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 his 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.. This unorthodox background ultimately led Tagore to dispense with many of the customs followed by orthodox Brahmins, including taboos against meat consumption.

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