Bania (caste)  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to:
navigation, search  A Goan Bania, early 1880s Hindi, Marwari,
Punjabi, Gujarati, Dialects of Marathi and Konkani[1]  The Bania
(otherwise known as Baniya, Vani and Vania) 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,
such as the Agarwals, Baranwals, Maheshwaris, Oswals, and
Porwals.   Bania is derived from the Sanskrit word vaṇij or
baṇij, which means merchant.[2] In western India the caste is
called Vani or Vania. Although in Bengal the term is applied to
all people who are involved in moneylending and similar
activities, elsewhere in India it is used in the more limited
sense of referring to specific castes.[3]  See also[edit]     3.
^ Schrader, Heiko (1997). Changing financial landscapes in India
and Indonesia: sociological aspe