Other Uses
Pandits, or locals learned in the dharmasastra, were also employed as court advisors during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Initially, British judges had very little knowledge of Hindu customs and oral traditions, and they could seek information from them on particular questions. The Supreme Court of India had a law officer styled the Pundit of the Supreme Court, who advised the English judges on points of Hindu law. The practice was abandoned by 1864, as judges had acquired some experience in dealing with Hindu law, and applied the increasing volume of case law that had developed. Further, the institution of the High Courts, two years earlier, in 1862 further diminished their official use.
Pandit or pundit was also the name used for Indian native surveyors who explored regions to the north of India for the British in the 19th century. See Pundit (explorer).
In Indonesian language and many regional languages of Indonesia, derivative form of pandit, pendeta, is used to refer priest or cleric, in Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.
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