Nai, also known as Sain/Sen, is a generic term for occupational castes of barbers. The name is said to be derived from the Sanskrit word ''nāpita'' (नापित). In modern times Nai in northern India refer to themselves as "Sain" instead of Nai. The Nai caste was listed as an Other Backward Classes in various regions of India. These include

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

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Dadra and Nagar Haveli Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a district of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in western India. It is composed of two separate geographical entities: Nagar Haveli, wedged in between Maharashtra and Gujarat states t ...

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NCR, Goa,

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Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

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, Goa,

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, Puducherry,

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, Uttaranchal,

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History

The traditional occupation of Nais is barbering. The barber also has duties in connection with marriages and other festive occasions. They act as the Brahmin’s assistant, and perform marriages for the lower castes, who cannot employ a Brahmin.

Origin

Puranic view

According to a legend prevalent among Nai they are descended from Nabhi, who in puranic literature is king of the

Ikshvaku Ikshvaku ( Sanskrit ; Pāli: ) is a legendary king in Hindu mythology. He is described to be the first king of the Kosala kingdom, and was one of the ten sons of Shraddhadeva Manu, the first man on the earth. He was the founder and first king ...

dynasty.

Other views

They are refereed as Ampitta in

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

. 'Ampitta' is derived from the Sanskrit word "

Ambashtha Ambashtha or Ambastha is a caste or sub-caste or a community of Hindus in India. According to Hindu scriptures, the term Ambastha refers to the offspring of a Brahmin father and a Vaishya mother, whose traditional occupation was the practice ...

", which means Physician. In Tamil region some members of the barber caste practiced medicine and used to be called Ambathan.

Impact of the Ideas of Sain

The process of the Nais adopting the ideas and teachings of

Bhagat Sain Bhagat Sain was a Hindu and Sikh religious figure lived in the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century. His name was known in every house due to his devotion to god. Bhagat Sain was a barber of the royal court of Raja Ram, ...

can be conceptualized as Sainization, depicted through deifying Sain by setting up the institution of ''Sainacharya''. Sain, who was the contemporaries of

Kabir Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das ...

, the Bhakti poet who challenged the hegemonic values and hierarchy of the caste system, has become the most revered symbol of pride and identity formation of the Nais. In order to assert their cultural autonomy in 1992 ''Akhil Bharatiya Sain Bhaktipith Trust'' was set up on the occasion of the

Ujjain Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Uj ...

'' mahakumbh mela'' headed in

Pushkar Pushkar is a city and headquarters of Pushkar tehsil in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated about northwest of Ajmer and about southwest of Jaipur.Bhagat Sain Bhagat Sain was a Hindu and Sikh religious figure lived in the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century. His name was known in every house due to his devotion to god. Bhagat Sain was a barber of the royal court of Raja Ram, ...

, Saint and Bhakti Poet * Sahib Singh, one of the Panj Pyare *

Bhikhari Thakur Bhikari Thakur (18 December 1887 – 10 July 1971) was an Indian Bhojpuri language poet, playwright, lyricist, actor, folk dancer, folk singer and social activist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest writer in Bhojpuri language and ...

, Bhojpuri Poet *

Karpoori Thakur Karpoori Thakur (24 January 1924 – 17 February 1988) was an Indian politician from the Bihar state. He was popularly known as Jan Nayak (Hindi for people's hero). He served as the Chief Minister of Bihar from December 1970 to June 1971 (Socia ...

, Former C.M of Bihar

References

{{Social groups of Maharashtra Indian castes Sikh communities Social groups of Uttar Pradesh Social groups of Madhya Pradesh Social groups of Haryana Social groups of West Bengal Social groups of Assam Social groups of Andhra Pradesh Social groups of Karnataka Social groups of Tamil Nadu Social groups of Rajasthan Social groups of Odisha Social groups of Bihar Social groups of Gujarat Social groups of Maharashtra Barber castes