Wani (caste)

"Wani" or Wain are actually the same name and they have the same source. Those who came to be known as Wani in the beginning, their offspring are now known as Wani; similarly those were known as Wain from the start, their offspring are known as Wain (pronounced like "wine" except with a nasal "n", without touching the palette with the tongue). Whether Wani came from Wain, or Wain came from Wani...It is difficult to accurately say anything about this issue. But the popular theory is that Wain is the original name, and Wani is a distorted form of it. Taareekh Hassan and official reports by the census department from 1891 have mentioned Wains as belonging to the upper class of the Shaikh caste of Kashmir; they came from Persian Gulf for trade and business, they brought handicrafts and many other technical skills to Kashmir valley. Wains are well respected and have one of the top pedigrees among tribes. Wain or Wani are extracts from some Hindu tribe. There are many different traditions about which tribe they come from, but all historians agree that before accepting Islam they were part of the hindu caste known as Waish. In fact, some people think that the word Wain comes from Waish. Waish is the merchant caste among hindus. Even after accepting Islam, Wains and Wanis have kept trade and commerce as the source of their livelihood. These people can get involved with the largest to the smallest trade. Perhaps it is for this reason that the census report of 1891, on page 167, says about them, "Wains and Wanis are the merchants of Kashmir and Laddakh".

The Wain tribe is divided into many castes, such as the Tal-Wain (those who sell oil), Pui-Wain, Baand-Wain, Bas-Wain, Tarangar-Wain, Kakar-Wain, and Par-Wain. Due to the adoption of different trades by different clans, various branches of the tribe have come into existence. In the census of 1911 the total population of this tribe (listed under the name Wani) in both provinces of the state of Kashmir, are reported to be 59,487. In the census of 1931 the population of this tribe is written (this time under the name Wain) as totaling 72,113 persons. Those Wain who live in villages are agriculturalists. People from this tribe who have moved to Punjab (most of whom call themselves Khawaja) have achieved great prosperity.http://genforum.genealogy.com/wain/messages/15.html

Wani is a caste in Maharashtra; prominent of those are Ladshakhiya Wani. Pune-based Pate family ^[1] own Amit Enterprises of which Sachin Tendulkar is brand ambassador.^[2] Prominent surnames among Lad Shakhiya Wani families are Morankar,Musale, Bagad,Pate,kasodekar,Yeole, Kothawade, Amrutkar, Shirude, Chinchore, Gahiwad and Talware. Mr. Nathu Musale class 2 officer from Nashik city and his son Dr. Mukesh Musale (married to Mrs. Shweta Mukesh Musale) from Nashik is a well known M.D. homeopathic physician, counselor and consultant. Mr. Pankaj Musale (studied M.S.in Molecular Biotechnology with 5 international publications) working as a Research Officer at Central Research Station, Pune and third Mr. Amol Musale working as an assistant manager at BAJAJ Auto Ltd. Akurdi, Pune. There are multiple sub-castes in Wani. Lad Shakhiya Wani, Chitode Wani, Dhakad Wani, Lingayat Wani, Vaishya Wani etc. All caste people are into small businesses. This caste known as BANIYA in north India. Mahatma Gandhi was born in Baniya family.

References

Wani Samaj