Bania (also spelled Baniya, Banija, Banya, Vaniya, Vani, Vania and Vanya) [1] is a mercantile caste mainly from the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, with strong diasporic communities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra (mainly Mumbai) and other northern states. [2] [3] [4] Traditionally, the main occupations of the community are merchants, bankers, money-lenders, and (in modern times) owners of commercial enterprises. [5] [6]
The Hindi term baniyā is derived from Sanskrit vaṇija ("trader"), whereas the Marwari bā̃ṇyõ and Gujarati vāṇiyo are derived from Sanskrit vāṇija ("trader"). [7] The community is also known by the term "vanik". [8]
In Bengal the term Bania is a functional catch-all for moneylenders, indigenously developed bankers, readers of grocery items and spices, irrespective of caste. [2]
The community is composed of several sub-castes including the Agarwal, Khandelwal, Maheshwari, Oswal, Porwad and Shrimali Baniyas, among others. [3] [9] [10] [11] Traditionally (dating to at least the 15th century), the Gujarati Baniyas had 84 divisions (as did Gujarati Brahmins), although many were simply formulaic. Subcastes are also divided into Visa and Dasa divisions, which are also centuries old, and prohibit intermarriage. [12]
Most Banias are followers of either Hinduism or Jainism, but a few have converted to Sikhism, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism. [13] [14] [15] In Gujarat, Hindu Banias are largely Vaishnavas and are followers of Vallabhacharya. [16] [17] It is hypothesized by historians that the Vaishnav Vaniyas of Gujarat are the descendants of the now-extinct Buddhist merchants who were formerly present in the region. [17]
Banias are composed of caste in the mercantile and business fields, which have delineated the Baniya identity. [18] The term baniya has historically been applied to various mercantile communities who belong to diverse castes. [17]
Baniyas are vegetarians, and some groups have greater restrictions on the foods that can be consumed. They also take care not to kill insects when preparing and eating food. [19]
Baniyas were known to be hard working and frugal. Only minimum expenses would be made on clothing, food, and furniture. [19]
During the day, Baniya boys were sent to schools called patshalas where they would learn business skills and habits. They learned how to read and write, as well as in secret merchant scripts that were hidden from non-Baniyas. They also learned ciphers, accounting, and arithmetic. The correctness of mathematical calculations was extremely important to Baniyas, and they learnt various methods and tricks so they could perform advanced mental arithmetic. A mercantile ethos was also instilled in the boys, as they learned the chief aim of life was to acquire wealth and only profitable transactions were worthwhile. After school hours, boys would spend time in the family shop and learn the business. After education was complete boys would try to start their own businesses and if successful, would be allowed to manage the family business. [19]
When Baniyas made transactions, they often had dubious qualities that allowed the accumulation of many small profits. These include short-weighing, adulteration of products, and regular undervaluation of a debt repayments. They were also known for being well spoken when speaking to others, but were not confrontatious. They were very secretive about their business accounts, and would use secret scripts or illegible handwriting. Often two sets of account books were kept, one for showing officials if needed, and one only for family. Business dealings were kept within the family, and in cases of dispute other Baniyas would arbitrate in order to keep business deals secret from non-Baniyas. Their preference for compromises instead of confrontations often led non-Baniyas to think of them as cowardly. [19]
In order to prepare for further business success, Baniyas also had to have high levels of information access. They had messengers, intelligence networks, and postal services in order to make sure that they knew about any important knowledge as early as possible. Such information was often used in speculation in futures exchanges, which in turn sometimes turned into gambling. [19]
Honour was very important to Baniyas, which they called abru. Their honour was tied to their credit worthiness, which were valued higher than their lives. A bankrupt Baniya was stigmatised, and those who were caught to be dishonest with another Baniya were boycotted, bankrupted, and stigmatised. Honour was also tied to socioreligious conduct, as maintaining marital relations within the community, having a strong patriarch, and adherence to religious principles were all highly valued. [19]
Wealthy Baniyas only spent large sums of money for specific purposes: hosting feasts, buying jewellery (mainly for women), construction of havelis, and the most honourable being donating to religious causes such as temples or religious festivals. Such displays of wealth allowed Baniyas to show their status and high honour. [19]
Baniyas historically are very religious, with the Jain and Hindu Vaishnavs' beliefs, rituals, prayers, and ceremonies being often very similar. Pushtimarg Vaishnavs would perform emotional seva to Krishna, and Jains would be austere and follow the Jain vows. Lakshmi Puja was performed by Baniyas, as it Lakshmi would be considered to bestow wealth and welfare on the family. [19]
According to Basu, the culture of Gujarati Baniyas is viewed ambivalently by outsiders, stating "on the one hand, it is associated negatively with usury and commercial calculation, and on the other, it carries positive connotations of Jaina and Vaiṣṇava religious traditions that place special emphasis upon values of vegetarianism, nonviolence ( ahiṃsā ), and purity". [17]
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'Varṇa', in the context of Hinduism, refers to a social class within a hierarchical traditional Hindu society. The ideology is epitomized in texts like Manusmriti, which describes and ranks four varnas, and prescribes their occupations, requirements and duties, or Dharma.
Khatri is a caste originating from the Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region of South Asia that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Khatris claim they are warriors who took to trade. In the Indian subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantile professions such as banking and trade. They were the dominant commercial and financial administration class of late-medieval India. Some in Punjab often belonged to hereditary agriculturalist land-holding lineages, while others were engaged in artisanal occupations such as silk production and weaving.
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Bhatia is a group of people and a caste found in Punjab, Sindh and Gujarat. Traditionally, they have been a trading and merchant community. The Bhatias primarily live in Northwestern India and Pakistan. The Bhatias, Lohanas and Khatris were similar communities and were known to intermarry. The Bhatias recruit Saraswat Brahmins as priests.
Lohana are a trading or mercantile jāti mostly in India and also in Pakistan.
Agrawal is a Bania caste. The Banias of northern India are a cluster of several communities, of which the Agarwal Banias, Maheshwari Banias, Oswal Banias, Khatri Banias and Porwal Banias are a part.
Modh is an adjective often adopted in the surnames of Gujarati people who originate from Modhera in Gujarat.
Arora is a Punjabi caste, comprising both Hindus and Sikhs. The name is derived from their ancestral place Aror, Sindh. In 712, the Arora people are said to have left Aror and started to settle in the cities of Punjab, mainly in South Punjab. However, according to W. H. McLeod, many Aroras originally came from the Pothohar area in North Punjab.
Patidar, formerly known as Kanbi, is an Indian land-owning and peasant caste and community native to Gujarat. The community comprises at multiple subcastes, most prominently the Levas and Kadvas. They form one of the dominant castes in Gujarat. The title of Patidar originally conferred to the land owning aristocratic class of Gujarati Kanbis; however, it was later applied en masse to the entirety of the Kanbi population who lay claim to a land owning identity, partly as a result of land reforms during the British Raj.
The Gujarati people, or Gujaratis, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who reside in or can trace their ancestry or heritage to a region of the Indian subcontinent primarily centered in the present-day western Indian state of Gujarat. They primarily speak Gujarati, an Indo-Aryan language. While Gujaratis mainly inhabit Gujarat, they have a diaspora worldwide. Many notable independence activists were Gujarati, including Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Vallabhbhai Patel.
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The Koli is an Indian caste found in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir states in India. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they also work as fishermen along with agriculture. In the beginning of 20th century, the Koli caste was recognised as a denotified tribe under Criminal Tribes Act by the Indian Government because of their anti-social activities during World War I.
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Maheshwari, also spelled Maheshvari, is a Hindu caste of India, originally from what is now the state of Rajasthan. Their traditional occupation is that of commerce and as such they form part of the wider Bania occupation-based community that also includes castes such as the Khandelwals, Oswals and Agrawals, Gahois.
The Komati is a Telugu-speaking trading community which is a Vaishya community that is currently organised as a caste. They are primarily found in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and in smaller numbers in neighbouring states. The members of the Komati caste are commonly engaged as moneylenders, businessmen, and shopkeepers. The community consists of many sects who are followers of Hinduism, namely the Gomata, the Thrivarnika, and the Kalinga, along with the Jaina Komatis who are followers of Jainism. Traditionally, most Komatis are vegetarian due to their belief in ahimsa (nonviolence).
Wani/Vani is a surname of a caste found throughout India and Pakistan, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Maharashtra. Both Wain and Wani/Vani are acceptable pronunciations.
The Banias of northern India are really a cluster of several communities, of which the Agarwal Banias, Oswal Banias, and Porwal Banias are mentioned separately in connection with certain surnames
By the late eighteenth century, a large number of Bania and Parsi merchants had relocated to Bombay.
John Malcolm, a British traveller, wrote in 1829, 'almost every businessman in Madhya Pradesh is a Baniya. Most of them are Marwaris from Rajasthan and some from Gujarat'
For example, just as there were Modh Vanias, there were Modh Brahmins, and similarly Khadayata Vanias and Khadayata Brahmins, Shrimali Vanias and Shrimali Brahmins, Nagar Vanias and Nagar Brahmins, and so on.
The Banias were again predominantly Hindu, but there were many Jain Banias and also Sikh and Muslim Banias in lesser numbers, and very few Buddhist Banias. Such was the picture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Some, like the Khojah caste, are Bania groups converted to Islam by Muslim pirs (saints).
Most of the Hindu banias of Gujarat in the nineteenth century were followers of Vallabhcharya of the Vaishnava sect; the rest were Jains or Shravaks.
The term Bania is used generally for mercantile castes in North and Central India, and these castes are accorded Vaishya status in the varna system.
Vaishya generally go by various names : Vaishya, Bania, Vani, Sethi and Shetti.
Baniya, also written as bania, is a merchant caste or community within the Vaishya occupational varna.
The Bania is a sub-caste (or jati) of the Vaishya caste (or varna). Vaishyas are tradition-ally the merchant class and are placed third in the hierarchical ordering of the four varnas of traditional Hinduism.
Baniya The Baniyas who belong to Vaishya Varna carry on trade in the village . They also do money - lending business . In fact it is the only community in the village which is following its traditional occupation.
The subcaste the Gandhis belonged to was known as Modh Bania, the prefix apparently referring to the town of Modhera, in Southern Gujarat
One of them was Ghanshyamdas Birla, whose family symbolized more than any other Marwari, the transition of the community from trade to industry . Maheshwari Bania by caste, the Birlas originated from Pilani in the Shekhavati region of Rajasthan, which had been the original homeland of Marwari migrants.
The Sarabhais and the Lalbhais, the town's two most prominent entrepreneurial families, were Jain Banias prominent as shroffs.
I come from a Baniya family. Most of my relatives are businessmen. I know that it is not easy to do business in this country.