also believed that in this kingdom the rule is mild, the people are honest and the rulers are like the parents of the people, (S. C. Goswami: J. A. R. S. Vol. 1 No. 3)
10.
Khen-Kolita
"There is another tradition to the effect that the Khens are a branch of the Kolitas of Assam. For all that is known, this is a most probable explanation of the origin of this caste. Col. Dalton describes them as a good looking race with "oval faces, well-shaped heads, high noses, well developed eye-lids and eye-lashes and the light supple frame of the pure Hindu."
"They are of the ordinary Brahmanical type with slight modifications such as might easily arise from maladroit borrowing... ......As to their religion, the Khens are orthodox Hindus. Most of them belong to the Sakta sect but Vaishnavas are also found among them......... Their social rank is respectable......... All the Khens are cultivators and traders as well". (Risley; Tribes and Castes of Bengal.)
"Besides the undefined class of Vaishnavas, commonly known os Bairagis, there is a priesthood, the members of which are called Adhikaris. These Adhikaris seem to be representatives of the Kolitas of Assam (and though themselves Rajavansis, have their disciples among that class). They officiate at the offering of naibidya consisting atap rice, plantain and milk to the gods and ancestors. The Brahmans-
