Merchant castes

Khatri () is a caste originating from the Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region of the Indian Subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, and in small numbers in Pakistan. The Khatris claim they are warriors who took to trade. In the Indian subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantile professions such as banking and trade. They were the dominant commercial and financial administration class of late-medieval India. Some in Punjab often belonged to hereditary agriculturalist land-holding lineages, while others were engaged in artisanal occupations such as silk production and weav

thumb|Chettiars in traditional dress, 1920s

community native to Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka