Aguri (caste): Difference between revisions

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.