Agharia is a caste, belonging to the Sambalpur, Balangir and Sundergarh districts in Orissa state and Raigarh district, Bilaspur, Korba, Saraipali, Basna and near places in Raipur and Mahasamund district in Chhattisgarh state in India.
According to their traditions, their forefathers were from Agra (Uttar Pradesh, India). In the book, "The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India", the author mentions that the Agharias claim to be Somvansi Rajputs, a claim which Colonel Dalton (of British Empire) had said their appearance favours- "Tall, well-made, with high Aryan features and tawny complexions, they look like Rajputs, though they are more industrious and intelligent than the generality of the fighting tribe."
Populace belonging to this caste are divided into more than 84 exogamous sections, of which 60 bear the surname of Patel, 18 that of Naik, 6 that of Chaudhri and the rest that of Pandey.
Traditionally, the occupation of the Agharias has been cultivation. As cultivators they are considered to be proficient.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agharia
