Agrahari, Agraharee or Agarhari is an Indian Vaishya community, They are the descendants of legendary king Agrasena. [2] Predominantly, they are found in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, [3] Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Terai region of Nepal. [4]
In 1916, Robert Vane Russell, an ethnologist of the British Raj period wrote, Agrahari,found chiefly Jubbulpore district and Raigarh State. Their name connected with the cities with Agra and Agroha. [5]
William Crooke states that Agrahari claim partly a Brahmin and partly a Brāhmanical descent, and wear the sacred thread. Like that of the Agarwāla their name has been connected with the cities of Agra and Agroha. There is no doubt that they are closely connected with the Agarwālas. [6]
In Chhattisgarh, Central Provinces of British India, [7] some of few Agrahari were Malgujars/Zamindars. [8] The ruler of Raigarh awarded the title Shaw to Agraharis. The title still continues. [9]
Most of the Agraharis follow Hinduism, although some are Sikhs. The majority of Agrahari Sikhs are found in the Eastern Indian state of Bihar Jharkhand and West Bengal. Author Himadri Banerjee wrote in his book "The Other Sikhs: A View from Eastern India", that Agraharis converted to Sikhism during Mughal period by Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, 9th Guru of the Sikhs. Mughal rulers were enforcing Hindus to convert to Islam, but Agraharis refused to convert to Islam and they accepted Khalsa Panth, led by Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji for protecting their life and religion. [10] Other legend says that Agrahari Sikhs are a community of Ahom converts to Sikhism from the time of 9th Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s travel to Assam. They are also known as "Bihari Sikhs" having lived for centuries in Bihar. [11] They are running several separate Gurudwara in Bihar and West Bengal. The majority of these Sikhs are found in Sasaram, Gaya and Kolkata of Bihar and West Bengal. In Jharkhand they are found in Dumari Kalan and Kedli Chatti. Agrahari Sikhs also moved Eastwards of India, they are also found in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. Agrahari Sikhs are of the non-Punjabi background.
Agrahari often use their community name as surname. However, many people using Gupta, Bania or Baniya, Thagunna, Patwari or Vanik or Banik, Shaw and Vaishya or Vaishy or Vaish or Baishya or Baish. [12] They have a common gotra, the Kashyap. [13]
The Mandal Commission [14] designated the Agrahari's of Uttar Pradesh and other states as General, [15] but Agrahari in Bihar [16] and Jharkhand are designated as Other Backwards Class [17] in the Indian caste system of positive discrimination. [18]
Singh is a title, middle name or surname that means "lion" in various South Asian and Southeast Asian communities. Traditionally used by the Hindu Kshatriya community, it was later mandated in the late 17th century by Guru Gobind Singh for all male Sikhs as well, in part as a rejection of caste-based prejudice and to emulate Rajput naming conventions. As a surname or a middle name, it is now found throughout the world across communities and religious groups, becoming more of a generic, caste neutral, decorative name.
Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten gurus who founded the Sikh religion and was the leader of Sikhs from 1665 until his beheading in 1675. He was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru. Considered a principled and fearless warrior, he was a learned spiritual scholar and a poet whose 115 hymns are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, which is the main text of Sikhism.
Dalit, also some of them previously known as untouchables, is the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna of the caste hierarchy and were seen as forming a fifth varna, also known by the name of Panchama. Several scholars have drawn parallels between Dalits and the Burakumin of Japan, the Baekjeong of Korea, the Hukou system of China and the peasant class of the medieval European Feudal system.
Das is a common last name in South Asia, among adherents of Hinduism and Sikhism, as well as those who converted to Islam or Christianity. It is a derived from the Sanskrit word Dasa meaning servant, devotee, or votary. "Das" may be inferred to be one who has surrendered to God. The surname is often used by those in the Vaishnav community.
Lohar are considered to be a caste among Hindus and a clan among Muslims and Sikhs in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, and in Nepal. They form traditionally artisanal castes. Writers of the Raj period often used the term Lohar as a synonym for blacksmith, although there are other traditional smithing communities, such as the Ramgarhia and Sikligars, and numerous non-traditional communities, including the Kayasthas, Rajputs and Brahmins.
Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib is one of the nine historical Gurdwaras in Delhi. It was first constructed in 1783 as a small shrine by Baghel Singh to commemorate the martyrdom site of the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur and was probably expanded after Indian Rebellion of 1857 or after Partition of India. Before its construction the Mughal Kotwali was situated here. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the Mughal Kotwali was demolished by the British and the land was given to the Sikhs as the Maharaja of Patiala and other Sikh soldiers helped the British to defeat the Mughal soldiers by providing large numbers of ammunition and soldiers. Its current building was made by Rai Bahadur Narain Singh a contractor who build most of roads in Lutyens New Delhi construction under British Rule. Situated in Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi, it marks the site where the ninth Sikh Guru was beheaded on the orders of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on 11 November 1675. The Sikh regiment of the Indian army salute the Sis Ganj Gurudwara before saluting the president of India since 1979, the only instance of saluting twice in the Republic Day parade by a regiment of Indian army.
Mazhabi Sikh is a community from Northern India, especially Punjab region, who follow Sikhism. Mazhabi are part of wider category of Dalit Sikhs, who convert from the hindu Valmiki community. The word Mazhabi is derived from the Arabic term mazhab, and can be translated as the faithful. They live mainly in Indian Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana.
Indian Sikhs number approximately 21 million people and account for 1.7% of India's population as of 2011, forming the country's fourth-largest religious group. The majority of the nation's Sikhs live in the northern state of Punjab, which is the only Sikh-majority administrative division in the world.
Rangrez is an Indian caste and are mostly part of the dyeing community. Rangrez are mainly from the Hindu community and mainly found in Marwar, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, though there is also a significant population of Rangrez who are Muslims, who are Muslim Rangrez with Arab and Persian ethnicity.
The Sikhs are adherents to Sikhism, the fifth largest organized religion in the world, with around 25 million adherents. Sikh History is around 500 years and in that time the Sikhs have developed unique expressions of art and culture which are influenced by their faith and synthesize traditions from many other cultures depending on the locality of the adherents of the religion. Sikhism is the only religion that originated in the Punjab region with all other religions coming from outside Punjab. All the Sikh gurus, many saints, and many of the martyrs in Sikh history were from Punjab and from the Punjabi people. Punjabi culture and Sikhism are mistakenly considered inseparably intertwined. "Sikh" properly refers to adherents of Sikhism as a religion, strictly not an ethnic group. However, because Sikhism has seldom sought converts, most Sikhs share strong ethno-religious ties, therefore it is a common stereotype that all Sikhs share the same ethnicity. Many countries, such as the U.K., therefore misconcievingly recognize Sikh as a designated ethnicity on their censuses. The American non-profit organization United Sikhs has fought to have Sikhs included on the U.S. census as well, arguing that Sikhs "self-identify as an 'ethnic minority'" and believe "that they are more than just a religion".
Hinduism is the most followed religion in Bihar, followed by nearly 82.7% of total population as per 2011 Census. Islam is the second-most followed religion which is followed by nearly 16.8% of population. There is also a significant population of Jains and Christians in the state.
Nai, also known as Sain/Sen, or Sharma is a generic term for occupational castes of barbers. The name is said to be derived from the Sanskrit word nāpita (नापित). In modern times Nai in northern India refer to themselves as "Sain" instead of Nai.
The Ahir is a Hindu caste of Northern India.The Ahir clans are spread almost all over country.
Agrahari Sikh is a Sikh community found in Eastern India that includes the States of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.
Chauhan is a surname of various Indian communities including the Lonia and Ror caste found in the Indian state Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Gurdwara Guru Singh Sabha, Kedli Kalan, is one of the oldest gurdwara of Eastern India.
Rajwar or Rajuar is a shifting cultivation community. The people of this community mainly live in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. In Odisha, they are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe, while in Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, they are classified as Scheduled Caste. In other states, the community is considered part of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) or general population.
Jaiswal or Jayswal or Jayaswal is a surname used by many Hindu communities. Jaiswals are mainly traders and deal in various commodities. In past, some of them excelled in the art of liquor making.
Yadavs in Bihar refers to the people of Yadav community of the Indian state of Bihar. They are also known as Ahir, Gope, Rai etc. The Yadavs form nearly 14.26 % of the state's population and are included in the Other Backward Class category in the Bihar state of India. Ahirs are among the land owning caste in the plains of Bihar.
Kushwaha is a surname used by people of Koeri caste in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The Kushwahas are also known as Maurya, Shakya, Saini in various parts of north India. As per one opinion, the Kushwaha surname is also common among members of Kachhi caste, who later merged with the Koeris to become a single homogeneous community. They are a dominant OBC community in the state of Bihar.