Kalita Jatir Itibritta is a book by Dr. Banikanta Kakati, I have not read the book so sharing some information that have found from various sources. If a single word is wrong my expectation is please let me know the truths that indeed help me. Whatever information I have found wants to share with our Kalita brothers, sisters and seniors with respect and honor. The Kalita is a caste or a community of Hindus belonging to the state of Assam in North East India. The Kalitas are considered by historians like Dalton to be of pure Aryan descent who came to Assam before the rise of the existing professional castes. They commonly claim to belong to the Kshatriya caste. Among different opinions, apart from Kshatriya descent and pre-Vedic Aryan descent theories, one account suggests that the Kalitas were originally Kayasthas, but as they took to agriculture they assumed a new name and formed a separate caste. There is evidence of Kalita kingdom in very early times as well as during the 15th-16th century. According to Purana Tradition, the Kalitas are considered as pure Aryans. Though the Aryan descent theories endorse the arrival of the Kalitas before the rise of the existing professional castes, the Kalitas generally claim to belong to the Kshatriya caste, and call themselves kulalupta, kula in the context of the legend that the Kalitas were Ksatriyas who fled from the wrath of Parasurama who was determined to exterminate the Ksatriyas. But this seems to be a bit of false etymology. The Kalitas along with the Kayasthas in Assam are considered next only to the Brahmins in the caste-hierarchy. According to the legends, they are the non-Vedic Aryans who are responsible for bringing Aryan culture to Assam. Having mingled with local population, they still preserve certain elements of Aryan culture even after localizing their culture to some extent. P. C. Choudhury (1966) summarized the different views of different authors regarding the Kalitas, and wrote : “Dalton thinks that they are the earliest Aryan colonists of Assam, and were not Koch as held by Hodgson. Waddell thinks that they were of mixed descendants of the Indian Kayasthas. Robinson makes them spiritual guides of the Koch, whose position is believed to have been degraded by the advent of the Brahmans; he supports Waddells theory of the Kayastha origin of the Kalitas ... The common belief is that the Kalitas or their ancestors entered India from the west, settled in upper India and ultimately entered Assam, and that they were Kshatriyas. In the opinion of Medhi, they were not Kshatriyas, but entered Assam before the Vedic Aryans, and were non-Vedic Aryans.” The Indian Anthropologist Bhuban Mohan Das, in his book The Peoples of Assam, treats the theory of Alpine origin of Kalitas, to be improper on the grounds of Anthropometry. Dr. B.S. Guha has found similarities between some surnames of Alpine Nagar Brahmins of Gujarat with those of North East India, as referred in the Nidhanpur land grants of Kamarupa King Bhaskaravarman (6th century A.D.) such as Datta, Dhara, Deva, Nandi, Sena, and Vasu, etc. and connects them with the Kalitas of Assam. Again, historian Kanaklal Barua mentions these surnames while referring to the Nidhanpur inscription and says that these surnames now belong almost exclusively to the Bengali Kayasthas. Neufville claims that the Kalita kingdom was washed away by the great flood in the mid 18th century. Mirroring the history of Assam, the Kalitas were peasants, though during the rule of the Ahom dynasty considering the mighty and capabilities of Kalitas trained them to be soldiers, generals, administrators, envoys, and judges. The Ahom paik system surnames of Bora, Hazarika, Saikia, Kakoti, Barua, Rajkhowa, and Phukan can all be found amongst the Kalitas of Assam, which signify that they served the Ahom monarchy. Bora was the leader of 20 paiks (or foot soldiers), Saikia that of 100 paiks and Hazarika that of 1000 paiks. The Baruas led 3000 men, similar to the Rajkhowas. Phukans formed the uppermost layers of the Ahom military and judicio-administrative structure, subservient to the Ahom Borphukans and Borbaruas. Phukans and Baruah are found in the Brahmins, Ahoms and Kalitas of Assam alike. Certain posts like Boiragi or envoys to neighbouring kingdoms such as the Jaintias (presently in Meghalaya), the Kacharis (Assam), and the Mughal Sultanate in Bengal, were given to Kalitas in preference to Ahoms. Kalitas also formed part of the revenue system under the Mughal-dominated areas in western Assam. Some of the notable Kalita surnames are Lahkar, Mahanta, Medhi, Baruah, Borah, Barman, Bordoloi, Bhuyan, Phukan, Chaliha, Chowdhury, Deka, Das, Dutta, Thakuria, Khataniar, Tahbildar, Kakoti etc. The Kalitas took an active part and supported the Ek Saraniya Naam Dharma propounded by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva after its appearance in Assam. In present day Assam, the Kalitas are ubiquitous in every subdivision of Assam and one of its foremost groups, seen in all spheres of life and making their presence felt in the socio-cultural-literary-economic scene of the state. As per one source this respected listed persons are mentioned as Kalita: Mahapurush Madhab Dev,Saint,Writer,Social Reformer Brishnu Ram Medhi,Chief Minister of Assam Mahendramohon Choudhury,Governor,Chief Minister of Assam Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Chief Minister of Assam for 2 terms Bhumidhar Barman, Chief Minister of Assam from April 22, 1996 to May 14, 1996 Bimala Prasad Chaliha, Chief Minister of Assam for 3 terms Siva Prasad Barooah,renowned tea planter, philanthropist, politician, and humanist from Assam Angaraag Mahanta, also known as Papon, is an Indian singer, composer and record producer in Bollywood from Assam Gauri Shankar Kalita, journalist Monikangana Dutta, is an Indian model and actress based in Mumbai. Jayanta Talukdar, Indian archer. Arupa Kalita Patangia, author Bornali Kalita, singer Jeetumoni Kalita, dancer Gautam Kalita, bodybuilder Tarun Sen Deka, Freedom Fighter Anundoram Barooah,4th Indian ICS officer Jayantanarayan Choudhury,ex-DGP,Assam Kanaksen Deka,noted Journalist HN Das,ex-Chief Secy.,Assam Dr. Ramen Deka,inventor of the Cochlear-device Raibahadur Kanak Lal Barua,Historian Sarat Chandra Kalita, Independent Boxer Jim Ankan Deka, Assamese musician, documentary film maker, photographer C K Das, ex-Add. Chief Secy.,Assam Prof. Hemanta Kalita,Mathematician and Philosopher,Patkai,Nagaland (Source: Brazil)
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 20:41:49 +0000
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