Banjaras during the medieval period of Indian history were generally

The correct answer is D (traders). The Banjaras were a nomadic, pastoral community that carried grain and salt across the country on pack bullocks, linking producing regions with armies and markets. Abul Fazl's Ain-i-Akbari and European travellers describe their caravans (tanda) moving with Mughal armies, which made them the principal long-distance grain carriers of the period.

Why the others are wrong:

• A (agriculturists): They were not settled cultivators. Their livelihood was transport trade, and many settled on land only later, after railways displaced them.
• B (warriors): Some Banjara groups supplied or guarded supply lines, but warfare was not their defining occupation. The warrior classes of the period were the Rajputs and Marathas.
• C (weavers): Weaving was the work of communities such as the Julaha and Koshti, not the Banjaras.

Concept: the medieval internal trade network and the role of nomadic carriers. It connects to Mains GS-III on pre-colonial trade and economy, and to the later Criminal Tribes Act, which stigmatised communities like the Banjaras.

Trap: candidates pick "warriors" because Banjaras appear alongside armies. They were logistics providers, not fighting men.