Pagi (title)

Pagi[1][2] (also spelled as Paghi[3] and Pugi) is a title used by the Koli caste of the Indian state of Gujarat during the rule of Mughals, Muslims, British, and princely states in British India. They specialised in the tracking of thieves by means of their footprints. Pagi was a title equal to the detective conferred on the Kolis of Talpada and Chunwalia subcastes.[4][5]

Pagi
પગી
Title of Koli caste
EthnicityKoli people
LocationGujarat
VarnaWarrior
Parent tribe
  • Talpada Koli
  • Chunvalia Koli
  • Ghedia Koli
DemonymKoli
Language
ReligionHinduism
Surnames

In some cases, Kolis of the Pagi title were treated as of lower status in comparison to those Kolis who were Kotwal, because a small number of Pagi Kolis worked as village watchmen, maintaining order and securing the village at night.[6][7] Koli Pagis stretched their role as guardsman, police officers and maintain the position in government to use their title proper as Pagi.[8]

The Koli caste is 24% of the total population of Gujarat.[9] They are classified as Other Backward Class (OBC) Kshatriya for their work as Pagi seemed to be a warrior class.[10]

Clans

The Talpada Kolis of Radhvanaj village in Gujarat, whose forefathers were Pagi, adopted the two names as their family clans are Rathod and Solanki.[11]

Principlities

The Kolis who bore the Pagi title ruled over Angadh state as shareholders with kolis of Kotwal title. Angadh was a petty princely state.[12]

See also

References
  1. Lobo, Lancy (1995). The Thakors of North Gujarat: A Caste in the Village and the Region. New Delhi, India: Hindustan Publishing Corporation. p. 163. ISBN 978-81-7075-035-2.
  2. Shah, A. M. (2012-12-06). The Structure of Indian Society: Then and Now. New Delhi, India: Routledge. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-136-19770-3.
  3. Franco, Fernando; Macwan, Jyotsna; Ramanathan, Suguna (2000). The Silken Swing: The Cultural Universe of Dalit Women. India: Sangam Books Limited. p. 21. ISBN 978-81-85604-41-1.
  4. Shah, A. M. (2002). Exploring India's Rural Past: A Gujarat Village in the Early Nineteenth Century. New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-19-565732-6.
  5. Roy, Shibani (1983). Koli Culture: A Profile of the Culture of Talpad Vistar. Delhi, India: Cosmo Publications. p. 151.
  6. Jain, Jyotindra (1980). Folk Art and Culture of Gujarat: Guide to the Collection of the Shreyas Folk Museum of Gujarat. India: Shreyas Folk Museum of Gujarat; Shreyas Prakashan. p. 133.
  7. Tambs-Lyche, Harald (1997). Power, Profit, and Poetry: Traditional Society in Kathiawar, Western India. India: Manohar Publishers & Distributors. p. 130. ISBN 978-81-7304-176-1.
  8. Silverberg, James (1962). Peasant Behavior and Its Caste-relevancy: The Kolis of Kasandra. India: University of Wisconsin. pp. 31–32, 152.
  9. Kohli, Atul (2014-07-14). India's Democracy: An Analysis of Changing State-Society Relations. New Delhi: Princeton University Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-1-4008-5951-1.
  10. Kanjamala, Augustine (1996). Integral Mission Dynamics: An Interdisciplinary Study of the Catholic Church in India. New Delhi, India: International Publications. p. 156. ISBN 978-81-85574-15-8.
  11. Uberoi, Patricia (1994). Family, Kinship and Marriage in India. India: Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-19-563508-9.
  12. Clark, Alice Whitcomb (1979). Central Gujarat in the Nineteenth Century: The Integration of an Agrarian System. Gujarat, India: University of Wisconsin--Madison.
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