Bagata caste is surname of many people in southern India. Bagata caste meaning is The Bagatas, Bhaktas, or Baktas are a class of Telugu fresh-water fishermen, who are said to be very expert at catching fish with a long spear. It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that on the Dasara day they worship the fishing baskets, and also (for some obscure reason) a kind of trident. The trident is probably the fishing spear. Some of the Bagatas are hill cultivators in the Agency tracts of Vizagapatam. They account for their name by the tradition that they served with great devotion (bhakti) the former rulers of Golgonda and Madugula, who made grants of land to them in mokhasa tenure. Some of them are heads of hill villages. The head of a single village is called a Padal, and it may be noted that Padala occurs as an exogamous sept of the Kapus, of which caste it has been suggested that the Bagatas are an offshoot. The overlord of a number of Padals styles himself Nayak or Raju, and a Mokhasadar has the title of Dora. It is recorded, in the Census Report, 1871, that in the low country the Bhaktas consider themselves to take the rank of soldiery, and rather disdain the occupation of ryots (cultivators). Here, however (in hill Madugulu in the Vizagapatam district), necessity has divested them of such prejudices, and they are compelled to delve for their daily bread. They generally, nevertheless, manage to get the Kapus to work for them, for they make poor farmers, and are unskilled in husbandry.[129]
It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district, that Matsya gundam (fish pool) is a curious pool on the Macheru (fish river) near the village of Matam, close under the great Yendrika hill, 5,188 feet above the sea. A barrier of rocks runs right across the river there, and the stream plunges into a great hole and vanishes beneath this, reappearing again about a hundred yards lower down. Just where it emerges from under the barrier, it forms a pool, which is crowded with mahseer of all sizes. These are wonderfully tame, the bigger ones feeding fearlessly from ones hand, and even allowing their backs to be stroked. They are protected by the Madgole zamindarswho on several grounds venerate all fishand by superstitious fears. Once, goes the story, a Brinjari caught one and turned it into curry, whereon the king of the fish solemnly cursed him, and he and all his pack-bullocks were turned into rocks, which may be seen there till this day. At Sivaratri, a festival occurs at the little thatched shrine near by, the priest at which is a Bagata, and part of the ritual consists in feeding the sacred fish.
In 1901, certain envious Bagatas looted one of the villages of the Konda Malas or hill Paraiyans, a pushing set of traders, who are rapidly acquiring wealth and exalted notions, on the ground that they were becoming unduly arrogant. The immediate cause of the trouble was the fact that at a cockfight the Malas birds had defeated the Bagatas.
In a note on the Bagatas, Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao writes that the caste is divided into exogamous septs or intiperulu, some of which occur also among the Kapus, Telagas, and Vantaris. Girls are married either before or after puberty, and the custom, called menarikam, which renders it a mans duty to marry his maternal [130]uncles daughter, is the general rule. An Oriya or Telugu Brahman officiates at marriages, and the bride is presented with jewelry as a substitute for the bride-price (voli) in money. It is noted, in the Census Report, 1901, that, at a wedding, the bridegroom is struck by his brother-in-law, who is then presented with a pair of new cloths. The Bagatas are both Vaishnavites and Saivites, and the former get themselves branded on the arm by a Vaishnava guru, who lives in the Godavari district. The Vaishnavites burn their dead, and the Saivites bury them in the customary sitting attitude. Satanis officiate for the former, and Jangams for the latter. Both sections perform the chinna and pedda rozu (big and little day) death ceremonies. The hill Bagatas observe the Itiga Ponduga festival, which is celebrated by the hill classes in Vizagapatam.
Bagata caste is one of the many castes subcastes of India.
India has thousands of castes and subcastes, they are in existence and practice since the Vedic times. They were created to solve the problem of division of labor. Bagata caste name could indicate the type of work people belonging to the Bagata caste do or did in earlier times. Many last names in India indicate the place the person originally belongs to. All castes sub castes are primarily divided into 4 categories:
1.Brahmins – The learned or priestly class
2.Khastriyas – The warrior class or those with governing functions
3.Vaishyas – The trader, agriculturalists or cattle rearers class
4.Shudra – The class that serves other three categories
Bagata caste belongs to one of the above 4 categories. Indian caste system is the best system to solve the problem of division of labor. In earlier times there was no rigidity in caste system. Indian caste system is still the best solution for the problem of division of labor, the only change that is needed as per changed times is that rather than having a vertical hierarchical system with Brahmins on top and Shudras at bottom, it would be good to have a horizontal socialist system with Brahmins, Khastriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras all at same level.
The caste system of India is in ruins at present. It is also cause of bloody quarrels in certain parts of the rural India. People of backward castes have reservations in government jobs, this facility is widely misused in India. Many of the backward caste people have become rich and still use the facility for their benefit. Many in India believe reservation in jobs should be given on the basis of poverty rather than caste because there are many poors in upper castes as well.
Many criticize the Indian caste system because of bad material condition of lower castes but if they observe in an unbiased way they would find that there are many in upper castes with bad material conditions. The problem lies in power not in castes, power can corrupt anyone be it from upper caste or lower caste.
All cultures, all countries, all religions have caste system in one form or the other. Christians have different churches depending on the region or language or skin color of people. Muslims have a priestly class that tries to control everything. Arab Muslims before the oil boom were so much divided among tribes that if you drank water from a well of a different tribe you could be shot dead. Tribal divisions still exists among Muslims. You can also see the caste system in a different form in your corporate companies. I had seen different food and drinking facilities for people at different levels.
Bagata caste is also known as Bagata Gotra.
Caste situation is quiet different in urban India, people in urban areas especially youngsters don?t bother about castes. Inter caste, inter religious, inter lingual marriages are quiet common in urban India. Inter caste, inter religious and inter lingual marriages in rural areas attract severe criticism and many times people are expelled from community for not marrying as per religious and caste rules.