Aguri (caste)
Aguri or Ugra Kshatriya | |
---|---|
Religions | Hinduism |
Languages | Bengali |
Populated states | West Bengal |
Aguri (
History
After the fall of Gopbhum, Aguris emerged as a dominant caste in Rarh region, especially in the district of Burdwan.[4] [1] William Benjamin Oldham, a British civil servant and ethnographer who wrote Some Historical and Ethnical Aspects of Burdwan District (1891), said that they originated from marriage alliances between the Sadgop rulers of Gopbhum and the Khatri rulers of Burdwan. He based this on the Aguri's own account but McLane believes that Oldham was misled by the Aguri. Citing a 1589 work by Mukundaram Chakrabarti , McLane says that the Aguri were present "almost certainly" before the arrival of the Khatris in Burdwan.[5]
Aguris were cultivators and jotedars, and were divided into two classes – Jana and Sutto. The Janas often demanded that they were Kulins.[4]
Culture
Around the beginning of the 20th century, the Aguri were among the agricultural communities that still predominantly adhered to the custom of paying a bride price at the time of marriage, although some more prosperous members among them were already adopting the increasingly common alternative of paying a dowry. This minority believed that bride price was deprecated by higher castes.[7][8]
Notable people
- Hare Krishna Konar, Indian Marxist revolutionary, peasant leader and politician[9]
- Benoy Krishna Konar, Marxist, peasant leader, politician, brother of Hare Krishna Konar
- Banamali Hazra, politician
- Raj Krishna Dawn, politician
- Dasarathi Tah, politician and journalist
- Niladri Sekhar Dana, politician
- Shakti Samanta, Indian film director and producer
- Ashim Samanta, Indian film director and producer, son of Shakti Samanta
- Ajit Kumar Panja, politician
- Ranjit Kumar Panja, politician and brother of Ajit Kumar Panja
- Nikhilananda Sar, politician
References
- ^ ISBN 978-81-89466-13-8.
- LCCN lc82901477.
- ISBN 978-0-19-563945-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-003-14618-6.
- ISBN 978-0-521-52654-8.
- ISBN 978-8-17154-013-6.
- ISBN 978-0-521-45363-9.
- ISBN 978-0-7619-9849-5.
- ISBN 978-981-16-4698-0.