Aguri (caste) - Revision history

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← Older revision		Revision as of 09:10, 9 November 2025
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			{{Short description\|Bengali Hindu caste in India}}
			{{pp-extended\|small=yes}}
	{{Infobox caste		{{Infobox caste
	\| caste_name = Aguri ~~or Ugra Kshatriya~~		\| caste_name = Aguri
			\| image = Aguri Cultivator.jpg
			\| caption = Aguri cultivator, from a 1799 collection of etchings
	\| classification =		\| classification =
	\| family_names =		\| family_names =
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	\| languages = [[Bengali language\|Bengali]]		\| languages = [[Bengali language\|Bengali]]
	\| religions = [[Hinduism]]		\| religions = [[Hinduism]]
	}}		\|country=[[India]]\|state=[[West Bengal]]\|caste_name_in_local=Aguri\|native_name=Aguri}}

	'''Aguri''', also known as '''Ugra Kshatriya''', is a agricultural [[caste]] or community ~~of [[Hindu]]s~~ found in the districts of [[Bardhaman district\|Bardhaman]], [[Birbhum district\|Birbhum]], [[Hooghly district\|Hooghly]] and [[Bankura district\|Bankura]] in the state of [[West Bengal]] in India.<ref name="kundu">{{cite book \|script-title=bn:বাঙালি হিন্দু জাতি পরিচয় \|trans-title=An Introduction of Bengali Hindu Castes \|language=bn \|last=Kundu \|first=Santosh Kumar \|year=2008 \|publisher=Presidency Library \|location=Kolkata \|isbn=978-81-89466-13-8 \|pages=65–67}}</ref> Aguris are now considered as a middle-caste group and according to [[Gail Omvedt]], constitute "more prosperous owner-peasants" among the peasant communities of [[Bengal]].<ref>{{cite book \|last=Omvedt \|first=Gail \|author-link=Gail Omvedt \|title=Land, caste, and politics in Indian states \|publisher=Authors Guild Publications \|year=1982 \|lccn=lc82901477 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eW3aAAAAMAAJ~~&dq=aguri+ugra+kshatriya+caste+bengal~~&q=aguri \|page=92}}</ref><ref>{{cite book \|last=Chatterjee\|first=Partha \|title=The Present History of West Bengal: Essays in Political Criticism \|publisher=Oxford University Press \|year=1997 \|isbn=978-0-19-563945-2\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OjhuAAAAMAAJ~~&dq=aguri+ugra+kshatriya+caste+bengal~~&q=aguri \|page=78}}</ref>		'''Aguri''' ({{langx\|bn\|আগুরী}}), also known as '''Ugra Kshatriya''' ({{langx\|bn\|উগ্র ক্ষত্রিয়}}), is a [[Bengali Hindu]] agricultural [[caste]] or community found in the districts of [[Bardhaman district\|Bardhaman]], [[Birbhum district\|Birbhum]], [[Hooghly district\|Hooghly]], and [[Bankura district\|Bankura]] in the state of [[West Bengal]] in India.<ref name="kundu">{{cite book \|script-title=bn:বাঙালি হিন্দু জাতি পরিচয় \|trans-title=An Introduction of Bengali Hindu Castes \|language=bn \|last=Kundu \|first=Santosh Kumar \|year=2008 \|publisher=Presidency Library \|location=Kolkata \|isbn=978-81-89466-13-8 \|pages=65–67}}</ref> Aguris are now considered as a middle-caste group and according to [[Gail Omvedt]], constitute "more prosperous owner-peasants" among the peasant communities of [[Bengal]].<ref>{{cite book \|last=Omvedt \|first=Gail \|author-link=Gail Omvedt \|title=Land, caste, and politics in Indian states \|publisher=Authors Guild Publications \|year=1982 \|lccn=lc82901477 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eW3aAAAAMAAJ&q=aguri \|page=92\|isbn=9780836410488 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book \|last=Chatterjee\|first=Partha \|title=The Present History of West Bengal: Essays in Political Criticism \|publisher=Oxford University Press \|year=1997 \|isbn=978-0-19-563945-2\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OjhuAAAAMAAJ&q=aguri \|page=78}}</ref>

	== History ==		== History ==
	Aguris ~~are~~ a ~~cultivating and trading~~ caste~~. According to Santosh Kumar Kundu~~, ~~they were brought by~~ the ~~ruler~~ of ~~[[Bardhaman Raj\|~~Burdwan~~]] from Agra to West Bengal to fight against the British colonists~~.<ref name="kundu"/> [[William Benjamin Oldham]], a British civil servant and [[ethnography\|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]]. McLane says that the Aguri were present "almost certainly" before the arrival of the Khatris in Burdwan.<ref name="mclane">{{cite book \|title=Land and Local Kingship in Eighteenth-Century Bengal \|last=McLane \|first=John R. \|date=25 July 2002 \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|isbn=978-0-521-52654-8 \|page=157 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YH6ijJnUPmcC&pg=PA157}}</ref>		After the fall of Gopbhum, Aguris emerged as a dominant caste in Rarh region, especially in the district of Burdwan.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="kundu"/> William Benjamin Oldham, a British civil servant and [[ethnography\|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 [[Chandimangal\|work]] by [[Mukundaram Chakrabarti]], McLane says that the Aguri were present "almost certainly" before the arrival of the Khatris in Burdwan.<ref name="mclane">{{cite book \|title=Land and Local Kingship in Eighteenth-Century Bengal \|last=McLane \|first=John R. \|date=25 July 2002 \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|isbn=978-0-521-52654-8 \|page=157 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YH6ijJnUPmcC&pg=PA157}}</ref>

	''[[Manusmṛti\|Manu]]'', a Hindu religious text, says Ugra (meaning ''aggressive'') was born to a [[Shudra]] girl by a Kshatriya father. This mixed origin meant that the community was considered to have an ambivalent position in the [[Varna (Hinduism)\|Hindu varna system]], although by the 1960s they were [[Sanskritisation\|claiming to be ~~pure~~ Kshatriya]].<ref>{{cite book \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yqV1Ux0oGIC&pg=PA453 \|title=Society In India \|first=A. R. \|last=Desai \|edition=Reprinted \|publisher=Popular Prakashan \|year=1975 \|isbn=978-8-17154-013-6 \|page=453}}</ref>		Aguris were cultivators and [[jotedar]]s, and were divided into two classes – ''Jana'' and ''Sutto''. The ''Janas'' often demanded that they were Kulins.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book \|last=Bhaumik \|first=Sudarshana \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7SX4zgEACAAJ \|title=The Changing World of Caste and Hierarchy in Bengal: Depiction from the Mangalkavyas C. 1700-1931 \|date=2022 \|publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis \|isbn=978-1-003-14618-6 \|pages=48–49 \|language=en}}</ref>

			''[[Manusmṛti\|Manu]]'', a Hindu religious text, says Ugra (meaning ''aggressive'') was born to a [[Shudra]] girl by a [[Kshatriya]] father. This mixed origin meant that the community was considered to have an ambivalent position in the [[Varna (Hinduism)\|Hindu varna system]], although by the 1960s they were [[Sanskritisation\|claiming to be Kshatriya]].<ref>{{cite book \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yqV1Ux0oGIC&pg=PA453 \|title=Society In India \|first=A. R. \|last=Desai \|edition=Reprinted \|publisher=Popular Prakashan \|year=1975 \|isbn=978-8-17154-013-6 \|page=453}}</ref>

	== Culture ==		== 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.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Women and Labour in Late Colonial India: The Bengal Jute Industry \|first=Samita \|last=Sen \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|year=1999 \|isbn=978-0-521-45363-9 \|page=85 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gN1dEJuiZ0cC&pg=PA85}}</ref>		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.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Women and Labour in Late Colonial India: The Bengal Jute Industry \|first=Samita \|last=Sen \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|year=1999 \|isbn=978-0-521-45363-9 \|page=85 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gN1dEJuiZ0cC&pg=PA85}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|last=Bandyopadhyay\|first=Sekhar\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2SVIflbyHQC&dq=aguri+caste&pg=PA157\|title=Caste, Culture and Hegemony: Social Dominance in Colonial Bengal\|date=2004-08-19\|publisher=SAGE Publications\|isbn=978-0-7619-9849-5\|language=en}}</ref>

			== Notable people ==
			*[[Hare Krishna Konar]], Indian Marxist revolutionary, peasant leader and politician<ref>{{Cite book \|last1=Liyiyu \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-VJEAAAQBAJ \|title=Alternatives in Development: Local Politics and NGOs in China and India \|last2=Dasgupta \|first2=Abhijit \|date=2021-10-22 \|publisher=Springer Nature \|isbn=978-981-16-4698-0 \|pages=156 \|language=en}}</ref>
			*[[Benoy Krishna Konar]], Indian Marxist, peasant leader, politician, brother of [[Hare Krishna Konar]]
			*[[Dasarathi Tah]], politician and journalist
			*[[Shakti Samanta]], Indian film director and producer
			*[[Ajit Kumar Panja]], politician
			*[[Ranjit Kumar Panja]], politician and brother of [[Ajit Kumar Panja]]
			*[[Nikhilananda Sar]], politician

	== References ==		== References ==

WikiDwarf: Reverted edits by 103.135.201.39 (talk) to last revision by >SunDawn

2023-04-07T05:32:02Z

Reverted edits by 103.135.201.39 (talk) to last revision by [[User:>SunDawn|>SunDawn]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:02, 7 April 2023
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	== History ==		== History ==
	Aguris are a cultivating and trading caste. According to Santosh Kumar Kundu, they were brought by the ruler of [[Bardhaman Raj\|Burdwan]] from Agra to West Bengal to fight against the British colonists.<ref name="kundu"/> [[William Benjamin Oldham]], a British civil servant and [[ethnography\|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.~~The Ugra-Kshatriya caste own~~ a ~~relatively greater share of~~ the ~~agricultural land of~~ the ~~village. They claim to be~~ of the ~~Khsatriya caste of Bengal~~. ~~They are divided into two sub-castes, namely `jana-aguri'~~ and ~~`suta-aguri'~~ in ~~the village, and also into nine lineages which are distinguished by their titles: Datta, Samant, Malla, Sani, Ray, Bara~~-~~Ray, Josh,Chota~~-~~Samant, and Chaudhuri. The lineage of Datta and Samant belong to the sub~~-~~caste of jana~~-~~aguri, and the others are suta~~-~~aguri~~. ~~Each branch sends~~ a ~~representative~~ to ~~participate in~~ the ~~temple ritual, and occupies~~ an ~~important role~~ in the ~~annual village ritual.Thus~~, the ~~Ugra-~~Kshatriya ~~can be considered the dominant caste of the village with respect to population, landholdings, and ritual status~~.		Aguris are a cultivating and trading caste. According to Santosh Kumar Kundu, they were brought by the ruler of [[Bardhaman Raj\|Burdwan]] from Agra to West Bengal to fight against the British colonists.<ref name="kundu"/> [[William Benjamin Oldham]], a British civil servant and [[ethnography\|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]]. McLane says that the Aguri were present "almost certainly" before the arrival of the Khatris in Burdwan.<ref name="mclane">{{cite book \|title=Land and Local Kingship in Eighteenth-Century Bengal \|last=McLane \|first=John R. \|date=25 July 2002 \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|isbn=978-0-521-52654-8 \|page=157 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YH6ijJnUPmcC&pg=PA157}}</ref>

			''[[Manusmṛti\|Manu]]'', a Hindu religious text, says Ugra (meaning ''aggressive'') was born to a [[Shudra]] girl by a Kshatriya father. This mixed origin meant that the community was considered to have an ambivalent position in the [[Varna (Hinduism)\|Hindu varna system]], although by the 1960s they were [[Sanskritisation\|claiming to be pure Kshatriya]].<ref>{{cite book \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yqV1Ux0oGIC&pg=PA453 \|title=Society In India \|first=A. R. \|last=Desai \|edition=Reprinted \|publisher=Popular Prakashan \|year=1975 \|isbn=978-8-17154-013-6 \|page=453}}</ref>

	== Culture ==		== Culture ==

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History

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	== History ==		== History ==
	Aguris are a cultivating and trading caste. According to Santosh Kumar Kundu, they were brought by the ruler of [[Bardhaman Raj\|Burdwan]] from Agra to West Bengal to fight against the British colonists.<ref name="kundu"/> [[William Benjamin Oldham]], a British civil servant and [[ethnography\|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.The Ugra-Kshatriya caste own a relatively greater share of the agricultural land of the village. They claim to be of the Khsatriya caste of Bengal. They are divided into two sub-castes, namely `jana-aguri'and `suta.aguri' in the village, and also into nine lineages which are distinguished by their titles: Datta, Samant, Malla, Sani, Ray, Bara-Ray, Josh,Chota-Samant, and ~~Caudhuri~~. The lineage of Datta and Samant belong to the sub-caste of jana-aguri, and the others are suta-aguri. Each branch sends a representative to participate in the temple ritual, and occupies an important role in the annual village ritual. Thus, the Ugra-Kshatriya can be considered the dominant caste of the village with respect to population, landholdings, and ritual status.		Aguris are a cultivating and trading caste. According to Santosh Kumar Kundu, they were brought by the ruler of [[Bardhaman Raj\|Burdwan]] from Agra to West Bengal to fight against the British colonists.<ref name="kundu"/> [[William Benjamin Oldham]], a British civil servant and [[ethnography\|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.The Ugra-Kshatriya caste own a relatively greater share of the agricultural land of the village. They claim to be of the Khsatriya caste of Bengal. They are divided into two sub-castes, namely `jana-aguri' and `suta-aguri' in the village, and also into nine lineages which are distinguished by their titles: Datta, Samant, Malla, Sani, Ray, Bara-Ray, Josh,Chota-Samant, and Chaudhuri. The lineage of Datta and Samant belong to the sub-caste of jana-aguri, and the others are suta-aguri. Each branch sends a representative to participate in the temple ritual, and occupies an important role in the annual village ritual.Thus, the Ugra-Kshatriya can be considered the dominant caste of the village with respect to population, landholdings, and ritual status.

	== Culture ==		== Culture ==

103.135.201.39: /* History */

2023-04-06T19:00:33Z

History

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:30, 7 April 2023
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	== History ==		== History ==
	Aguris are a cultivating and trading caste. According to Santosh Kumar Kundu, they were brought by the ruler of [[Bardhaman Raj\|Burdwan]] from Agra to West Bengal to fight against the British colonists.<ref name="kundu"/> [[William Benjamin Oldham]], a British civil servant and [[ethnography\|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]]. McLane says that~~ the ~~Aguri were present "almost certainly" before~~ the ~~arrival~~ of the ~~Khatris in Burdwan~~.~~<ref name="mclane">{{cite book \|title=Land~~ and ~~Local Kingship~~ in ~~Eighteenth~~-~~Century Bengal \|last=McLane \|first=John R~~. ~~\|date=25 July 2002 \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|isbn=978~~-0-~~521~~-~~52654-8 \|page=157 \|url=https://books~~.~~google.com/books?id=YH6ijJnUPmcC&pg=PA157}}</ref>~~		Aguris are a cultivating and trading caste. According to Santosh Kumar Kundu, they were brought by the ruler of [[Bardhaman Raj\|Burdwan]] from Agra to West Bengal to fight against the British colonists.<ref name="kundu"/> [[William Benjamin Oldham]], a British civil servant and [[ethnography\|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.The Ugra-Kshatriya caste own a relatively greater share of the agricultural land of the village. They claim to be of the Khsatriya caste of Bengal. They are divided into two sub-castes, namely `jana-aguri'and `suta.aguri' in the village, and also into nine lineages which are distinguished by their titles: Datta, Samant, Malla, Sani, Ray, Bara-Ray, Josh,Chota-Samant, and Caudhuri. The lineage of Datta and Samant belong to the sub-caste of jana-aguri, and the others are suta-aguri. Each branch sends a representative to participate in the temple ritual, and occupies an important role in the annual village ritual. Thus, the Ugra-Kshatriya can be considered the dominant caste of the village with respect to population, landholdings, and ritual status.

	~~''[[Manusmṛti\|Manu]]'',~~ a ~~Hindu religious text, says Ugra (meaning ''aggressive'') was born~~ to ~~a [[Shudra]] girl by a Kshatriya father. This mixed origin meant that~~ the ~~community was considered to have~~ an ~~ambivalent position~~ in the ~~[[Varna (Hinduism)\|Hindu varna system]]~~, ~~although by~~ the ~~1960s they were [[Sanskritisation\|claiming~~ to ~~be pure Kshatriya]].<ref>{{cite book \|url=https://books~~.~~google.com/books?id=0yqV1Ux0oGIC&pg=PA453 \|title=Society In India \|first=A. R. \|last=Desai \|edition=Reprinted \|publisher=Popular Prakashan \|year=1975 \|isbn=978-8-17154-013-6 \|page=453}}</ref>~~

	== Culture ==		== Culture ==

>SunDawn: Reverted good faith edits by 2402:3A80:1A48:AB1B:E527:2D98:4FEC:BE61 (talk): could you provide source? Thanks (HG) (3.4.10)

2021-06-19T14:41:00Z

Reverted good faith edits by 2402:3A80:1A48:AB1B:E527:2D98:4FEC:BE61 (talk): could you provide source? Thanks (HG) (3.4.10)

← Older revision	Revision as of 20:11, 19 June 2021
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{{Infobox caste
| caste_name = Aguri or Ugra Kshatriya
| classification =
| family_names =
| population =
| populated_states = [[West Bengal]]
| languages = [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| religions = [[Hinduism]]
}}

'''Aguri''', also known as '''Ugra Kshatriya''', is a agricultural [[caste]] or community of [[Hindu]]s found in the districts of [[Bardhaman district|Bardhaman]], [[Birbhum district|Birbhum]], [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]] and [[Bankura district|Bankura]] in the state of [[West Bengal]] in India.<ref name="kundu">{{cite book |script-title=bn:বাঙালি হিন্দু জাতি পরিচয় |trans-title=An Introduction of Bengali Hindu Castes |language=bn |last=Kundu |first=Santosh Kumar |year=2008 |publisher=Presidency Library |location=Kolkata |isbn=978-81-89466-13-8 |pages=65–67}}</ref> Aguris are now considered as a middle-caste group and according to [[Gail Omvedt]], constitute "more prosperous owner-peasants" among the peasant communities of [[Bengal]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Omvedt |first=Gail |author-link=Gail Omvedt |title=Land, caste, and politics in Indian states |publisher=Authors Guild Publications |year=1982 |lccn=lc82901477 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eW3aAAAAMAAJ&dq=aguri+ugra+kshatriya+caste+bengal&q=aguri |page=92}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Chatterjee|first=Partha |title=The Present History of West Bengal: Essays in Political Criticism |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-19-563945-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OjhuAAAAMAAJ&dq=aguri+ugra+kshatriya+caste+bengal&q=aguri |page=78}}</ref>

== History ==
Aguris are a cultivating and trading caste. According to Santosh Kumar Kundu, they were brought by the ruler of [[Bardhaman Raj|Burdwan]] from Agra to West Bengal to fight against the British colonists.<ref name="kundu"/> [[William Benjamin Oldham]], a British civil servant and [[ethnography|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]]. McLane says that the Aguri were present "almost certainly" before the arrival of the Khatris in Burdwan.<ref name="mclane">{{cite book |title=Land and Local Kingship in Eighteenth-Century Bengal |last=McLane |first=John R. |date=25 July 2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-52654-8 |page=157 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YH6ijJnUPmcC&pg=PA157}}</ref>

''[[Manusmṛti|Manu]]'', a Hindu religious text, says Ugra (meaning ''aggressive'') was born to a [[Shudra]] girl by a Kshatriya father. This mixed origin meant that the community was considered to have an ambivalent position in the [[Varna (Hinduism)|Hindu varna system]], although by the 1960s they were [[Sanskritisation|claiming to be pure Kshatriya]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yqV1Ux0oGIC&pg=PA453 |title=Society In India |first=A. R. |last=Desai |edition=Reprinted |publisher=Popular Prakashan |year=1975 |isbn=978-8-17154-013-6 |page=453}}</ref>

== 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.<ref>{{cite book |title=Women and Labour in Late Colonial India: The Bengal Jute Industry |first=Samita |last=Sen |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-521-45363-9 |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gN1dEJuiZ0cC&pg=PA85}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Bengali Hindu people}}

[[Category:Bengali Hindu castes]]
[[Category:Social groups of West Bengal]]