The Jain Bunt are a Jain community of erstwhile nobility

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 and gentry

Gentry

Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....

 from the region of Tulu Nadu

Tulu Nadu

Tulu Nadu is a Tulu-speaking region spread over to parts of present Karnataka and Kerala States of India. It consists of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka and the northern parts of the Kasaragod district of Kerala up to the Payaswini River...

 in the southwest of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 which comprises the districts of Udupi

Udupi district

Udupi district , ಉಡುಪಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ) in the Karnataka state of India was created in August 1997. The three northern taluks, Udupi, Kundapur and Karkal, were separated from Dakshina Kannada District to form Udupi district. Udupi district is surrounded by Uttara Kannada district in north, Dakshina Kannada...

 and Dakshina Kannada

Dakshina Kannada

- Geography :The district geography consists of sea shore in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The major rivers are Netravathi, Kumaradhara, Phalguni, Shambhavi, Nandini or Pavanje and Payaswini which all join Arabian sea. Vast areas of evergreen forests which once covered this district, have...

 in the Indian state of Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

 and the Kasaragod taluk

Kasaragod taluk

Kasaragod, is a taluk which along with Hosdurg taluk constitute the Kasaragod district, Kerala, India.- External links :* *...

 of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. The Jain Bunts are traditionally defined as a distinctive subdivision of the Bunt community. They are a classified forward caste, and according to the Indian census of 2001, though not specifically mentioning the Jain Bunts, it was found that people who follow Jainism in India have the highest literacy rate, 94.1% compared with the national average of 65.38%.