Biswas

Biswas is a common surname in West Bengal and they are Indian Hindus and belong to Kayastha and Bengali Brahmins Caste. They were actually Baishya Kapali Brahmins who migrated to Bangladesh from India for jute cultivation. Biswas was merely a title bestowed by the British (when they ruled India) to the family name after someone of the family served them well & was loyal & trusted;'Biswas', after all means trustworthy. Some Christians and Muslims of Bangladesh also have the surname of Biswas (awarded during the later period). In fact, Biswas is one of the few surnames like Majumder, Sarkar, Roy, Haldar etc. which are found in almost every caste of Bengal. As Biswas is an honourable title given to trustful persons during the Mughal & British period. BISWAS originally belonging to Kayastha were record-keepers and administrators of the state. Biswas were important during British era and were engaged in administration, army, keeping accounts-records and following important orders which were exclusively appointed to them with uttermost trust by the British. Kayastha Biswas mostly have original surname of either Deb/Dey or Guha.

This surname is pronounced in Bengali as BISH-SHASH and not BIS-WAS. The latter is merely the Sanskrit/English pronunciation.

However, certain Biswas people are also Brahmins, especially the ones that originally hail from Baniachowng, Sylhet.

Notable people

• Rakesh Biswas (Bengali: রাকেশ বিশ্বাস) (born 1 Jan 1991) is an Indian entrepreneur, youth leader and inventor.
• Abdur Rahman Biswas (Bengali: আব্দুর রহমান বিশ্বাস) (born 1926), Bangladeshi politician
• Anil Biswas (composer) (अनिल विश्वास) (1914–2003), Indian film music composer
• Anil Biswas (politician) (nickname 'Keru') (1944–2006), Indian politician
• Antara Biswas, Indian actress
• Basanta Kumar Biswas (1895–1915), pro-independence activist involved in the Jugantar group
• Biswamoy Biswas (1923–1994), Indian ornithologist
• Chhabi Biswas (Bengali: ছবি বিশ্বাস Chhobi Bishshash) (1900–1962), Bengali character actor
• Debabrata Biswas (Bangla: দেবব্রত বিশ্বাস) (1911–1980), Bengali singer
• Debabrata Biswas (politician) (born 1945), politician from All India Forward Bloc and a Member of the Parliament of India
• Hemanga Biswas, exponent of the Bhantiali folk music, originally popular among the fishermen of Bangladesh
• Jayant Biswas, (born 1964), cave scientist and environmentalist from India
• Pulak Biswas (born 1941), artist and children's book illustrator from India
• Seema Biswas (born 1965), Indian film and theatre actress
• Sharmila Biswas, Odissi dancer and choreographer
• Soma Biswas (born 1978), athlete who lives in Kolkata, India and who specialises in the heptathlon
• Soumili Biswas Bengali television serial actress
• Sutapa Biswas (born 1962), British Indian conceptual artist
• Timir Biswas (born 1982), playback singer, song writer, composer and the lead singer of the band Fakira
• U. N. Biswas, Indian politician and the present Minister for Backward Class Welfare in the Government of West Bengal
• Ujjal Biswas, Indian politician and the present Minister for technical education in the Government of West Bengal

See also

• A House for Mr. Biswas, 1961 novel by V. S. Naipaul
• Biswas Nao Korte Paren, 2006 film