Are Kashmiri Pandits Brahmins?

The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, a mountainous region located within the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

What happened to Pandits in Kashmir?

The local organisation of Hindus in Kashmir, Kashmir Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS) after carrying out a survey in 2008 and 2009, said that 399 Kashmiri Hindus were killed by insurgents from 1990 to 2011 with 75\% of them being killed during the first year of the Kashmiri insurgency, and that during the last 20 years.

What is the difference between Pandit and Brahmins?

Pandit is someone who excelled in a particular field, a Scholar, a highly learned Person, a wise-man as “Utsad in Urdu.” Brahmin means the follower of Brahma – the ‘eternal & blissful consciousness which is also regarded as the highest knowledge in Hinduism’.

What caste is Kashmiri?

He has classified Kashmiri castes into three different groups. At the top are the ‘Syed castes’ – Geelani, Jeelani, Andrabi, Qadri, Hamdani, Bhukhari, Shah and others. Syeds claim to be the descendants of the family of the prophet.

What caste are pandits?

Identification. The Pandits are natives of the Kashmir Valley in north India. They belong to the highest-ranked Brahman castes of Hindu society. Among Brahmans they are identified as Saraswats.

Is Bhatt a Brahmin?

Bhat (also spelled as Bhatt or Butt) is a surname in the Indian subcontinent. Bhat and Bhatt are shortened rendition of Bhatta. Jeffrey G. Snodgrass notes that the Bhatts are Brahmins. A large number of Muslims retained the surname after their conversion to Islam from Hinduism.

Which caste is lowest in Kashmir?

At the bottom of the hierarchy are Kashmiri Muslim caste groups which can be broadly categorized as equivalent to Hindu Varna “Shudra” or “lower occupational castes” (Waza, Chopan, Ganai, Dobi, Hajjam, Hanji, Bhand etc.).

Who is Bhatt caste?

Brahmin Bhatts are the sub- caste among Hindu Brahmins, which follow the rituals of Hinduism, as a Hindu Brahmin does. Kashmiri Hindu Bhatts belong to a Dardic group, which has a very ancient and a complex culture. The literal meaning of the word Bhatt is a priest and is used as a surname.

What is the highest caste in Kashmir?

The largest community within the Kashmiri Hindus are the Kashmiri Pandits (Kashmiri Brahmins), who are divided into several gotras, such as the priests (gor or bhasha Bhatta), astrologers (Zutshi), and workers (Karkun). The majority of Kashmiris who belong to the Kshatriya varna use the surname Gourtra.

Kashmiri Pandit. The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community. They belong to the Pancha (five) Gauda Brahmana groups. from the Kashmir Valley, a mountainous region in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Why are Kashmiri Brahmins kārkuns?

The majority of Kashmiri Brahmins are Kārkuns, and this is likely due to the conversion of the majority of Kashmiris to Islam, which led to a decrease in demand for Hindu priests, which led most Kashmiri Brahmins to seek secular employment.

Who is the All India Kashmiri Samaj or AIKS?

Following the migration of the Kashmiri Pandit community, various socio-political organisations have sprung up to represent the cause of the displaced community. The most prominent among these are the All India Kashmiri Samaj or AIKS, All India Kashmiri Pandit conference, Panun Kashmir & Kashmiri Samiti.

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