rulers in India encouraged Tobacco production from the mid 1600s because chewing, smoking and sniffing Tobacco gathered momentum in India. The Dutch extended cultivation in Kerala. Some towns in Kerala received support from the King of Cochin for tobacco cultivation. Here, the Saraswat Brahmin merchants such as Nayak, Kamat, etc. took up tobacco farming in the latter half of the seventeenth century and this resulted in major income for the King of Cochin. According to some socialists due to the pescatarian diet of saraswats the claim of satkarmi brahminhood of saraswats was contested by local Brahmins but majority of saraswat Brahmins were Vegetarians, this was discussed during the coronation of shivaji where Gagabhatt gave verdict in favour of saraswat Brahmins,further during British era this matter reached court which resulted in court declaring saraswat Brahmins as Satkarmi Brahmins Sociologist and researcher Ramesh Bairy writes that "Saraswat claim to Brahminhood is still strongly under dispute, particularly in the coastal districts of Karnataka". According to the sociologist, Gopa Sabharwal (2006), in Belgaum, Karnataka, "marriages between Saraswat and non-Saraswat Brahmins are on the increase though they were unheard of before, mainly because the Saraswats eat fish and occasionally meat, while all other Brahmins are vegetarians". According to sociologist Ramesh Bairy, even in 2010, in Karnataka, "at the level of the community as a whole, Brahmins may not be incensed at the Saraswat claim to Brahminhood. But a non-Saraswat Brahmin will not be keen on proposing marriage with a Saraswat family". Marriages The Saraswat Brahmins are divided into various territorial endogamous groups, who did not intermarry. Diet Kashmir valley Kashmiri Pandits eat mutton and fish, but obey restrictions laid down by the shastras of not eating the meat of forbidden animals. Professor Frederick J. Simoons says according to some reports, Saraswat Brahmins from northern India also consume fish as part of their diet. Maharashtra and Goa In Goa and Konkan region, Saraswat Brahmins have both vegetarians and pescetarians among them, while in Maharashtra they are pescetarians. Gujarat In Gujarat, Saraswat Brahmins are pure vegetarians and do not even consume masur dal and garlic. They chiefly live on Bajri (millet), wheat roti (unleavened bread) with rice during lunch,and Khichdi (a mixture of rice and pulse) in the Dinner. Punjab and Jammu In Punjab and Jammu region, Saraswat Brahmins have been traditionally strict vegetarian. Southern India In Karnataka, Saraswat Brahmins are mainly concentrated in the coastal Kanara