ABSTRACT
The discussion in this chapter is limited to a number of merchant castes of North India, representatives of which are to be found within the confines of a single city. The study of merchant communities might be looked upon as particularly relevant for our undertaking of the impact of modernity upon the caste system and social change in India. Legislative acts, historical circumstances, and sociocultural differences all contribute to creating divergent sources of credit for the merchants in Ram Nagar. Social credit provides a basis for the local merchant to secure loans at low rates of interest and also to obtain certain concessional privileges within the local community which are not available to refugees. The conspicuous absence of a Baniya timber merchant from among the candidates is significant, as was the absence of a candidate from among a small group of Harijans who cast their votes in municipal elections along with the merchants.
