Balija Caste
Balija caste is basically a trading
caste of India. This merchant community is mainly spread over the southern
region of the country. They are found in states of Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh and Kerala.
Balija caste is sometimes considered as the sub-caste of Kapu tribe.
Balija caste is often called as Naidu, which is a corruption of the Telugu word
Nayakdu, meaning a leader. Scholars suggest that their ancestors probably have
been Nayaks or the kings of Tanjore, Madura and Vijayanagar. Balija community
is associated with the traditional occupation of making bangles and pearl and
coral ornaments. They have a sub-caste known as Gazulu, or bangle-seller. In
the southern province, they are considered as an offshoot of the cultivating
castes of Kamma and Kapu. Balija caste is regarded as a mixed community.
Another proof of the mixed ancestry can be traced from the fact that this
community admit persons of other castes. The name Balija has been applied to a
mixed caste originated by Basava, the creator of the Lingayat sect of Saivism. 
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.
Velcheru Narayana Rao et al. note that the Balijas were first
mobilised politically by the Vijayanagara emperor Krishnadevaraya. Later, in
the 15th and 16th centuries, they colonised the Tamil country and established
Nayaka chieftaincies. At this time, Balijas were leaders of the left-hand
section of castes. These Balija warriors were noted as fearless and some
stories speak of them assassinating kings who interfered with their affairs.
Cynthia Talbot believes that in Andhra the transformation of occupational
descriptors into caste-based descriptors did not occur until at least the 17th
century.
There are many other communities that exist in India such as Dangi Caste, Charan Caste, Agrawal Community, Sonar Caste, etc.
