Kayastha (also referred to as Kayasth or Kayeth) is a caste or community of Hindus originating in India. Kayasthas are considered to be members of the literate scribe caste, and have traditionally acted as keepers of records and public accounts, writers, and administrators of the state.
Kayasthas have historically occupied the highest government offices, serving as ministers and advisors during early medieval Indian kingdoms and the Mughal Empire, and holding important administrative positions during the British Raj.
In modern times, Kayasthas have attained success in politics, as well as in the arts and various professional fields.
Origins
According to the Hindu scriptures known as the Puranas, Kayasthas are descended from Chitragupta, "who was born from the body of Brahma", and is the deity responsible for recording the deeds of humanity, upholding the rule of law, and judging whether human beings go to heaven or hell upon death.
Brahmanical religious texts refer to them as a caste of scribes, recruited in the beginning from the Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya castes, but eventually forming distinct subcastes in northern and western India. Kayasthas have therefore also been mentioned as a "mixed caste", combining Brahman-Sudra (lower caste) and sometimes Kshatriya as well.
The Kayastha Muslim (Urdu: مسلمان کائستھ) are community of Muslims, descendents of members of the Kayastha caste of northern India, mainly in modern Uttar Pradesh, who embraced Islam during the rule of Muslim dynasties. The Muslim Kayastha are part of the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh. The Muslim Kayastha are considered to be Shaikh and follow Sunni Hanafi fiqh. The Muslim Kayasths have intermarried with the other Muslim communities over the centuries and have lost their community consciousness and consider themselves to be part of the Urdu speaking Muslims of Pakistan and northern India. They live in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, the provinces of Sindh and Punjab in Pakistan and many have now settled in United Kingdom, United States and Canada.
History and origin
The Kayastha community has historically been involved in the occupations of land record keeping and accounting. Some Hindu Kayasth found favour with Muslim rulers for whom the acted as Qanungos. This close association, led to the conversion of many members of the Kayastha community to Islam. They speak Urdu, although they are also fluent in Hindi in India, while they also speak Sindhi and Punjabi in Pakistan. The Kayasth use Siddiqui, Maniharzada and Farooqi as their surnames, and consider themselves belonging to the Shaikh community.