Bania (caste)

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For the Nepalese community, see Bania (Newar caste).

Bania (also spelled Baniya, Banija, Banya, Vaniya, Vani, Vania and Vanya)

commercial enterprises.[5][6]

Etymology

The Hindi term baniyā is derived from Sanskrit vaṇija ("trader"), whereas the Marwari bā̃ṇyõ and Gujarati vāṇiyo are derived from Sanskrit vāṇija ("trader").[7]

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]

Society

16th century Portuguese painting of a Baneane merchant from Cambay.

The community is composed of several sub-castes including the

Agarwal, Khandelwal, Maheshwari, Oswal and Porwad Baniyas, among others.[3][8][9][10] 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.[11]

Banias as a caste are either Jains or Hindu, and other mercantile groups while having some overlap in business and cultural practices were sharply dilineated from Baniya identity.

Vallabhacharya's Pushtimarg since the 16th century.[14][13] It is hypothesized by historians that the Vaishnav Vaniyas of Gujarat are the descendants of the now-exinct Buddhist merchants who were formerly present in the region.[13]

British India
.
British India
. Image taken before 1860.

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.[15]

Baniyas were known to be hard working and frugal. Only minimum expenses would be made on clothing, food, and furniture.[15]

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.[15]

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.[15]

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.[15]

Baniyas of Delhi

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.[15]

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.[15]

Baniyas were very religious, with the Jain and 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.[15]

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".[13]

According to the Hindu Vedic varna system, they belong to the Vaishya varna.[16]

Notable people

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Karsandas Mulji was expelled from his caste for travelling to England in 1862, and he never attempted to rejoin.[23]
  2. ^ The Birlas were expelled from their caste in 1922 when Rameshwar Das Birla married a Kolvar woman.[26]

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-520-06725-7
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-3-8258-2641-3
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-977169-1
    . 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
  4. ^ Other citations for native and diaspora region
  5. JSTOR 651058
    .
  6. S2CID 145722413
    .
  7. ^ Turner, Ralph Lilley (1962–1985). A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages. Oxford University Press. pp. 655, 670.
  8. ^ Pradesh (India), Madhya; Krishnan, V. S. (1971). Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Supplement. Government Central Press. p. 142.
  9. ^ Kotani, Hiroyuki (2002). "Rural and Urban Caste Structure in Eighteenth-Nineteenth Century India: The Deccan and Gujarat". In Panikkar, K.N.; Byres, Terence J.; Patnaik, Utsa (eds.). The Making of History: Essays Presented to Irfan Habib. Anthem Press. p. 196.
  10. ^ Shah, A.M. (1998). The Family in India: Critical Essays. Orient Longman. p. 136.
  11. ^ Hardiman 1996, p. 63.
  12. ^ Hardiman 1996, p. 63-67.
  13. ^ a b c d Tambs-Lyche, Harold. "Trade and Merchants". In Jacobsen, Knut A.; Basu, Helene; Malinar, Angelika; Narayanan, Vasudha (eds.). Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online. Brill.
  14. ISBN 978-0-19-564824-9
    . 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.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h Hardiman, David (1996). Feeding the Baniya: Peasants and Usurers in Western India. Oxford University Press. pp. 62–92.
  16. ^ Citations mentioning vaishya caste:
  17. ^
    ISBN 9781009330268
    .
  18. ^ Sheth, Sudev (2024). Bankrolling Empire: Family Fortunes and Political Transformation in Mughal India. Cambridge University Press. p. 6.
  19. ^
    ISBN 978-93-5118-322-8
    . The subcaste the Gandhis belonged to was known as Modh Bania, the prefix apparently referring to the town of Modhera, in Southern Gujarat
  20. ISBN 1-886940-02-9
    .
  21. ISBN 9788184757217
    .
  22. ^
    ISBN 9780210268643
    .
  23. ^ Yagnik, Achyut; Sheth, Suchitra (2005). The Shaping of Modern Gujarat: Plurality, Hindutva, and Beyond. Penguin Books. p. 79.
  24. ^ Desai, Neera (1978). Social Change in Gujarat: A Study of Nineteenth Century Gujarati Society. Vora & Co. p. 442.
  25. ISBN 978-0-19-568429-2
    . 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.
  26. ISBN 978-0-22688-568-1
    .
  27. ISBN 978-0-19-971569-5
    .
  28. ISBN 978-0-19-909130-0
    .
  29. ^ Desai 1978, p. 446.
  30. ^ Sunītā, Ela (1984). Maithilīśaraṇa Gupta kā kāvya: Saṃskr̥ta srota ke sandarbha meṃ (in Hindi). Hindī Vibhāga, Kocina Viśvavidyālaya. p. 20.
  31. ISBN 978-0-19-562806-7
    . The Sarabhais and the Lalbhais, the town's two most prominent entrepreneurial families, were Jain Banias prominent as shroffs.
  32. ^ a b Kochanek, Stanley A. (1974). Business and Politics in India. University of California Press. p. 346.
  33. ISBN 9780670999514
    .
  34. ISBN 978-1-000-46280-7
    .
  35. ISBN 978-0-08-101230-7
    .
  36. ISBN 978-93-5305-722-0
    .
  37. ISSN 0013-0389
    . Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  38. ^ "Kejriwal makes common cause with traders: I'm Baniya too". The Indian Express. 29 March 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2023. 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.
  39. ^ Gupta, Smita; PTI (15 October 2007). "Pinned Lynch". Outlook. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

Further reading

  • Cheesman, David (1982). "'The Omnipresent Bania:' Rural Moneylenders in Nineteenth-Century Sind". Modern Asian Studies. 16 (3): 445–462.
    S2CID 145722413
    .
  • S2CID 145246030
    .
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