About Us

Balasinor is about 258 square miles located in Kheda district of Gujarat. Balasinor was originally named Vadasinor or Vadsol. Until 1605 it was under the rule of Rajput dynasties and then conquered by the Moghul Emperor Akbar in the 17th century. With the collapse of the Moghul dynasty in 19th century, the Marathas conquered the area and the Gayakwad’s ruled under the British Raj. Jafarkhan Babi established the Nawab (Muslim Kingdom) of Balasinor in 1674. Due to the burden of heavy taxes imposed by the British to support the funding of the Fort Wall for protection, several people in our community left Balasinor to neighboring villages like Baria, Dahod, Jhalod, and the Mahad district of Maharashtra. After Independence a Nagar Panchayat was established and Balasinor became the main town in the Kaira district.

Our caste is referred to as ‘Dasa Nima Vanik.’ It is based on the belief that two businessmen (Vaniks) created custom (Niyam) or ‘Nima’ to provide necessities to Oudumbur Rishi’s Ashram near Shamdaji in Rajasthan. Also, businessmen from Nemad district in Malva in Madhya Pradesh were known as ‘Nema’ or ‘Nima’ Vaniks. The Nima Vaniks got divided into ‘Dasa’ and ‘Visa.’ Most of our Balasinor Vanias belong to Dasa Nima Vanik caste.

Shree Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhu’s teachings known as Pusti Margiya were widely followed. The seven sons of Gusainji, son of Vallabhacharya created seven houses of worship. The fourth son of Gusainji was Gokulnathji, His descendant; Shree Layman Maharaja established the Gokulnathji temple in Balasinor about 135 years ago.

With Industrial Revolution, about 50 families had moved to Mumbai by 1900. The first family moved to United Sates about 50 years ago. Currently there are 1600 families in Mumbai, 600 hundred families in the US and less than a 100 families in Balasinor.