Baidya/ Baidhya / Vaidya / Vaidhya is a Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

, upper class caste originally a Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

caste found largely in Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

Since in Bengali people, there is absence of Kshatriya

Kshatriya

*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...

 or warrior clans, the Kayastha

Kayastha

Kayastha or Kayasth or Kayeth is a caste or community of Hindus originating in India. Kayastha means "scribe" in Sanskrit, and has traditionally denoted members of the writer caste....

 and Baidya are considered at par and fall in second category after Brahmins. These three castes held major landholding and control over education and major professions The Sen

Sen (surname)

Sen is a Bengali Hindu surname derived from the Sanskrit word for "Army", Sena .It is found predominantly in Bangladesh & West Bengal, India among Vaidya/Baidya and Kayastha/Kshatriya communities.Notable people with this surname include:...

 belong to this group, who hold surnames like Sengupta, Dasgupta

Dasgupta

Dasgupta is a common Bengali surname in West Bengal, India. Dasguptas belong to the Baidya caste - the physician community of ancient India. They were disallowed from priestly duties since they were in medical profession and better off financially unlike the brahamins...

, Gupta, Sen-Sharma, etcEven today in Bengali society there are only two varna

Varna

Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...

s : Brahmin & Shudra

Shudra

Shudra is the fourth Varna, as prescribed in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda, which constitutes society into four varnas or Chaturvarna. The other three varnas are Brahmans - priests, Kshatriya - those with governing functions, Vaishya - agriculturalists, cattle rearers and traders...

.But Baidya & Kayastha are considered at per with the Brahmin community. They as the hearsay goes , were segregated due to their occupational variation as Vaidhya

Vaidhya

Vaidya or Vaidraj or Kabiraj is a term used in India to refer to a person or Doctor practicing Ayurveda Senior practitioners or teachers were called Vaidhraj, as a mark of respect. The royal families of India, used to have their personal Vaidhya, who attended to Kings and the royal families. They...

 ( Ayurveda practitioner ) and Kayastha

Kulin Kayastha

Kulin Kayasthas are a sub-caste of the Kayastha caste in Bengal, India. They are also known as the Kulina Kayasthas.The Kayasthas are regarded in Bengal, along with the Brahmins, as being the "highest Hindu castes" that comprise the "upper layer of Hindu society"...

 ( who were largely in administrative posts & educational occupation ).

During historical times, Brahmin, Baidya and Kayastha together formed the next elite group apart from rulers, in the power structure and all the rulers of Bengal; Palas

Pala Empire

The Pāla Empire was one of the major middle kingdoms of India existed from 750–1174 CE. It was ruled by a Buddhist dynasty from Bengal in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, all the rulers bearing names ending with the suffix Pala , which means protector. The Palas were often described...

, Senas

Sena dynasty

The Sena Empire was a Hindu dynasty that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. At its peak the empire covered much of the north-eastern region in the Indian Subcontinent. They were called Brahma-Kshatriyas, as evidenced through their surname, which is derived from the Sanskrit,...

, Pathan

Pathan

Pathan may refer to a member of the:*Pashtun people; an ethnic group native to Pakistan and Afghanistan*Pathans of Punjab*Pathans of Rajasthan*Pathans of Uttar Pradesh*Pathans of Bihar*Pathans of Gujarat*Rohilla...

s and Mughals

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 had to rely on their support.Baidyas shared the knowledge of Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 with Brahmins

Baidya / Vaidya literally means a physician in Bengali

Bengali language

Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

a profession from which the Baidya caste got their name.