00bhatgoog|accessdate=2011-10-31|year=1896|publisher=Thacker, Spink & Co. |location=Calcutta|page=175}}</ref>
 ==Origin==
+During the [[Gupta Empire]], the Kayasthas had not developed into a distinct caste, although the office of the Kayasthas (scribes) had been instituted before the beginning of the period, this can be made out from the contemporary [[smriti]]s. In many early epigraphs discovered in Bengal, brahmanic names with large number of modern Bengali Kayastha cognomens can be found, suggesting that a large number of Brahmin communities intermixed with oher varnas to form the present day Kayasthas and Vaidyas of Bengal.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sharma|first=Tej Ram|title=Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Inscriptions|year=1978|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|location=Delhi|pages=115|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=WcnnB-Lx2MAC&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&dq=tej+raj+sharma+personal+and+geographic&source=bl&ots=lIuXBZXwrX&sig=0OsWzg78txkqXtu-IWHUkfDd3F8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=z7ldUJuKC8HwrQfyxoCQAw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=kayastha&f=false}}</ref>
-The caste system in Bengal developed differently from that in neighbouring areas of North India because of the influence of Buddhist rulers in the region at various times up until the eleventh century CE, at which time the [[Pala Empire|Pala dynasty]] declined. It is traditionally believed that at this point a Hindu king brought in five Brahmins and their five [[Shudra]] servants, his purpose being to provide education for the Brahmins already in the area whom he thought to be ignorant. The tradition continues by saying that these incomers settled and each became the founder of a clan. In the case of the five Shudra servants, each clan was of the Kayastha caste.<ref name=Hopkins1989pp35-36>{{cite book |title=Krishna consciousness in the West |editor1-first=David G. |editor1-last=Bromley |editor2-first=Larry D. |editor2-last=Shinn |first=Thomas J. |last=Hopkins |chapter=The Social and Religious Background for Transmission of Gaudiya Vaisnavism to the West |publisher=Bucknell University Press |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-8387-5144-2 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=F-EuD3M2QYoC |pages=35–36 |accessdate=2011-10-31}}</ref>
+The [[Kayastha]]s throught out Northern India claim descent from [[Chitragupta]], the book keeper of [[Yama]], and their classification into one single varna has been a matter of debate, but on many occasions, the courts in British India pronounced the Kayasthas as being "sankers" of mixed descent.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sadasivan|first=S.N.|title=A Social History of India|year=2000|publisher=APH Publishing Corporation|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-7648-170x|pages=258|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Be3PCvzf-BYC&pg=PA258&lpg=PA258&dq=Kulinism+in+Bengal+kayastha&source=bl&ots=9j5vQgqozq&sig=kv5U6aKVeF-OroDJSTXgr-VYDTE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RaFeUNCHBczOrQeYzYHgDA&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Kulinism%20in%20Bengal%20kayastha&f=false}}</ref>. In Bengal though, the [[Kayastha]]s fought numerous court battles to establish themselves as [[Kshatriya]]s but the courts ruled otherwise as in the rest of India.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sadasivan|first=S.N.|title=A Social History of India|year=2000|publisher=APH Publishing Corporation|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-7648-170x|pages=258|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Be3PCvzf-BYC&pg=PA258&lpg=PA258&dq=Kulinism+in+Bengal+kayastha&source=bl&ots=9j5vQgqozq&sig=kv5U6aKVeF-OroDJSTXgr-VYDTE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RaFeUNCHBczOrQeYzYHgDA&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Kulinism%20in%20Bengal%20kayastha&f=false}}</ref>. Some scholars have also expressed surprise over this tendency of the Kayasthas of [[Bengal]] to trace descent from [[Kshatriya]]s instead of [[Brahmin]]s, of whom they were initially a part.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sadasivan|first=S.N.|title=A Social History of India|year=2000|publisher=APH Publishing Corporation|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-7648-170x|pages=258|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Be3PCvzf-BYC&pg=PA258&lpg=PA258&dq=Kulinism+in+Bengal+kayastha&source=bl&ots=9j5vQgqozq&sig=kv5U6aKVeF-OroDJSTXgr-VYDTE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RaFeUNCHBczOrQeYzYHgDA&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Kulinism%20in%20Bengal%20kayastha&f=false}}</ref>. Kayasthas, like the Khatris, are a community of unrelated people who came from different local castes, with an inclination towards clerical work and learning foreign languages, i.e. the languages imposed in the Indian courts by different rulers from time to time, egs. Persian, Arabic and later, English. This gave them pre-eminence over others as Government Servants, and secured them a high social status and position.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sadasivan|first=S.N.|title=A Social History of India|year=2000|publisher=APH Publishing Corporation|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-7648-170x|pages=259|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Be3PCvzf-BYC&pg=PA258&lpg=PA258&dq=Kulinism+in+Bengal+kayastha&source=bl&ots=9j5vQgqozq&sig=kv5U6aKVeF-OroDJSTXgr-VYDTE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RaFeUNCHBczOrQeYzYHgDA&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Kulinism%20in%20Bengal%20kayastha&f=false}}</ref>.
-The five [[Kulin Brahmin|Brahmin clans]] were each designated as ''Kulina'' ("superior") in order to differentiate them from the more established local Brahmins. Four of the Kayastha clans were similarly designated. The fifth was refused the status because they would not accept that they were servants, as was the [[Varna (Hinduism)|ritual rank]] of Shudra, and instead proclaimed themselves to be superior even to the Brahmins. While this fifth clan remained in Bengal and became the [[Dutta (surname)|Datta]] (or Dutt) Kayasthas, one of the four which were granted the Kulina nomenclature&nbsp;- the [[Guha]]s&nbsp;- later moved to the east of the region, leaving three clans to become the main Kulin Kayastha communities: the [[Bose (surname)|Bose]]s, the [[Mitra]]s and the [[Ghosh]]es.<ref name=Hopkins1989pp35-36/>
+===Kulinism in Bengal===
+According to traditional accounts, the system of ''Kulinism'' in [[Bengal]] was started by King [[Ballal Sena]], in order to give pre-eminence to the five-Brahmins and five Kayasthas brought to Bengal by Adisura, during his reign as King.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lethbridge, KCIE|first=Sir Loper|title=The Golden Book of India|year=1893, 2005 Edn.|publisher=Aakar Books|location=New Delhi|pages=525|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=7iOsNUZ2MXgC&pg=PA525&lpg=PA525&dq=Kulinism+in+Bengal+kayastha&source=bl&ots=Zi3gcBggwV&sig=fgNgr83E6n3SePpUdktpPOm_a0o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-qZeUND6F4S0rAf3vICgAQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Kulinism%20in%20Bengal%20kayastha&f=false}}</ref>
+The [[Sanskrit]] word ''kula'' means race, tribe or family and may be compared to Celt or Kelt, and the word ''kulina'' or ''kulin'' means "of good family". ''Kula-Dharma'' means strict observance of religious rules and regulations prescribed for the concerned ''kula'' in order to preserve the purity of blood, in this case, considered pure Aryan blue blood.<ref>{{cite book|last=Risley|first=Sir Herbert|title=The People of India|year=1915, Reprint- 1999|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=Madras/ New Delhi|isbn=81-206-1265-5|pages=426, 427|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=QA2OKK0-bdcC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref>
+The Kulins of [[Bengal]] are represented by the [[Brahmin]] family names of [[Chatterjee]], [[Banerjee]], [[Mukherjee]] and [[Ganguly]] and the [[Kayastha]] family names of [[Bose]], [[Ghosh]], [[Mitra]] and [[Dutta]] who became attached with the [[Brahmin]] Kulins on their arrival in Anga-Vanga ([[Bengal]]). In the old caste hierarchy of bengal the Kulins were considered the most honourable of all men, ''Kulin'' being the equivalent of "The Honourable" or "The Rt. Honourable".<ref>{{cite book|last=Risley|first=Sir Herbert|title=The People of India|year=1915, Reprint- 1999|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=Madras/ New Delhi|isbn=81-206-1265-5|pages=426, 427|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=QA2OKK0-bdcC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref>
 ==History==
-During the [[Gupta Empire]], the Kayasthas had not developed into a distinct caste, although the office of the Kayasthas (scribes) had been instituted before the beginning of the period, this can be made out from the contemporary [[smriti]]s. In many early epigraphs discovered in Bengal, brahmanic names with large number of modern Bengali Kayastha cognomens can be found, suggesting that a large number of Brahmin communities intermixed with oher varnas to form the present day Kayasthas and Vaidyas of Bengal.<ref> ''Tej Raj Sharma'', Personal andd Geodraphic Names in the Gupta Inscriptions, Concept Publishing Company, Delhi, 1978 |http://books.google.com/books?id=WcnnB-Lx2MAC|</ref>{{Pn|date=June 2012}}<!-- I am unhappy with this source being used without a page number: it quotes a lot of inscriptions and I am concerned re: original research. THE PAGE NUMBER IS ESSENTIAL FOR VERIFICATION-->
 A period of rule by various Muslim dynasties began in Bengal from the thirteenth century and lasted until 1765, when the British gained control. Many of the population converted to Islam and the lack of a Hindu king as a focal point caused the isolation of those Hindu communities which remained. The Kulin communities suffered particularly badly because their ritual role was to serve a Hindu king via appointments to high state and religious offices, which were denied to them by Muslim rule. Those Hindus, including some Kulins, who did assist, co-operate or mingle with the Muslim rulers were often shunned by the increasingly conservative Hindu community, which was intent on self-preservation and withdrew into its own cultural norms in order to achieve that. Thomas J. Hopkins has said that {{quote|In relations with Muslims, it was clear that high-caste Hindus played a zero-sum game in which the degree of involvement with non-Hindu rulers meant a corresponding loss in Hindu social ranking.<ref>{{cite book |title=Krishna consciousness in the West |editor1-first=David G. |editor1-last=Bromley |editor2-first=Larry D. |editor2-last=Shinn |first=Thomas J. |last=Hopkins |chapter=The Social and Religious Background for Transmission of Gaudiya Vaisnavism to the West |publisher=Bucknell University Press |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-8387-5144-2 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=F-EuD3M2QYoC |pages=36, 38 |accessdate=2011-10-31}}</ref>}}