Talk:Balija

The two articles are apparently on the same topic. Wikishovel (talk) 20:44, 15 December 2024 (UTC)

Today an editor copied a large amount of content from Balija to Banajiga without attribution. The copied sources also don't all appear to be about the community called Banajiga, in Karnataka. Wikishovel (talk) 15:58, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

• Oppose - Banajigas (Baṇajiga) are a Kannada-speaking people/caste, while Balijas are Telugu speaking one, the Banajigas are indigenous to Karnataka region and speak Kannada, the Mysore: A Gazetteer Complied For Government reported about one of the Banajiga community as:

The Bilimagga, most numerous in Mysore District, call themselves Kuruvina Banajiga, and regard the former designation as a nickname. They are an indigenous caste and speak Kannada: worshippers of S'iva.^[1]

• Oppose - Banajigas are Kannada speakers, while Balijas are Telugu speakers. Although they are related mercantile communities, they are not the same. They have distinct histories and cultural practices. Banajigas are largely Lingayats, while Balijas include a significant number of Vaishnavas. In regions where both communities coexist, they typically do not intermarry.

Sociologists and government policies also treat them as related yet distinct communities. For instance, they are recognized separately in the context of affirmative action in India. The primary difference lies in their ethnicity—Banajigas are exclusively Kannada speakers, whereas Balijas are primarily Telugu speakers, even in Karnataka.

To accurately describe and document their histories, cultures, and traditions, it is crucial to avoid conflating the two communities. Nikh Nori (talk) 18:14, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

If that is so, Balijas among telugu states are also not the same. But still, the page consists both of the sections. Similarly, even banajigas who share the same sectoral identification with the telugu veerashaiva/lingayat Balijas also has to be considered as the same, who are absolutely related through their marital relations. Chandra 2000 (talk) 22:35, 10 January 2025 (UTC)

• Oppose - Nikh Nori is correct. Even though the two communities have similar origins, they belong to different linguistic areas and have evolved differently. --Kautilya3 (talk) 23:48, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

• Oppose - Banajiga and Balija are different. No need to merge. --PerspicazHistorian (talk) 18:17, 28 December 2024 (UTC)

• Support - Balija(predominantly used by telugu speakers) and banija/banajiga(predominantly used by Kannada speakers) are outrightly used interchangeably in both respective regions. A telugu-kannada cross border districts and areas don't recognise any differences and consider themselves one and same and also intermarry as per their respective traditionally orientated sections.

Ex:- A telangana/Andhra Pradesh balija(veerashaiva/lingayath[known as linga-balija too]) would consider northern karnataka banija/banajiga as one and same.

In the same way, even southern karnataka banija/balija would identify their Vaishnavite section Balijas who predominant around Tirupati,guntur,tamil nadu, e.t.c. making both the sections technically being divided as south/north.

So, as per a Kannada-speakers, it might look as if every telugu balija is one and same, but there might be difference and vice-versa, as per telugu-speakers, it might look like as if every banija/banajiga is one and same, but there might be difference.

Conclusively, if we consider the sectoral similarity, Balijas of veerashaiva/lingayath section who make up absolute majority in telangana and also half of the Balijas of Andhra Pradesh consider the banajigas of karnataka as their own group and also marry each other.

so, it needs to be merged. Chandra 2000 (talk) 22:29, 10 January 2025 (UTC)