List of Baniyas

This is a partial list of notable/famous people from Baniya community.

Freedom fighters[edit | edit source]

Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948), Indian independence activist.^[1]
Kasturba Gandhi (1869–1944), Wife of Mahatma Gandhi.^[2]
Karamchand Gandhi (1822–1885), - Father of Mahatma Gandhi.^[1]
Ram Manohar Lohia - Quit India Movement fame and General Secretary of Praja Socialist Party^[3]
Lala Lajpat Rai - Indian revolutionary, politician, and author, popularly known as "Punjab Kesari"^[4]^[5]^[6]

Arts[edit | edit source]

Bhagwan Das, Bharat Ratna (India's highest civilian award) awardee^[7]
Sita Ram Goel, historian, religious and political activist, writer, and publisher in the late twentieth century^[8]
Bharatendu Harishchandra, Known as the "father of modern Hindi literature and Hindi theatre"^[9]

Corporate and business[edit | edit source]

Technology and startups[edit | edit source]

Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO, Ola Cabs and Ola Electric^[10]

Other businesses[edit | edit source]

Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman, Reliance Industries^[11]
Jamnalal Bajaj, the adopted son of Mahatma Gandhi and the founder of the Bajaj Group of Industries^[12]
Lalbhai Dalpatbhai (1863–1912), Gujarati industrialist^[13]
Ramnath Goenka and family, Indian Express Limited^[14]
Walchand Hirachand (1882–1953), Indian industrialist and founder of Walchand group^[15]
Seth Hukumchand (1874–1959), Indian industrialist^[16]
Khushalchand Jhaveri (1680–1748), Indian jeweller and financier^[17]
Shantidas Jhaveri (1584–1659), Indian jeweller, bullion trader, and moneylender^[18]
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Indian billionaire investor, stock trader, and Chartered Accountant, founder of Akasa Air^[19]
Premchand Roychand (1832–1906), 19th century Indian businessman and founder of Bombay Stock Exchange^[20]
Sarabhai family, a prominent Business family^[21]
Jagat Seth family, merchant, banker and money lender family in Bengal^[22]

Politics and activists[edit | edit source]

Activists[edit | edit source]

Sir Ganga Ram Agrawal, civil engineer and architect known as "the father of modern-day Lahore"^[23]

India[edit | edit source]

Rekha Gupta, Politician, Chief Minister of Delhi^[24]
Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi^[25]
Amit Shah, Union Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Co-operation, Member of Parliament (MP), President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), chairman of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly, Minister of State, Government of Gujarat^[26]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Rudolph, Susanne Hoeber; Rudolph, Lloyd I. (2009-04-08). Gandhi: The Traditional Roots of Charisma. University of Chicago Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-226-22760-3.
↑ Gandhi, Arun and Sunanda (1998). The Forgotten Woman. Huntsville, AR: Zark Mountain Publishers. p. 314. ISBN 1-886940-02-9.
↑ "Vaishyas find caste icon in Lohia". The Telegraph. 12 October 2003. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
↑ "Remembering India's freedom fighters: Lala Lajpat Rai". India TV News. 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
↑ "Sub Division, Jagraon, Punjab". www.jagraonadministration.in. Archived from the original on 2021-06-15. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
↑ "Indian National Congress". Indian National Congress. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
↑ John Gallagher; Gordon Johnson; Anil Seal (1973). Locality, Province and Nation: Essays on Indian Politics 1870 to 1940. CUP Archive. pp. 45–. ISBN 978-0-521-09811-3.
↑ "'How I Became Hindu' by Sita Ram Goel – Chapter 9(d): Nightmare Of Nehruism". hindupost.in. Archived from the original on 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
↑ "Remembering Bharatendu Harishchandra on Hindi Divas, a man whose work fortified the language". Firstpost. 14 September 2019.
↑ World, Rest of (2025-05-06). "Who is Bhavish Aggarwal, the Indian EV founder compared to Elon Musk?". Rest of World. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
↑ Rowley, Chris; Rama, Marie dela (3 May 2017). The Changing Face of Corruption in the Asia Pacific: Current Perspectives and Future Challenges. Elsevier. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-08-101230-7.
↑ Parvate, T. V. (1960). Jamnalal Bajaj [A brief study of his life and character] (1st ed.). Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House. p. 5.
↑ Sheth, Sudev (2024). Bankrolling Empire: Family Fortunes and Political Transformation in Mughal India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 6, 296. ISBN 9781009330268.
↑ Rozario, Joseph (2015-12-12). "The indomitable baron of the fourth estate". Marwar India Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
↑ Damodaran, Harish (2018). India's New Capitalists: Caste, Business, and Industry in a Modern Nation. Hachette. ISBN 978-93-5195-280-0.
↑ Markovits, Claude (1985). Indian Business and Nationalist Politics 1931-1939: The indigenous capitalist class and the rise of the Congress Party. Cambridge University Press. p. 32.
↑ Sheth, Sudev (2023-11-30). Bankrolling Empire: Family Fortunes and Political Transformation in Mughal India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-33026-8.
↑ Sheth, Sudev (2024). Bankrolling Empire: Family Fortunes and Political Transformation in Mughal India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 6, 296. ISBN 9781009330268.
↑ Chakraborty, Debarati (2016-05-25). "Moving Markets". Marwar India Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
↑ Subramanian, Lakshmi (15 January 2016). Three Merchants of Bombay. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 9788184757217.
↑ Entrepreneurship and Industry in India, 1800-1947. Oxford University Press. 1992. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-19-562806-7. The Sarabhais and the Lalbhais, the town's two most prominent entrepreneurial families, were Jain Banias prominent as shroffs.
↑ Ray, Aniruddha (2017). Towns and Cities of Medieval India. Routledge. p. 508.
↑ "Sir Ganga Ram: The pride of Lahore | Pakistan Today".
↑ 'I Am A Baniya Mukhya Mantri, I Know How To Spend Money,' Says Rekha Gupta #rekhagupta #delhicm. Retrieved 2025-11-05 – via www.youtube.com.
↑ ""I Am Baniya, Will Arrange Money For All Schemes": Arvind Kejriwal". www.ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 2025-05-20. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
↑ "'बनिये का बेटा हूं हिसाब देना आता है', सीतमढ़ी में अमित शाह ने राहुल गांधी पर कसा तंज - amit shah son of baniya knows how to account retaliation to pakistan". Jagran (in हिन्दी). Retrieved 2025-11-05.

This page lists people with the surname List of Baniyas.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

[:0-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Rudolph, Susanne Hoeber; Rudolph, Lloyd I. (2009-04-08). Gandhi: The Traditional Roots of Charisma. University of Chicago Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-226-22760-3.

[Gandhi_1998-2] Gandhi, Arun and Sunanda (1998). The Forgotten Woman. Huntsville, AR: Zark Mountain Publishers. p. 314. ISBN 1-886940-02-9.

[3] "Vaishyas find caste icon in Lohia". The Telegraph. 12 October 2003. Retrieved 2023-06-26.

[4] "Remembering India's freedom fighters: Lala Lajpat Rai". India TV News. 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2025-10-24.

[5] "Sub Division, Jagraon, Punjab". www.jagraonadministration.in. Archived from the original on 2021-06-15. Retrieved 2022-04-20.

[6] "Indian National Congress". Indian National Congress. Retrieved 2022-04-20.

[7] John Gallagher; Gordon Johnson; Anil Seal (1973). Locality, Province and Nation: Essays on Indian Politics 1870 to 1940. CUP Archive. pp. 45–. ISBN 978-0-521-09811-3.

[8] "'How I Became Hindu' by Sita Ram Goel – Chapter 9(d): Nightmare Of Nehruism". hindupost.in. Archived from the original on 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2025-11-06.

[9] "Remembering Bharatendu Harishchandra on Hindi Divas, a man whose work fortified the language". Firstpost. 14 September 2019.

[10] World, Rest of (2025-05-06). "Who is Bhavish Aggarwal, the Indian EV founder compared to Elon Musk?". Rest of World. Retrieved 2025-11-06.

[11] Rowley, Chris; Rama, Marie dela (3 May 2017). The Changing Face of Corruption in the Asia Pacific: Current Perspectives and Future Challenges. Elsevier. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-08-101230-7.

[12] Parvate, T. V. (1960). Jamnalal Bajaj [A brief study of his life and character] (1st ed.). Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House. p. 5.

[:32-13] Sheth, Sudev (2024). Bankrolling Empire: Family Fortunes and Political Transformation in Mughal India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 6, 296. ISBN 9781009330268.

[14] Rozario, Joseph (2015-12-12). "The indomitable baron of the fourth estate". Marwar India Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-06.

[15] Damodaran, Harish (2018). India's New Capitalists: Caste, Business, and Industry in a Modern Nation. Hachette. ISBN 978-93-5195-280-0.

[16] Markovits, Claude (1985). Indian Business and Nationalist Politics 1931-1939: The indigenous capitalist class and the rise of the Congress Party. Cambridge University Press. p. 32.

[17] Sheth, Sudev (2023-11-30). Bankrolling Empire: Family Fortunes and Political Transformation in Mughal India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-33026-8.

[:3-18] Sheth, Sudev (2024). Bankrolling Empire: Family Fortunes and Political Transformation in Mughal India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 6, 296. ISBN 9781009330268.

[19] Chakraborty, Debarati (2016-05-25). "Moving Markets". Marwar India Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-06.

[20] Subramanian, Lakshmi (15 January 2016). Three Merchants of Bombay. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 9788184757217.

[21] Entrepreneurship and Industry in India, 1800-1947. Oxford University Press. 1992. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-19-562806-7. The Sarabhais and the Lalbhais, the town's two most prominent entrepreneurial families, were Jain Banias prominent as shroffs.

[22] Ray, Aniruddha (2017). Towns and Cities of Medieval India. Routledge. p. 508.

[23] "Sir Ganga Ram: The pride of Lahore | Pakistan Today".

[24] 'I Am A Baniya Mukhya Mantri, I Know How To Spend Money,' Says Rekha Gupta #rekhagupta #delhicm. Retrieved 2025-11-05 – via www.youtube.com.

[25] ""I Am Baniya, Will Arrange Money For All Schemes": Arvind Kejriwal". www.ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 2025-05-20. Retrieved 2025-11-05.

[26] "'बनिये का बेटा हूं हिसाब देना आता है', सीतमढ़ी में अमित शाह ने राहुल गांधी पर कसा तंज - amit shah son of baniya knows how to account retaliation to pakistan". Jagran (in हिन्दी). Retrieved 2025-11-05.

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