Basu

Basu (variants: Bosu, Boshu, Bose) is a common Indian surname found among Bengali Hindus. The frequently observed variant is the anglicized form "Bose."

Basus belong to Kayastha caste in Bengal. The Bengali Kayasthas evolved as a caste from a category of officials or scribes, between the 5th/6th century AD and 11th/12th century AD, its component elements being mostly Brahmins and, according to Wink, putative Kshatriyas.^[1] Basus are considered as Kulin Kayasthas, along with Ghoshes and Mitras.^[2]

Notables

• Amrita Basu, (b. 1953) American scholar
• Bani Basu, (b. 1939), Bengali Indian author, essayist, critic and poet
• Benoy Basu, (1908-1930), Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter
• Bipasha Basu, Bollywood actress and model
• Buddhadeb Bosu, (1908–1974), Bengali writer
• Debabrata Basu, (1924 - 2001) Indian statistician who proved Basu's theorem
• Jyoti Basu, (1914-2010), Founding member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
• Kaushik Basu, (b.n. 1952), Indian economist
• Kunal Basu, author of the novel Racists
• Maladhar Basu, a poet of the Hosen-shahi period in Bengal, writer of Sri Krishna Vijaya (শ্রীকৃষ্ণবিজয়, Triumph of Lord Krishna)
• Nagendranath Basu (1866-1938), encyclopedia compiler, archaeologist and historian
• Rajnarayan Basu, (1826-1899), writer and intellectual of the Bengal Renaissance
• Samaresh Basu, writer, winner of the 1980 Sahitya Akademi Award
• Samit Basu, (b. 1979), Indian author
• Shweta Basu Prasad, Indian film actress
• Siddhartha Basu, Quiz Master
• Sreyashi Jhumki Basu, (1977-2008) noted American science educator

References

1. Andre Wink (1991). Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Volume 1. Brill Academic Publishers. p. 269. ISBN 978-90-04-09509-0. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
2. Hopkins, Thomas J. (1989). "The Social and Religious Background for Transmission of Gaudiya Vaisnavism to the West". In Bromley, David G.; Shinn, Larry D. Krishna Consciousness in the West. Bucknell University Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-8387-5144-2. Retrieved 2011-10-31.