People

The Bengal Brahmins are divided into five endogamous sub castes:-Rarhi, Barendra, Vaidic, Saptasti and Madhyasreni and into numerous sub divisions with in each sub caste according to hereditary precedence and so-called purity of blood. The Kayasthas are divided into four endogamous sub-castes:- Uttar-Rarhi, Dakshin-Rarhi, Barendra and Bangaja, with numerous sub divisions. The Vaidyas are a numerically small community with a preponderant representation in the higher professions and services. Notably members of all the three 'high' castes are mainly Shaktas by religious persuasion while the majority of the lower castes are Vaishnanavas of the Chaitanya cult and other cults. The essential ritual observances of the Vaidyas, Kayasthas and the wealthier sub-castes of the 'lower' order closely follow those of the Brahmins with additional observances inherited from the aboriginal predecessors.

The great majority of Hindus, constituting over three-fourths of the community are lumped together as Sudras. The classical denomination of Sudras covers all who follow occupations calling for manual labour. The demotion of the great trading community, a hereditary group akin to the Vaisyas to the position of Sudras was made by royal arbitrary command. They have their traditional hierarchy and their endogamous and co-mensal groups, the clean Sudras enjoy the services of Brahmins for their rites and worship and those in 'unclean' occupations like scavenging, hide-curing etc are the real Harijans.

  Within the Muslim community also a division is observable between families of 'pure' stock and the indigenous stock which forms the vast majority of the Community. Similarly among the Christians, a  firm line divides those who claim varying percentages of European blood and those who are native converts mostly from the peasant stock.

Caste consciousness has weakened and has ceased to be a substantial factor in public life in Bengal. A powerful influence against caste distinctions was in operation since the early nineteenth century, when Ram Mohan Roy preached basic social and religious reforms. He propounded Vedantic monotheism, abolition of caste and communal division and pleaded for a society guided by rationalism.  Closely after him Ramakrishna Paramahamsa preached the gospel of a universal theism by confirming the equal validity of all methods of religious enquiry. The moral and social implications of Ramkrishna's teachings were forcefully brought out by his brilliant disciple Swami Vivekananda who brought home to Bengal and India the realization that the days of the  upper caste were gone for ever and that the India of the future would arise out of those very classes who were depressed. He aroused the elite enjoying caste privileges to a realisation of the immortality, of depriving a large section of the people of their human right to equality. Rabindranath Tagore propounded a universal faith which recognised no social barriers between man and man. The process was given further impetus by Mahatma Gandhi's Campaign against caste and other divisive social customs.