Balija Caste

 

                                                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.