Bagdi
Regions with significant populations
West Bengal3,058,265[1]
Languages
Bengali
Religion
Hinduism

The Bagdis are indigenous people, descended from people with Dravidian links, found in the Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh, who were associated with professions like cultivation and fishing.[2][3] They are related to the Duley caste.[4] The Bagdis are populous in Bankura, Birbhum and other districts in the western fringe of West Bengal. The Bagdi along with the Duley represent the most numerous Scheduled castes of West Bengal.[5][6][7] Bagdis claim themselves as 'Barga Kshatriya'.[8][9]

History

J.N Bhattacharya described the Bagdis as an aboriginal tribe, who were fishermen, woodcutters, and litter carriers. The Bagdis were also known as the criminal tribe of Bengal under Criminal Tribes Act of the British.[3]

Population and Literacy Data

The Bagdis numbered 2,740,385 in West Bengal in the 2001 Indian census and were 14.9 percent of the Scheduled caste population of West Bengal. 47.7 percent of the Bagdis were literate – 60.4 percent males and 34.8 percent females were literate.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "A-10 Appendix: District wise scheduled caste population (Appendix), West Bengal - 2011". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI).
  2. ^ Rahman, S M Mahfuzur (2012). "Bagdi". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  3. ^ a b Roy, Milan. "SITUATING SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF BAGDI CASTE IN BENGAL." CASTE, GENDER AND MEDIA: SIGNIFICANT SOCIOLOGICAL TRENDS IN INDIA: 102.
  4. ^ B S Baviskar; George Mathew (2009). Inclusion and Exclusion in Local Governance: Field Studies from Rural India. SAGE Publications India. p. 117. ISBN 978-8-13210-089-8.
  5. ^ "Scheduled castes in West Bengal".
  6. ^ Nielsen, Kenneth Bo (22 February 2018). Land Dispossession and Everyday Politics in Rural Eastern India. Anthem Press. ISBN 978-1-78308-748-8.
  7. ^ Mondal, Amrita (6 April 2021). Owning Land, Being Women: Inheritance and Subjecthood in India. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-069049-1.
  8. ^ Dasgupta, Satadal (1993). Caste, Kinship, and Community: Social System of a Bengal Caste. Orient Blackswan. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-86311-279-9.
  9. ^ Banerjee, Milinda (19 April 2018). 'The Mortal God': Imagining the Sovereign in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-16656-1.
  10. ^ "West Bengal, Census of India 2001, Data Highlights – The Scheduled Castes" (PDF). Office of the Registrar General, India. Retrieved 28 June 2009.


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