Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin
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. 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. 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.
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. The estimated population of this community is roughly 25,000. 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.
Notable people
- Shyam Benegal, Indian film director and screenwriter
- Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar, Indian National Congress politician and Hindu reformer.
- Guru Dutt, Indian film director, producer and actor.
- Girish Karnad, Indian actor, film director, Kannada-language writer
- Amrita Rao, Bollywood actress
- Karnad Sadashiva Rao, Indian freedom fighter
- Benegal Narsing Rau, Indian civil servant, jurist, diplomat, and statesman known for his key role in drafting the Constitution of India
- Shripad Subrao Talmaki, social reformer and early pioneer of the cooperative movement in India and known as the father of India's cooperative movement.