The Bajgi are a Hindu caste found in the states of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

and

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

in India. They have been granted Scheduled Caste status in both these states. The Bajgi are also known as Auji, Das, Jhumarya and Dholi.People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part Three edited by A Hasan & J C Das pages 1334 to 1338 Manohar Publications The community get their name from the

Garhwali Garhwali may refer to: * Garhwali people, an ethno-linguistic group who live in northern India * Garhwali language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by Garhwali people * anything from or related to: **Garhwal division, a region in state of Uttarakhan ...

word ''bajana'' which means to play an instrument. They are said to have acquired this name on account of their traditional occupation which was to act as drummers in the courts of the temples of different village deities. The Bajgi are also called to play on special occasions such as marriages. They are found throughout Garhwal, and speak Garhwali. The Bajgi are a sub-group with the Shilpkar ethnic group of Uttarakhand. A few are also found in the adjoining districts of Uttar Pradesh such as Bijnor. The Bajgi are still mainly employed as village musicians, with tailoring and barbering as their main subsidiary occupation. A few are employed as landless agricultural labourers. The Bajgi are Hindu, but incorporate folk beliefs such as belief in local deities such as Nirankar, Bhairab, Goril, Durga, Jakh and Nag. The

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

for Uttar Pradesh showed the Bajgi population as 886.

References

{{reflist Scheduled Castes of Uttarakhand Scheduled Castes of Uttar Pradesh