Balija
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The Balija are a Telugu-speaking mercantile community primarily living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and in smaller numbers in Telangana and Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, they are known as Gavarais.
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- Balija people
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Encyclopedic overview
19 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Origins
- Medieval history
- Chalukya period
- Kakatiya period
- Post-Kakatiya period
- Vijayanagara period
- British period
- Geographical distribution
- Balija branches
- Relation to Kapu
- Caste titles
- Dynasties
- Varna status
- Notable people
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
The Balija are a Telugu-speaking mercantile community primarily living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and in smaller numbers in Telangana and Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, they are known as Gavarais.
== 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Balija” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.