Affinity Bloc: South Asian Peoples

Overview: The Mahishya (Kaibarta) are a community widely distributed in several districts of West Bengal and Bihar. They derive their name from the Sanskrit words, 'mahi' meaning earth or soil and 'shya' meaning for the interest. They are sometimes identified as a caste of people born of a Kshatriya father and a Vaisya mother or vice versa. They speak Bengali or Hindi and use the Bengali script.

  -- K. S. Singh, People of India, Volume V. India's Communities H-M. Delhi: Oxford University Press (1998), pp. 2095-2097

Peoples within this cluster: Mahishya; Sadgop

Countries where they are found: India