Desai Explained

Desai (pronounced as /d̪eːsaːi/) is an Indian administrative, princely or honorary title and surname.^[1] ^[2]

Etymology

The word is derived from the Sanskrit deśa (country) and svāmī (lord).^[3]

Desai as a title

Desai was a title given to feudal lords, and others who were granted a village or group of villages in Maharashtra, and North Karnataka. The title Desai should not be associated with a particular religion or caste, though a Desai would use the title of Rao or Rai or Raje as a suffix to his name denoting he is a king of those villages, The "Desai" title was given by Maratha emperors, Mughal emperors and by the Deccan sultanates.^[4]

In Maharashtra, the title Desai is conferred to feudal lords and village council members. Most of them are either Gaud Saraswat Brahmins,^[5] Deshastha Brahmins,^[6] Karhade Brahmins, Prabhus (CKP- Davane Prabhus and Pathare Prabhus), Lingayats and Marathas.^[7] ^[8]
Desais were the rulers of Kudal (Sindhudurg) in Maharashtra.^[9] ^[10] ^[11]
Desai, or a loftier compound, was a rare title for rulers of a few princely states, notably - Raja Sar Desai in the Maratha Savantvadi State from 1627 until the adoption of "Raja Bahadur" in 1763.
Desai Shri in Patdi (the former Viramgam State), in Eastern Kathiawar, where Desai was also the name of the ruling family, which belongs to the Desai clan of Kadwa Patidar.
In Gujarat, Desai is honoured to Anavil Brahmin, Khedaval Brahimins, Vaishnav Vanik and Rabari and Patidars caste people. The title was also given to feudal lords and revenue collectors^[12]

Desai as a surname

Desai as a surname is used by Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, Deshastha Brahmin,^[13] Karhade Brahmin,^[14] Marathas, Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu, Pathare Prabhu, Panchkalshi, Anavil Brahmin, Khedaval Brahmin, ^[15] Rabari,^[16] Leva Patel,^[17] Patidar,^[18] and Lingayat communities of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka.^[19]

Individual people

Notable individuals with the surname Desai include:

Public officers

Gopaldas Ambaidas Desai – politician; former Prince of Dhasa
Babubhai Desai - Ex MLA of kankrej
Kantilal Thakoredas Desai – second Chief Justice of Gujarat
Kevit Desai - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education state department for Vocational and Technical Training, Kenya
Krishna Desai – CPI politician
Morarji Desai – Prime Minister of India (1977–79)
Mahadev Desai – Secretary to Mahatma Gandhi
S. T. Desai – first Chief Justice of Gujarat
Haridas Viharidas Desai - Diwan of Junagadh state (1883–95)
Bhimsen Venkatrao Desai - Politician; Member of the 7th and 8th Lok Sabha representing the Raichur constituency of Karnataka^[20] ^[21]
Shamburaj Shivajirao Desai- State Minister Of Home Affairs, Maharashtra, Currently Serving His 4th Term As MLA in Maharashtra Assembly
Prakash K. Desai – Air Marshal of Indian Air Force

Arts, sciences and business

Anita Desai – Author; mother of author Kiran Desai
Bhairavi Desai – American labor union leader
Bindu Desai – Actress
C. D. Desai – Banker and philatelist
Ebrahim Desai – Islamic scholar
Kiran Desai – Author; 2006 Man Booker Prize winner
Kishwar Desai – Author
Manmohan Desai – Director
Mavjibhai Desai – Vice Chairman of Banas Dairy
Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai – economist
Mihir A. Desai - American economist and professor at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School
Nitin Chandrakant Desai – Art director
Padma Desai – American economist and professor at Columbia University
Ramanlal Desai - Gujarati writer
Ranjit Desai – Marathi writer
Salil Desai – Author
Sapan Desai – American physician; publisher and discredited researcher
Umedram Lalbhai Desai – Physician
Jhinabhai Desai – Gujarati poet and author better known by his pen name Snehrashmi, educator, political leader and Indian independence activist
Usha Desai - Medical doctor and environmentalist
Prasannavadan Bhagwanji Desai – Demographer, economist and Indian independence activist
K. B. Desai – Medical doctor, Indian independence activist and political leader
Roopali Desai – American federal judge

Culture & Sports

Anoop Desai – American singer
Gunwant Desai – Indian cricketer
K. R. Desai - Cricketer; philanthropist; educator
Prachi Desai – Actress
Ramakant Desai – Cricketer; India's first fast bowler
Rashami Desai – Actress
Ravish Desai – Actor
Renu Desai – Actress
Satyaki "Sattu" Desai – Environmental officer
Sean Desai - American football coach; Defensive Coordinator for the Chicago Bears
Subhash Desai – Shiv Sena leader
Tina Desai – Actress
Rajdeep Sardesai - News Anchor

Notes and References

https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/search3advanced?dbname=hobson&query=Desai&matchtype=exact&display=utf8 Also, "Mahr. deśāī; in W. and S. India a native official in charge of a district, often held hereditarily; a petty chief." Henry Yule, Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, pp. 292, 306.
Web site: How well do you know about the origins of some Indian Occupational Surnames?. 22 February 2020. 23 February 2022. TheBizdom.
Web site: Desai Name Meaning & Desai Family History at Ancestry.com® . 2024-04-07 . www.ancestry.com.
Book: Raj Kumar . 2003 . Essays on Modern India . Discovery Publishing House . 73. 9788171416905 .
Book: Saraswats in Goa and Beyond . 1998 . Murgaon Mutt Sankul Samiti . 130 .
Book: Syed Siraj ul Hassan. The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1. Asian Educational Services. 1989. 111. 9788120604889.
Book: The Chitpavans: Social Ascendancy of a Creative Minority in Maharashtra, 1818-1918. 28. Sandhya Gokhale. Shubhi Publications. 2008. 9788182901322. Hereditary rights of Karhades were those of Desai, district officer, or Deshmukh, and Sardesai, senior district officer..
Book: V. D. Divekar. South India in 1857 War of Independence. Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Trust. 1993. 148.
Web site: SAWANTS OF WADI Coastal Politics in 18th and 19th Centuries . 1984 . S. K. Mhamai.
Web site: Anthropological Society of Bombay . 1909 . Anthropological Society of Bombay.
Web site: Numismatic Digest . 1997 . Numismatic Digest.
Book: Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World. Random House. 1 June 2017. Laura Spinney. June 2017. 9781473523920.
Book: People of India: Maharashtra, Part 1. 478. Popular Prakashan. 2004. Kumar Suresh Singh. 9788179911006.
Book: The Scheduled Castes, Volume 21. 111. Oxford University Press. 1995. 9780195637427. The Karhade Brahman have their own clan deities like Khalnath, Jogeshwari, Bhavani. They celebrate various festivals like Diwali, Holi, Gudipadva, Ganesh Chaturthi, etc. They have surnames like Desai, Dhupkar, Prabhudesai, Bakhle....
Book: Indian immigrants in Britain. Oxford University Press. 13 June 2008. 11. Rashmi H. Desai. 1963.
Book: Lush Fields and Parched Throats: The Political Economy of Groundwater in Gujarat. 33. Bela Bhatia. UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU/WIDER). 1992. Individuals with the Desai surname (used both by some Patels as well) have been included in this group for want of information on their precise caste affiliation..
Book: Lush Fields and Parched Throats: The Political Economy of Groundwater in Gujarat. 33. Bela Bhatia. UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU/WIDER). 1992. Individuals with the Desai surname (used both by some Patels) have been included in this group for want of information on their precise caste affiliation..
Book: Racial Bargaining in Independent Kenya: A Study of Minorities and Decolonization. 45. Donald S. Rothchild. Institute of Race Relations London. 1973. The Patidars, distinguished by such caste surnames as Patel, Amin, and Desai, were originally landholders in Gujarat..
Book: Studies in Indian place names, Volume 4. Geetha Book House. 1984. 125. These surnames are reminiscent of the Maratha rule over Karnataka. Thus we have surnames like Desai, Deshmukh, Deshpande, Inamdar, Jagirdar, Kulkarni, Patil, etc. These families held different posts under the Maratha administration..
Web site: Members Bioprofile.
[List of members of the 7th Lok Sabha#Karnataka]