Bania
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Bania (बानिया) is derived from the Sanskrit bānijya or trader and the Bania by caste, as his name implies, lives for and by commerce. [1]
Distribution
He holds a considerable area of land in the east of the Province ; but it is very rarely indeed that he follows any other than mercantile pursuits. The commercial enterprise and intelligence of the class is great, and the dealings of some of the great Bania houses of Delhi, Bikaner, and Marwar are of the most extensive nature. But the Bania of the village, who represents the great mass of the caste, is a poor creature, notwithstanding the title of Mahajan or " great folk," which is confined by usage to the caste to which he belongs. [2]