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]
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,
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]
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.[13] However, the term baniya has historically been applied to other mercantile communities who belong to other religions or castes.[14] Most or all Hindu Banias are
Vaishnavas and are followers of
Vallabhacharya's
Pushtimarg since the 16th century.[15][14] 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.[14]
Bania men of Surat, Gogo, and Ahmedabad, Gujarat,
British India.Bania women in
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.[16]
Baniyas were known to be hard working and frugal. Only minimum expenses would be made on clothing, food, and furniture.[16]
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.[16]
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.[16]
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.[16]
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.[16]
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.[16]
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.[16]
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".[14]
They described as belonging to the
Vaishya varna.[17]
^
abHanks, Patrick (8 May 2003).
Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. pp. xcvi, 103.
ISBN978-0-19-977169-1. 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
Mahavir Singh (2005).
Home Away from Home: Inland Movement of People in India. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies. p. 61.
ISBN9788179750872. 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'
^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.
^Shah, A.M. (1998). The Family in India: Critical Essays. Orient Longman. p. 136. 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.
^
abcdTambs-Lyche, Harold. "Trade and Merchants". In Jacobsen, Knut A.; Basu, Helene; Malinar, Angelika; Narayanan, Vasudha (eds.). Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online. Brill.
^Rajeev Bhargava; Amiya Kumar Bagchi; R. Sudarshan (1999).
Multiculturalism, Liberalism, and Democracy. Oxford University Press. p. 228.
ISBN978-0-19-564824-9. 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.
^
abcdefghHardiman, David (1996). Feeding the Baniya: Peasants and Usurers in Western India. Oxford University Press. pp. 62–92.
Census of India, 1961 Volume 19, Issue 6, Part 6. Office of the Registrar General, India. 1964. p. 9. 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.
^Ray, Aniruddha (2017). Towns and Cities of Medieval India. Routledge. p. 508.
^Sāṭhe, Gajānana Narasiṁha; Bhaṭṭa, Dīneśa Harilāla. गिरधर-कृत रामायण Giradhara-Kr̥ta Rāmāyaṇa (in Hindi). Vāṇī Presa. pp. 17–18.
^
abcGuha, Ramachandra (15 October 2014).
Gandhi before India. Penguin Books Limited. p. 42.
ISBN978-93-5118-322-8. The subcaste the Gandhis belonged to was known as Modh Bania, the prefix apparently referring to the town of Modhera, in Southern Gujarat
^Gandhi, Arun and Sunanda (1998). The Forgotten Woman. Huntsville, AR: Zark Mountain Publishers. p. 314.
ISBN1-886940-02-9.
^Yagnik, Achyut; Sheth, Suchitra (2005). The Shaping of Modern Gujarat: Plurality, Hindutva, and Beyond. Penguin Books. p. 79.
^Desai, Neera (1978). Social Change in Gujarat: A Study of Nineteenth Century Gujarati Society. Vora & Co. p. 442.
^Dwijendra Tripathi; Jyoti Jumani (2007).
The concise Oxford history of Indian business. Oxford University Press. p. 88.
ISBN978-0-19-568429-2. 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.
^Markovits, Claude (1985). Indian Business and Nationalist Politics 1931-1939: The indigenous capitalist class and the rise of the Congress Party. Cambridge University Press. p. 32.
^Schrader, Heiko (1997). Changing Financial Landscapes in India and Indonesia. Lit. p. 130.
^"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.
^Gupta, Smita; PTI (15 October 2007).
"Pinned Lynch". Outlook. Archived from
the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2022.