On the occasion of the Birth Anniversary of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay said, "Kayasthas represent the syncretic thought of this country. They are generally identified as a caste or community but the most cohesive element in this caste identity is the open mindedness and learning. One can generally identify Kayasthas with an advisory role, similar to the one played by Lord Krishna in guiding the consciousness of his time.”
“The earliest reference of Kayasthas as a cohesive community/caste is found in Brahmanical religious texts from as early as the 7th century. The caste has been ascribed the responsibility of writing secular documents and keeping records. In the Sanskrit works written in the early-medieval Kashmir, the term Kayasthas seem to have been used to denote the members of bureaucracy ranging from G?hak?tyamahattama (the chief secretary in the charge of home affairs) to the Asvaghasa-kayastha (officer in charge of the fodder for horses), whose principal duty, besides carrying on the general administration of the state, consisted in the collection of revenue and taxes,” he said.
“In Bengal, during the reign of the Gupta Emperors, starting in the 5th century, when systematic and large-scale induction of Indo-Aryan Kayasthas and Brahmins began, Kayasthas were picked by the Guptas to help administer state affairs,” Sahay added.
He further said that after the Muslim conquest of India, Persian became the official language of the Mughal courts. Some of the Kayasthas converted to Islam and founded a Muslim Kayasth community in northern India.
“Prior to the Muslim conquest, Bengali Kayasthas had been the dominant land-holding caste, and this position continued under Muslim rule. Muslim rulers had confirmed the Kayasthas in their ancient position as landholders and political intermediaries. Bengali Kayasthas worked as treasury officials and wazirs (government ministers) under the rule of Mughals. Abu al-Fazl says that most of the Hindu zamindars in Bengal were Kayasthas,” said the Congress leader.
He said that in the course of the British rule, Kayasthas began to thrive in public administration, qualifying for the highest executive and judicial offices available to Indians. Bengali Kayasthas assumed the position of merchant castes and Bengali Kayasthas and Bengali Brahmins owned 40 per cent of all Indian mills, mines and factories in Bengal in the beginning of 20th century.
Sahay further said that the Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas formed the middle class and were traditionally in "urban and professional" occupations such as physicians, lawyers, teachers, engineers, etc.at the time of Independence. P. K. Varma says, "Education was a common thread that bound together the pan Indian elite" and almost all the members of these communities could read and write English, and were educated beyond school. The Kayasthas today mostly inhabit central, eastern, northern India, and some are also to be found in south India. This pan-India presence and the important role played by Kayasthas in the making of modern India should be given due recognition. With a broad-minded, accommodative and helpful attitude Kayasthas are an asset to the nation.
