Bisht (surname)

{{Infobox surname

| name = Bisht or Bajetha

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| pronunciation =

| language = Kumaoni, Garhwali, Nepali

| derivation = Bishishta (Distinguished)

| meaning = Baron or landholder

| variant = Bishta, Bista, Bist , Bajetha

| cognate =

| derivative =

| seealso = bajetha (surname), Mahara, Rawat, Dhami, Airee, Negi, Rautela Panwar

| family =

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Bisht is a surname found in Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Bisht was a title given by kings to nobles, derived from the Sanskrit vishisht ("distinguished").The term "Bisht" originally referred to someone who held a land grant from the government.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} The Bisht families in Uttarakhand were chiefly Thokdars thakur{{cite book |author=Ajay S Rawat |title=Garhwal Himalayas: A Study in Historical Perspective |date=November 2002 |isbn=9788173871368 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=olP_A60L-CMC&pg=PA69|publisher=Indus Publishing Company }}(Zamindars) of Thuljat{{efn|name=Thuljat}} origin.{{cite book |author=Ramila Bisht |title=Environmental Health in Garhwal Himalaya: A Study of Pauri Garhwal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P-6-UzljIAoC&pg=PA50 |year=2002 |publisher=Indus |isbn=978-81-7387-132-0 |page=50 }} In Uttrakhand, Bishts are generally Kshatriya Thakurs. In Nepal, Bisht was adopted as a surname by Raute and Raji people.{{cite book |author=Jana Fortier |title=Kings of the Forest: The Cultural Resilience of Himalayan Hunter-Gatherers |url=https://archive.org/details/kingsofforestcul0000fort |url-access=registration |year=2009 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-3322-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/kingsofforestcul0000fort/page/187 187] }} Bishta, as Bista, was also used as a surname used by Khas people,{{Cite book | last = Adhikary | first =Surya Mani | title = The Khasa Kingdom: A trans-Himalayan empire of the middle age | publisher = Nirala Publications | year = 1997 | isbn = 8185693501 | pages = 210 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cH5uAAAAMAAJ&q=the+khas+kingdom+suryamani+adhikari}} group under the caste Chhetri.{{cite book|title=People of India: Uttar Pradesh (3 pts.)|author1=Singh, K.S.|author2=Anthropological Survey of India|date=2005|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India|isbn=9788173041143|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6QVuAAAAMAAJ|access-date=2017-06-11|quote=The Chhetri clans (thar) include Adhikari, Bania, Basnet, Bhandari, Bist, Bohra, Burathoki, Charti, Karki, Khanka, Khatri, Kanwar, Manghi, Mahat, Panwar, Rana, Rawat, Roka, Thapa, etc.}}{{cite book|title=Dynamics of a hill society: Nepalis in Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas|author=Subba, Tanka Bahadur|date=1989|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=9788173041143|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1yZuAAAAMAAJ|quote=Some of the Chhetri clans are Adhikari, Baniya, Basnet, Bist, Bohra, Bura or Burathoki, Gharti, Karki, Khadka, Khatri, Khulal, Mahat, Raut, Rana, Roka, Thapa, etc.}}