55* Note on a Caste of Fish-dealers in Bengal not 



recognized in the Census of 1901* 



By B. L. Chaudhuri. 



In December of 1906, when touring in places remote 

 from railway communication, I found that in the eastern 

 parts of the Jessore District the custom of salting or rather 

 pickling His (hilsa) in brine, was very much resorted to 

 owing mainly to the want of adequate local demand for the fish 

 in a fresh condition. In going into the details of different 

 processes of salting, I came to learn the following rather 

 curious fact. All along the banks of the river Madhumati, it 

 appears that Malas and Tiars (the so-called Rajbansi Tiars) 

 who are the actual catchers of His (hilsa), and immediate 

 holders of the Fisheries, do not salt or pickle fish, and are pre- 

 cluded by caste rules from pickling of fish as a profession. It 

 appeared also that there was a quite distinct caste of Antyaja 

 Hindus, who carried on the pickling and the selling of pickled 

 fish. These people are designated Karals and in their manners, 

 habits, and religious observances are totally different from the 

 fishermen, i.e., the Malas and Tiars. Karals have separate Brah- 

 mins from Malas and Tiars, and they observe suddhis on the 

 l*2th day, whereas Malas and Tiars keep 30 days. Karals do 



not drink water touched by Tiars or Malas, nor would the 

 Malas and Tiars drink water touched by the Karals. It was 

 ascertained that, though not numerous in any one place, they 

 (the Karals) are found well scattered in the river districts of 

 the two Provinces of Bengal, wz., — Jessore, Khulna, Barisal, 

 and Faridpur. As we knew nothing about the existence of 

 such a caste before, the latest census tabulation for the district 

 of Jessore was at once scrutinized— but no mention of this in- 

 teresting people could be found. The fact was noticed in para. 

 40 (page 11) of Mr. K. G. Gupta's Preliminary Report on Bengal 

 Fishery Enquiry (dated 20th February, 1907). It has been 

 subsequently confirmed, I am glad to say, in Mr. De's ' Report 

 on the Fisheries of Eastern Bengal and Assam " (para. 65 (i), 

 page 36) of 1910. 



My excuse for bringing this matter before the Society is to 

 draw the attention of the me nbers to the fact that this may 

 not possibly be the only instance of a well established local 1 ste 

 escaping the notice altogether of our census officers and compi- 

 lers of caste lists in Bengal. It may not be altogether out of 

 place to mention here that when Sir Herbert Rislej 1 " Tribes 

 and Castes of Bengal " first came out, a good many people were 



