 Bania (caste)

The Bania (also spelled as Baniya, Banija, Banya, Vaniya, Vani, Vania and Vanya) is an occupational community of merchants, bankers, money-lenders, dealers in grains or in spices, and in modern times numerous commercial enterprises.The term is used in a wider sense in Bengal than it is elsewhere in India, where it is applied to specific castes.