Kundu (surname)

Kundu is a common Bengali Hindu surname found among the Bengali Kayastha, Teli and some other communities of India and Bangladesh.[1][2]

## History

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The surname Kundu is found in Bengal among Bengali Kayasthas.[3][4] Historian Tej Ram Sharma mentions that the surname is "now confined to Kayasthas of Bengal" while referring to the names of Brahmins ending in such Kayastha surnames in the early inscriptions dating back to the Gupta period.[3]

### Bengalis

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During the Gupta period, the Kayasthas had not developed into a distinct caste in Bengal, although the office of the Kayasthas (scribes) had been instituted before the beginning of the period, as evidenced from the contemporary smritis. Tej Ram Sharma, an Indian historian, says that

> The names of brahmanas occurring in our inscriptions sometimes end in a non-brahmanic cognomen such as Bhatta, Datta and Kunda, etc., which are available in the inscriptions of Bengal. Surnames like Datta, Dama, Palita, Pala, Kunda (Kundu), Dasa, Naga and Nandin are now confined to Kayasthas of Bengal but not to brahmanas. Noticing brahmanic names with a large number of modern Bengali Kayastha cognomens in several early epigraphs discovered in Bengal, some scholars have suggested that there is a considerable brahmana element in the present day Kayastha community of Bengal. Originally the professions of Kayastha (scribe) and Vaidya (physician) were not restricted and could be followed by people of different varnas including the brahmanas. So there is every probability that a number of brahmana families were mixed up with members of other varnas in forming the present Kayastha and Vaidya communities of Bengal.[3]

## Notables

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* Gopal Kundu, Indian scientist
* Nitun Kundu, Bangladeshi artist, sculptor and entrepreneur
* Ritam Kundu, Indian cricketer
* Soumendranath Kundu, Indian cricketer
* Soumitrisha Kundu, Indian actress
* Suman Kundu, Indian wrestler

## References

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1. ^ Chanda, Sudhendu (2003). The Border Society: A Study of Network and Linkage. Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture. p. 8\. ISBN 978-81-85579-58-0.
2. ^ Ghosh, G. K. (2000). Legends of Origin of the Castes and Tribes of Eastern India. Firma KLM. p. 42\. ISBN 978-81-7102-046-1.
3. ^ a b c Sharma, Tej Ram (1978). Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Empire. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. p. 115.
4. ^ Inden, Ronald B. (1976). Marriage and Rank in Bengali Culture: A History of Caste and Clan in Middle Period Bengal. University of California Press. p. 40\. ISBN 978-0-520-02569-1.

## See also

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* Bengali Kayastha