Kaithi
Encyclopedia
Kaithi also called "Kayathi" or "Kayasthi", is the name of a historical script used widely in parts of North India
, primarily in the former North-Western Provinces, Oudh (present-day Uttar Pradesh
) and Bihar
. It was used for writing legal, administrative, and private records.
, a social group of North India that traditionally consists of scribes and clerks. The Kayastha community was closely associated with the princely courts and colonial governments of North India, and were employed by them to write and maintain records of revenue transactions, legal documents, and title deeds; general correspondence; and proceedings of the royal courts and related bodies. The script used by them acquired the name Kaithi.
Documents in Kaithi are traceable to at least the 16th century. The script was widely used during the Mughal
period. In the 1880s, during the British Raj
, the script was recognized as the official script of the law courts of Bihar
. Although in general, Kaithi was much more widely used than Nagari in some areas, it lost to the latter in the power struggle over officially-recognized scripts.
Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2.
The Unicode block for Kaithi is U+11080–U+110CF. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points:
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
, primarily in the former North-Western Provinces, Oudh (present-day Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
) and Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. It was used for writing legal, administrative, and private records.
Etymology
Kaithi script derives its name from the word KayasthaKayastha
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....
, a social group of North India that traditionally consists of scribes and clerks. The Kayastha community was closely associated with the princely courts and colonial governments of North India, and were employed by them to write and maintain records of revenue transactions, legal documents, and title deeds; general correspondence; and proceedings of the royal courts and related bodies. The script used by them acquired the name Kaithi.
History
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...
period. In the 1880s, during the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, the script was recognized as the official script of the law courts of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. Although in general, Kaithi was much more widely used than Nagari in some areas, it lost to the latter in the power struggle over officially-recognized scripts.
Unicode
Kaithi script was added to the UnicodeUnicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2.
The Unicode block for Kaithi is U+11080–U+110CF. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points: