Varna Status
The exact varna status of Kayasthas has been a subject of debate. According to multiple accounts, they are a literate and educated class of Kshatriyas, and have been referred to as a twice-born caste "whose claims to Kshatriya status need not be caviled at". Other sources rank Kayasthas even higher than Kshatriyas, referring to them as "a caste between Brahmins and Khatris" and "a mixed caste" that includes Brahmins and Kshatriyas. Some Kayasthas have claimed Brahmin status, though this has been challenged by other Brahmin groups.
In Bengal, Kayasthas, alongside Brahmins, are regarded as the "highest Hindu castes" that comprise the "upper layer of Hindu society".
In Maharashtra, the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu claim Kshatriya status through descent from a Kshatriya king of the Haihaya clan.
In northern India and Pakistan, Muslim Kayasthas are descended from members of the Hindu Kayastha community that converted to Islam during the 15th-16th centuries.
During the British Raj, British courts classified Kayasthas as Shudras, based largely upon the theories of Herbert Hope Risley. However, the Kayasthas of Bengal, Bombay and the United Provinces forcefully and persistently challenged this classification, producing a flood of books, pamphlets, family histories and journals to support their position of holding Kshatriya rank.
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