Pirali Brahmin

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A Pirali Brahmin is any member of a subgrouping of Brahmins found throughout Bengal, which is split between India and Bangladesh. Notably, Rabindranath Tagore and the Tagore family are members of this group. The term "Pirali" historically carried a stigmatized and pejorative connotation; its eponym is the vizier Mohammad Tahir Pir Ali, who served under a governor of Jessore. Pir Ali was a Brahmin Hindu who converted to Islam; his actions resulted in the additional conversion of two Brahmins brothers. As a result, orthodox Hindu society shunned the brothers' Hindu relatives (who had not converted), and their descendants became the Pirali — among whom numbered the Tagores.[1] This unorthodox background ultimately led Tagore to dispense with many of the customs followed by orthodox Brahmins.

[edit] See also

[edit] Citations

  1. ^ (Dutta & Robinson 1995, pp. 17-18).

[edit] References

  • Dutta, K & A Robinson (1995), Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-14030-4.