Agharia

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Agharia (Caste)
Classification Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Chhattisgarh [1] Odisha [2] and Madhya Pradesh. [3]
Kuladevta (male) Dulha Deo [4]
Religions Hinduism [5]
Languages Laria, Chhattisgarhi and Odia [5]
CountryFlag of India.svg India
Populated states Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh [6]
Ethnicity Indo-Aryan [5] [7]
Family names Patel, Chaudhary and Naik [8] [9]
Lineage Chandravanshi [10]

Agharia is a Hindu caste predominantly found in the Indian states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Contents

Origin

They trace their migration from Uttar Pradesh particularly from the region of Agra. [5] [11]

They adopted cultivation as their occupation by the order of the then Gajapati kings of Orissa. [5]

Clans and sub-divisions

Agharias are said to have 84 clans. Out of the total 84 clans of Agharias, 44 clans came to Odisha. [5] 60 bear the title of Patel, 18 that of Naik, and 6 of Chaudhary. [10] [12]

They have many subdivisions as the Bad (or superior Agharia), Chotte, Sarolia or Sawaria (mixed or inferior) the latter is a mix between a Ahir women and Agharia man. Among them, the Bad Agharia used to consider them superior than others. [4]

Occupation

They are the chief cultivators in Gangpur. [6]

In Gangpur Princely State, most Gountias (intermediary tenure holders responsible for rent collection) were tribals in the early 1800s, but by the 1890s there was a great preference for non-tribal Gountias from the Agharia and other local non-tribal communities. [13]

Dialect

Laria is the dialect of the Agharia community and varies by region, with roots in the Ardha Magadhi language and they also speak fluent odia as well. [5]

Tribal and inter-caste conflicts

Inter-caste conflicts

In the British era, they were depicted as land grabbers and people of inferior character who oppressed the tenants of Chamar caste. [14]

Tribal conflicts

In the 19th century, Raja Raghunath Shekhar Deo realising that richer members of the Princely State of Gangpur are higher bidder, started displacing aboriginal Gountias by Agharias and other high caste people from Sambalpur an agitation started under the leadership of Madre Kalo a tribal leader which ended in the Raja giving up his attempt. [15]

Varna

The Agharia are non-vegetarians who take fish, meat, egg, chicken and mutton. Rice is their staple food. (as of 1997) [5] [16]

Traditions

The kuladevta of the Agharias is Dulha Deo, who exists in every household. On the Hareli day or the commencement of the agricultural year they worship the implements of cultivation, and at Vijayadashmi they worship weapons like Talwar, Parashu, Katar or Khanda if they keep them. [4] They used to worship goddess Kali, but have left it after coming to Odisha. [12]

Classification

Agharia are classified as OBC (Other Backward Class) in the states of Chhattisgarh, [1] Odisha [2] and Madhya Pradesh. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 "Central List of OBCs for the State of Chattisgarh" (PDF). ncbc.nic.in. p. 6. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Central List of OBCs for the State of Orissa" (PDF). ncbc.nic.in. p. 1. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Central List of OBCs for the State of Madhya Pradesh" (PDF). ncbc.nic.in. p. 7. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Bhagvat, Durga (1968). "Tribal Gods and Festivals in Central India" . Asian Folklore Studies. 27 (2): 27–106. doi:10.2307/1177671. JSTOR   1177671.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ramesh P. Mohanty; Durgesh Nandini Biswal (2007). Culture, Gender and Gender Discrimination: Caste Hindu and Tribal. Mittal Publications. pp. 36–38. ISBN   978-81-8324-199-1.
  6. 1 2 Waltraud, Ernst; Biswamoy, Pati, eds. (2007). India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism. Routledge. pp. 87–89. ISBN   978-1-13411-988-2.
  7. ↑ K.S. Singh, Anthropological Survey Of India, Ethnology, Ethnological Study The People Of Orrisa (pts. 2), 1992, 175(3).
  8. ↑ Nair, Manjusha (2022). "Between land and the market: farmers' mobilizations in Chhattisgarh and western Uttar Pradesh" . Globalizations. 0: 1–15. doi:10.1080/14747731.2022.2131287. ISSN   1474-7731.
  9. ↑ Singh, K. S. (1996). Communities, Segments, Synonyms, Surnames and Titles. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN   978-0-19-563357-3.
  10. 1 2 Singh, K.S. "Language Contact , Change and Obsolescence: A Case Study of Laria". ciil-ebooks.net. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  11. ↑ K.S. Singh, Anthropological Survey Of India, Ethnology, Ethnological Study The People Of Orrisa (pts. 2), 1992, 175.
  12. 1 2 "Orissa District Gazetteers: Sundargarh". Government of Odisha. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  13. ↑ S Padhi, N Panigrahi - CPRC-IIPA working paper, - Tribal movement and livelyhoods: Recent developments in Orrisa . 2011 - Citesee, Section 3, 3.1.
  14. ↑ Records, Bengal (India) Department of Land; Dewar, Francis; Department, Central Provinces (India) Settlement (1908). Report of the Land Revenue Settlement of the Sambalpur District, 1906. Bengal Secretariat Book Depot.
  15. ↑ Mahapatra, GS (2007). "Tribal Uprising in the State of Gangpur: Role of Madri Kalo as a legendary figure" (PDF). Orrisa Review.
  16. ↑ Singh, K. S. (1992). People of India: Odisha (2 pts.). Anthropological Survey of India. pp. 175 (3). ISBN   978-81-7046-293-4.
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