Chitrapur Saraswats are a small Konkani-speaking community of Hindu

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

s in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. They are traditionally found along the

Kanara Kanara, also known as Karavali is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The region comprises three civil districts, ...

coast and call themselves ''Bhanaps'' in the Konkani language. 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.

Origin

Historian

Susan Bayly Susan Bayly is a Professor Emerita of Historical Anthropology in the Cambridge University Division of Social Anthropology and a Life Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. She is a former editor of the '' Journal of the Royal Anthropological Ins ...

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,

Notable people

Benegal Narsing Rau Sir Benegal Narsing Rau (26 February 1887 – 30 November 1953) was an Indian civil servant, jurist, diplomat and statesman known for his key role in drafting the Constitution of India. He was the Constitutional Advisor to Constituent Asse ...

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Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...

Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar Sir Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar (2 December 1855 – 4 May 1923) was an early Indian National Congress politician and Hindu reformer. He was regarded by some as the "leading Hindu reformer of western India".

, Indian National Congress politician and Hindu reformer. *

Guru Dutt Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), better known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer.Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen. 9941998''Encyclopedia of Indi ...

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Karnad Sadashiva Rao Karnad Sadashiva Rao was an Indian freedom fighter from what is now Karnataka, India. Rao was born to a wealthy south Indian family in 1881. He studied at Presidency College in Madras and also studied law in Mumbai. Rao became involved in t ...

, Indian freedom fighter *

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...

, Indian actor, film director,

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

-language writer

References

External links

Kanara Saraswat Association official Website

Chitrapur Math, Shirali

Chitrapurebooks.com
{{Ethnic and social groups of Goa and the Konkan Konkani Mangalorean society Brahmin communities of Karnataka Brahmin communities of Goa

Origin

Notable people

See also

References

External links