Karan (caste)

The Karan or Karana is a community of scribes found in the state of Odisha in India. The post of Karana used to be a professional designation that was occupied by literate members of the lower as well as the higher castes. They also held Karanam post in some parts of Andhra Pradesh, where they speak Odia and played the similar role in Odisha as that of the Kayasthas of West Bengal and Bihar. Traditionally they were the official record-keepers in the royal courts of the Odia princely states historically (Orissa Tributary States). Today they are a politically dominant community and have reigned over the politics of Odisha for 40 years.