Aguri (caste)

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Aguri, also known as Ugra Kshatriya, is a Bengali Hindu farming community in West Bengal, mainly in Bardhaman, Birbhum, Hooghly, and Bankura. Today they are seen as a middle-caste group and are among Bengal’s more prosperous owner-peasants.

Historically, Aguris rose to prominence in the Rarh region, especially Burdwan, after the decline of Gopbhum. Accounts of their origin vary: some 19th‑century writers suggested marriages between Sadgop rulers of Gopbhum and Khatri rulers of Burdwan, but later scholars questioned this. The 1589 work by Mukundaram Chakrabarti suggests they existed before Khatris arrived. The community’s mixed origin (and a claim in the 1960s to Kshatriya status) left them with an ambivalent place in the Hindu varna system.

Traditionally Aguris were cultivators and jotedars (landowners), and they were divided into two groups, Jana and Sutto. The Jana claimed Kulins (high birth) status.

In social practice, the community in the early 20th century mostly paid a bride price at marriages, though some wealthier members began using dowry, a practice seen as more acceptable to upper castes.