Does banga caste come under obc and What is their position relative to other punjabis?

Answer 1

Banga in Punjab is Saini subcaste. Sainis of Punjab are not in OBC and are a forward caste. The stronghold of Banga Sainis is region in Jalandhar and Nawan Shahr districts of Punjab where they are among the leading land owning group. The caste heirarchy in Punjab varies by the region. In Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Jalandhar, Sainis are ranked on top and are a very influential and affluent group . The MP of Hoshiarpur was generally always a Saini before the seat became reserved.

On hills Banga clan name is also found among Dogra Rajputs as "Bangwai". Almost 100% of Saini clans are same as that of Hill Rajputs and both groups are of identical descent. The only difference is that Saini villages fell in Muslim ruled areas where Rajputs were being actively converted to Islam or asked to marry their girls with them. This led to Rajputs on the plains starting to hide their Rajput identity to avoid persecution. Due to this reason Sainis and Mahtons (aka Sikh Rajputs) gradually cut adrift from Rajputs on hills and adopted farming identity even though both tribes are of proven Rajput descent (SS Gahlot, 1989;Hugh Kennedy Trevaskis, 1928 ).

Few prominent Banga Sainis in public space are Dr. Indu Banga (renowned hisotrian of Punjab) , Ajay Banga (Master Card CEO) and Manvider Banga (ex CEO of Unilever. Lt. General HS Banga (retd) , the father of Banga brothers, is also a decorated army general. Additional DIG of CRPF, Hari Ram Banga, is another prominent Banga Saini police officer decorated for gallantry.

All this would tell you that Bangas are people of formidable standing, education and influence.

The town Banga is also named after Banga Rajputs or Sainis. Currently, it is a Jat dominated town but the town was given Mann Jats during Akbar's era when the latter became "Darbari Jats". There a number of Banga Saini dominated villages still around this town.