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Banajiga

Total population
15 Lakhs
Regions with significant populations
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,
Languages
Telugu, Kannada, Tamil
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Balija

Banajigas are a Kannada speaking mercantile community primarily living in the Indian state of Karnataka. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana they are known as Balijas.

Banajiga (vanik, tradesman) are Canarese traders, many of whom are Lingayats.

Etymology

Variations of the name in use in the medieval era were Balanja, Bananja, Bananju, Banajiga and Banijiga, with probable cognates Balijiga, Valanjiyar, Balanji, Bananji and derivatives such as Baliga, all of which are said to be derived from the Sanskrit term Vanik or Vanij, for trader.

Origin

Beginning in the 9th century, references are found in inscriptions throughout the Kannada and Tamil areas to a trading network, which is sometimes referred to as a guild, called the Five Hundred Lords of Ayyavolu that provided trade links between trading communities in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. From the 13th century, inscriptions referring to "Vira Balanjyas" (warrior merchants) started appearing in the Andhra country. The Vira Balanjyas, whose origins are often claimed to lie in the Ayyavolu, represented long-distance trading networks that employed fighters to protect their warehouses and goods in transit. The traders were identified as nanadesi (of 'many countries') and as swadesi ('own country'). The terms balanjya-setti and balija were also used for these traders, and in later times naidu and chetti. These traders formed collectives called pekkandru and differentiated themselves from other collectives called nagaram, which probably represented Komati merchants. The pekkandru collectives also included members of other communities with status titles reddi, boya and nayaka. They spread all over South India, Sri Lanka, and also some countries in the Southeast Asia.

History

They were merchants, traders, agriculturists and Zamidars and some were also Jagirdars before the 19th century. They were given the titles of Desai, Appa, Rao, Deshmukh or Patil.

Banajiga have been mentioned in several Vijayanagar documents as wealthy merchants who controlled powerful trading guilds . To secure their loyalty, the Vijayanagar kings made them Desais or "superintendents in the country".

Branches

• Balija

• Balajiga/Banajiga/Gowda Banajiga

• Naidu

The Nayudu Banajigas claim that they are Kshatriyas by origin

• Linga Balija/Linga Banajiga/Lingayat Balija/Lingayat Banajiga

• Telaga Balija/Telaga Banajiga

• Setty Balija/Setty Banajiga/Banajiga Setty

The Setti Banajigas are Bangle sellers

• Dasara Balija/Dasara Balajiga/Dasara Banajiga/Dasa Banajiga

Dasa Banajigas call themselves Jaina Kshatriya Ramanuja Dasa Vaniyas. It is said that they were formerly Jaina Kshatriyas and were converted to Vaishnavism by Sri Ramanujacharya

• Munnur/munnar/Munnur Kapu

• Balegara/Bale Banajiga/Bale Balajiga/Bale chetty/Banagara

• Reddy(Balija)

• Janappan

• Uppar(Balija)

• Tyler (Balija)

• Ele Banajiga

Ele Banajigas are betel gardeners.

Dynasty

• Later Keladi Nayakas

Rulers

• Shivappa Nayaka (1645–1660)
• Chikka Venkatappa Nayaka (1660–1662)
• Bhadrappa Nayaka (1662–1664)
• Somashekara Nayaka I (1664–1672)
• Keladi Chennamma (1672–1697)
• Belawadi Mallamma (1624–1678)
• Basavappa Nayaka (1697–1714)
• Somashekara Nayaka II (1714–1739)
• Kiriya Basavappa Nayaka (1739–1754)
• Chenna Basappa Nayaka (1754–1757)
• Queen Virammaji (1757–1763).

Status

The Banajiga caste is included in the Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) for the state of Karnataka.

Notable peoples

• B. S. Yediyurappa Chief Minister of Karnataka
  
• S. Nijalingappa Chief Minister of Karnataka
  
• J. H. Patel Chief Minister of Karnataka
  
• S. R. Kanthi Chief Minister of Karnataka
  
• Veerendra Patil Chief Minister of Karnataka
  
• Jagadish Shettar Chief Minister of Karnataka
  
• B. D. Jatti Chief Minister of Karnataka
  

References

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2. "Castes and Tribes of Southern India". Wikisource.
3. Epigraphia Indica. Vol. 4. Manager of Publications. 1896. p. 296. In the Telugu word balija or balijiga has the same meaning . It is therefore probable that the words vaļañjiyam , vaļañjiyar , balañji , baṇañji , baṇañjiga and balija are cognate and derived from the Sanskrit vanij
   • Quarterly Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society. Vol. 11. Andhra Historical Research Society. 1938. p. 54.
4. Burton Stein, David Arnold, ed. (2010). A History of India. John Wiley & Sons. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-4443-2351-1.
5. K. Sundaram, ed. (1968). Studies in Economic and Social Conditions of Medieval Andhra, A. D. 1000-1600. Triveni Publishers. p. 69.
6. Kambhampati Satyanarayana, ed. (1975). A Study of the History and Culture of the Andhras: From stone age to feudalism. People's Publishing House. p. 334.
7. Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar, ed. (1941). Ancient India and South Indian History & Culture: Papers on Indian History and Culture; India to A.D. 1300. Oriental Book Agency. p. 801.
   • The quarterly journal of the Mythic society (Bangalore). Mythic Society. 1991. p. 88-91.
8. A. Satyanarayana, Mukkamala Radhakrishna Sarma, ed. (1996). Castes, Communities, and Culture in Andhra Desa, 17th & 18th Centuries, A.D. Osmania University. p. 105. .
   • S.S. Shashi, ed. (2000). Encyclopaedia Indica: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. Vol. 106. Anmol Publications. p. 86.
9. "Guild Inscriptions".
10. Provinces (India), Central (1908). Central Provinces District Gazetteers. Printed at the Pioneer Press.
11. * Stein, Burton (1989). Vijayanagara. The New Cambridge History of India. Cambridge University Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-521-26693-2.
    • Brimnes, Niels (1999). Constructing the Colonial Encounter: Right and Left Hand Castes in Early Colonial South India. Routledge. p. 3. ISBN 9780700711062.
    • Paul, John Jeya; Yandell, Keith E. (2000). Religion and Public Culture: Encounters and Identities in Modern South India. Psychology Press. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-0-7007-1101-7.
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12. "Population".
13. The quarterly journal of the Mythic society Vol.XI. Bangalore: The Mythic Society, Daly Memorial Hall. 1921. p. 47-48.:”Venkatappa. ruled from 1504 to 1551. His son Bhadrappa died before him. During his reign the Moghals under Ranadullakhan seized Ikkeri and set up a, viceroy there. Then Virabhadrappa Nayaka ascended the Gadi and -retiring to Bidarur ruled over his country more peacefully than before.* His rule lasted for 15 years from 1551 to 1566. During his reign the rule of Vokkaligas came to an end and was replaced by the rule of Banajigas”
14. Basavaraj S. Naika (2001). Keladi Nayakas - The Rebellious Rani of Belavadi and Other Stories. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 9788126901272. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
15. "Rulers of Keladi". Udupi Tourism. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
16. Portuguese Studies Review (ISSN 1057-1515) (Baywolf Press) p.35
17. The quarterly journal of the Mythic society Vol.XI. Bangalore: The Mythic Society, Daly Memorial Hall. 1921. p. 47-48.:”Venkatappa. ruled from 1504 to 1551. His son Bhadrappa died before him. During his reign the Moghals under Ranadullakhan seized Ikkeri and set up a, viceroy there. Then Virabhadrappa Nayaka ascended the Gadi and -retiring to Bidarur ruled over his country more peacefully than before.* His rule lasted for 15 years from 1551 to 1566. During his reign the rule of Vokkaligas came to an end and was replaced by the rule of Banajigas”
18. Gaonkar, Raj N. "Nadavara Exile in Malenadu". academia.
19. A journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar Vol 111 – 1807 – Francis Buchanan -from page 254 ""
20. Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707–1813 by Jaswant Lal Mehta p.458
21. "Centre list of OBC".
22. "1 year in office earns CM a snub". indiatoday. 2005. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
23. "BJP president Nitin Gadkari refuses to yield BS Yeddyurappa over Karnataka leadership". economictimes. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
24. "The Tripwire Setters". Outlookindia. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
25. Nels Anderson, ed. (1969). Studies in Multilingualism I of VII. p. 134.
26. The Indian Journal of Political Science. 1987. p. 583.
27. "Which way now for the Lingayats?". indiatoday. 8 March 2004. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
28. Alessandro Monti; Marina Goglio; Esterino Adami, eds. (2005). Feeding the Self, Feeling the Way in Ancient and Contemporary South Asian Cultures. L'Harmattan Italia. p. 91. ISBN 978-88-7892-006-4.
29. Sameeksha Trust, ed. (1997). Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 32. p. 2348.
30. "J H Patel stoops, yet may not conquer". rediff. 2004. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
31. "Rebel gives J H Patel a contest to remember". rediff. 3 September 1999. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
32. "NewsKarnataka". NewsKarnataka. Archived from the original on 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
33. Thomas Blom Hansen; Christophe Jaffrelot (2001). The BJP and the compulsions of politics in India. p. 176. The Lingayat votes had been important to the Janata Dal since 1978. Without Veerendra Patil (a member of the Banajiga jati), the long-standing difficulties of the national party president S. R. Bommai in appealing to voters beyond his Sadar jati (which has represent of other jatis gaining disproportionate share of spoils) became especially serious
34. Sameeksha Trust (1992). Economic & Political Weekly. p. 1270. Veerendra Patil belongs to Lingayat Banajiga
35. Bansy Kalappa; Naushad Bijapur (2019). "Stormy season ahead for BJP over rebel Karnataka MLA Umesh Katti's exclusion". New Indian Express.
36. Rishikesh Bahadur Desai (2019). "Decoding the political clout of Shettar". The Times of India.
37. Parliament mourns death of B.D. Jatti, adjourns. 2002. Sri Basappa Danappa Jatti Born in a Kannadiga Lingayat Banajiga family at Savalgi in Jamkhandi Taluk of Bijapur district, Jatti entered politics as a Municipality member at Jamakhandi in 1940 and later became its President. He was eventually elected to the Jamakhandi State Legislature

• Indian castes
• Social groups of Karnataka
• Social groups of Andhra Pradesh
• Social groups of Telangana