The Rajapur Saraswat is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

community in

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. They are also known as ''Rajpuri'' or ''Rajapur''. The come under the Other Backward Class(OBC) category in

and

.https://www.ncbc.nic.in/Writereaddata/cl/karnataka.pdf

History

The Rajapura Saraswat claim to have migrated to Kerala from Ratnagiri, Maharashtra after being subjected to atrocities under Portuguese rule. Their typical last name is ''Nayak''.

Culture

Some of them eat goat, fowl and fish but most are vegetarian and mainly eat rice. Alcohol consumption is common among men. According to N.K.Singh, one section of them, called the ''Kudlukaras'' follow customs similar to

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

s. They worship their ancestors and do not consume non-vegetarian food on the day of worship.

References

{{Reflist Indian castes Social groups of Kerala