List of people from Punjab, India

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This is a list of notable Indian people from Punjab.

Nobel laureates

• Har Gobind Khorana

Military leaders

Indian Armed Forces

Air Force

• Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, former Chief of Indian Air Force, the only living Indian military officer with a five-star rank.

• Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra, former Chief of Indian Air Force
• Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh, former Chief of the Indian Air Force

Army

• General Bikram Singh, former Indian Army chief
• General J. J. Singh, former Indian Army Chief
• General Pran Nath Thapar, former Indian Army Chief

• Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
• Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, Western Army Commander and War Hero 1965 Indo-Pak War

• Major General Shabeg Singh

• Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri (retired), known for his heroic leadership in the famous Battle of Longewala for which he was awarded Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) by the Indian Army

Navy

• Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda
• Admiral Karambir Singh

Military Gallantry Award winners

British Indian Army

Victoria Cross

• Karamjeet Singh Judge, 15th Punjab Regiment
• Gian Singh, Sikh Regiment
• Ishar Singh, 28th Punjabis; first Sikh to receive Victoria Cross
• Nand Singh, 1/11th Sikh Regiment
• Parkash Singh, Sikh Regiment
• Sher Shah, 16th Punjab Regiment

Indian Armed Forces

Param Veer Chakra (PVC)

• Subedar Joginder Singh Sahnan, Sikh Regiment
• Gurbachan Singh Salaria, 1 Gorkha Rifles
• Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, Indian Air Force
• Lance Naik Karam Singh, Sikh Regiment

Maha Veer Chakra (MVC)

• Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, known for his heroic leadership in the famous Battle of Longewala
• Ranjit Singh Dyal, Indian Army general and an administrator
• Wing Commander Jag Mohan Nath, officer in Indian Air Force
• Major General Kulwant Singh Pannu, officer of Indian Army
• Lieutenant Colonel Dewan Ranjit Rai, senior Indian Army officer
• General Tapishwar Narain Raina, former Chief of the Army Staff of Indian Army
• Nand Singh, also an Indian recipient of Victoria Cross
• Sukhjit Singh
• Major General Rajinder Singh Sparrow, Armoured Corps

Early modern era

• Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
• Dewan Mokham Chand
• Bhuma Singh Dhillon
• Hari Singh Dhillon
• Diwan Sawan Mal
• Diwan Mulraj
• Jassa Singh Ramgarhia
• Akali Phula Singh
• Hari Singh Nalwa
• Baba Deep Singh
• Bhai Mani Singh
• Bhai Taru Singh
• Maharaja Bhupinder Singh
• Maharaja Jagatjit Singh
• Nawab Kapur Singh
• Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Business

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the chairman and managing director of Bharti Telecom.

• Trishneet Arora
• Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder of Hotmail
• Gurbaksh Chahal
• Naresh Goyal, of Jet Airways
• Sunil Mittal, Chairman and managing director of the Bharti group
• Aroon Purie, India Today group
• Kanwal Rekhi, one of the first Indian entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley

Artists

• Manjit Bawa
• Sarindar Dhaliwal
• Satish Gujral
• Sobha Singh

Educators and scientists

• Megh R. Goyal, father of irrigation engineering in Puerto Rico
• Narinder Singh Kapany

Astronauts

• Kalpana Chawla, first woman of Indian origin in space
• Air Commodore Ravish Malhotra
• Rakesh Sharma, first Indian in space

Bollywood

Families

The Anands

• Chetan Anand
• Dev Anand
• Vijay Anand
• Shekhar Kapur

The Chopras

• Baldev Raj Chopra
• Yash Chopra
• Ravi Chopra

The Deols

• Dharmendra
• Sunny Deol

The Devgans

• Veeru Devgan
• Anil Devgan

The Dutts

• Sunil Dutt
• Sanjay Dutt

The Oberois

• Suresh Oberoi
• Vivek Oberoi

The Paintals

• Paintal
• Gufi Paintal

The Puris

• Madan Puri
• Amrish Puri

The Sahnis

• Balraj Sahni
• Bhisham Sahni
• Parikshit Sahni

Individual artists

Akshay Kumar

• Amrish Puri
• Anand Bakshi
• Akshay Kumar
• Bina Rai
• David Dhawan
• Deepti Naval
• Dara Singh
• Divya Dutta
• Geeta Bali
• Gul Panag
• Honey Singh
• I. S. Johar
• Jeetendra (Ravi Kapoor)
• Kapil Sharma
• Kamini Kaushal
• Kulbhushan Kharbanda
• Kirron Kher
• Mangal Dhillon
• Mukesh Khanna
• Mandira Bedi
• Monica Bedi
• Mohammed Rafi
• Neha Dhupia
• Navin Nischol
• Om Prakash
• Pankaj Kapur
• Poonam Dhillon
• Prem Chopra
• Parmeet Sethi
• Pooja Batra
• Pooja Bedi
• Ruby Bhatia
• Ranjeet
• Raj Babbar
• Rajendra Kumar
• Rati Agnihotri
• Raveena Tandon
• Rajat Kapoor
• Rajesh Khanna
• Ranbir Pushp
• Rahul Roy
• Rajit Kapur
• Roshan
• Rubina Shergill
• Simone Singh
• Suraiya
• Simi Garewal
• Saeed Jaffrey
• Vinod Khanna
• Vinod Mehra

Documentary filmmakers

• Jaspal Bhatti

Directors

• Harry Baweja
• Yash Chopra
• David Dhawan

Crossover directors and actors (Hollywood)

• Waris Ahluwalia
• Art Malik
• Deepa Mehta

History

Porus and Alexender

• Charaka

Folklore

• Puran Bhagat

Religious and spiritual figures

The Ten Gurus of Sikhism

Main article: The Sikh Gurus

• Guru Nanak
• Guru Angad
• Guru Amar Das
• Guru Ram Das
• Guru Arjan Dev
• Guru Hargobind
• Guru Har Rai
• Guru Har Krishan
• Guru Teg Bahadur
• Guru Gobind Singh
• Guru Granth Sahib

Sikh

• Harbhajan Singh Yogi
• Giani Sant Singh Maskeen

Related to Sikhism

• Sri Chand, son of Guru Nanak Dev ji

Ahmidiyya Muslim Community

• Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad
• Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
• Mirza Nasir Ahmad
• Mirza Tahir Ahmad

Writers

Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu

Giani Gurdit Singh

• Bhai Gurdas
• Giani Gurdit Singh
• Shardha Ram Phillauri
• Nanak Singh
• Dhani Ram Chatrik
• Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha
• Bhai Vir Singh
• Rajinder Singh Bedi
• Shiv Kumar Batalvi
• Damodar Das Arora
• Sahir Ludhianvi
• Amrita Pritam
• Gulzar (full name Sampooran Singh Gulzar), Oscar winner for movie Slumdog Millionaire
• Jaswant Neki
• Pash
• Rupinderpal Singh Dhillon
• Harbhajan Singh
• Munir Niazi
• Ajmer Rode
• Navtej Bharati
• Jaswant Singh Kanwal
• Hafeez Jullundhri
• Saadat Hasan Manto
• Mehr Lal Soni Zia Fatehabadi
• Kulwant Singh Virk

English

Khushwant Singh is a prominent Indian novelist and journalist.

• Khushwant Singh
• Vikram Chandra
• Kartar Singh Duggal
• Amrita Pritam
• Partap Sharma
• Susham Bedi
• Ahmed Rashid
• Vidya Dhar Mahajan

Journalists

Print

India

• Kuldip Nayar
• Arun Shourie
• Aroon Purie
• Tarun Tejpal
• Prabhu Chawla
• Tavleen Singh

Tamil cinema

• Sonia Agarwal, Punjabi Hindu

Models

• Waris Ahluwalia, American model, endorses the clothing brand GAP

Musicians

Classical

• Sardool Sikander
• Kamal Heer
• Gurdas Maan
• Kuldeep Manak

Bollywood

• Sardool Sikander
• Suraiya
• Shamshad Begum
• Mohammed Rafi
• OP Nayyar
• Mahendra Kapoor
• Madan Mohan
• Sukhwinder Singh
• Kamal Khan, Bollywood playback singer

Bhangra and other Punjabi people

India

Jay Sean

• Sardool_Sikander
• Jagmeet Bal
• Asa Singh Mastana
• Surinder Shinda
• Surinder Kaur
• Kuldeep Manak
• Amar Singh Chamkila
• Gurdas Mann
• Malkit Singh
• Manmohan Waris
• Kamal Heer
• Daler Mehndi
• Surjit Bindrakhia
• Babbu Mann
• Balkar Sidhu
• Lehmber Hussainpuri
• Hans Raj Hans
• Sukhwinder Singh
• Jaspinder Narula
• Kulwinder Dhillon
• Bombay Rockers
• Harshdeep Kaur
• Sukhbir
• Labh Janjua
• Sukhshinder Shinda
• Bally Sagoo
• Apache Indian
• Channi Singh
• Panjabi MC
• Jay Sean
• Hard Kaur
• Rishi Rich
• Juggy D
• Taz
• Harbhajan Mann
• Jazzy B
• Miss Pooja
• Soni Pabla

Pop and rock

India

• Sardool Sikander
• Amrinder Gill
• Baba Sehgal
• Rabbi Shergill
• Honey Singh

Revolutionaries and Freedom Fighters

• Prithvi Singh Azad, Indian independence activist, revolutionary and one of the founder members of Ghadar Party
• Bhai Balmukund was an Indian revolutionary freedom fighter
• Sohan Singh Bhakna, was an Indian revolutionary, the founding president of the Ghadar Party
• Amir Chand Bombwal
• Diwan Mulraj Chopra
• Satyapal Dang
• Bhai Mati Das
• Jathedar Bhai Tehal Singh Dhanju, Indian Freedom Fighter, Sikh leader and activist; planned The Lahore Conspiracies
• Madan Lal Dhingra, was an Indian revolutionary independence activist
• Kishan Singh Gargaj, Indian Freedom Fighter and Founder of militant Babbar Akali Movement against British rule
• Sadhu Singh Hamdard, well-known freedom fighter and the journalist of Punjab
• Dharam Singh Hayatpur, was an Indian revolutionary, he was a prominent member of the Sikh political and religious group the Babbar Akali Movement in India
• Kartar Singh Jhabbar, was an Indian revolutionary, he was a Sikh leader known for his role in the Gurdwara Reform Movement of the 1920s
• Sohan Singh Josh, was an Indian communist activist and freedom fighter
• Gulab Kaur
• Sardul Singh Kavishar
• Saifuddin Kitchlew
• Sunder Singh Lyallpuri, was a General of Akali Movement
• Mangu Ram Mugowalia, Indian freedom fighter, politician from Punjab and one of the founder members of the Ghadar Party
• Darshan Singh Pheruman, Indian freedom fighter, Sikh activist and politician
• Jaswant Singh Rahi
• Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian Freedom Fighter, popularly known as Punjab Kesari
• Lala Achint Ram
• Harnam Singh Saini
• Labh Singh Saini, Akali politician and notable Indian freedom fighter
• Maya Singh Saini, was an soldier in the Sikh Khalsa Army during the Anglo-Sikh Wars and continued fighting British Rule after the Second war
• Teja Singh Samundri
• Kartar Singh Sarabha, Indian Independence activist and a Ghadr revolutionary
• Baba Gurdit Singh
• Baba Gurmukh Singh, Indian Freedom Fighter, a Ghadr revolutionary and a Sikh activist
• Baba Kharak Singh
• Baldev Singh, was an Indian independence movement leader and also the first Defence Minister of India
• Bhagat Singh, Indian Freedom Fighter and most common symbol of India's Freedom Struggle by any means and a Ghadr revolutionary
• Captain Mohan Singh, was an Indian military officer and also an Indian Independence Activist
• Ganda Singh, was a prominent member of the Ghadar Party
• Giani Ditt Singh
• Ram Singh, credited as being the first Indian to use non-cooperation and boycott of British merchandise and services as a political weapon.
• Ripudaman Singh, Indian revolutionary
• Sardar Ajit Singh, was an Indian revolutionary, he was the uncle of sardar Bhagat Singh and an alleged assassin for the Ghadar Party
• Udham Singh, Indian Revolutionary
• Teja Singh Swatantar
• Sukhdev Thapar, was an Indian Revolutionary
• Sewa Singh Thikriwala
• Bhagwati Charan Vohra, was an Indian revolutionary, associated with Hindustan Socialist Republican Association

Politicians

India

• Amarinder Singh
• Baldev Singh
• Bibi Jagir Kaur
• Buta Singh
• Darbara Singh
• Giani Zail Singh
• Gulzari Lal Nanda
• Gurcharan Singh Tohra
• Gurdial Singh Dhillon
• Harkishan Singh Surjeet
• Inder Kumar Gujral
• Krishan Kant
• Madanlal Khurana
• Malik Umar Hayat Khan
• Manmohan Singh
• Master Tara Singh
• Parkash Singh Badal
• Pratap Singh Kairon
• Rajinder Kaur Bhattal
• Sant Fateh Singh
• Sardul Singh Caveeshar
• Simranjit Singh Mann
• Surjit Singh Barnala
• Swaran Singh
• Laxmi Kanta Chawla
• Chaudhary Nand Lal

Sportspersons

Cricket

Harbhajan, pictured here bowling in the nets

• Yadavendra Singh
• Lala Amarnath
• Mohinder Amarnath
• Bishan Singh Bedi
• Balwinder Sandhu
• Bhupinder Singh snr
• Gursharan Singh
• Yograj Singh
• Amarjit Kaypee
• Maninder Singh
• Rajinder Ghai
• Surinder Khanna
• Navjot Singh Sidhu
• Manoj Prabhakar
• Chetan Sharma
• Madan Lal
• Ashok Malhotra
• Vijay Mehra
• Aashish Kapoor
• Atul Wassan
• Akash Chopra
• Nikhil Chopra
• Dinesh Mongia
• Harvinder Singh
• Harbhajan Singh
• Yuvraj Singh
• V. R. V. Singh
• Reetinder Sodhi
• Gourav Dhiman
• Piyush Chawla
• Gautam Gambhir
• Sunny Sohal
• Ajay Ratra

Hockey

Field hockey

• Ajitpal Singh
• Balbir Singh Sr.
• Prithipal Singh
• Baljeet Singh Saini
• Gagan Ajit Singh
• Prabhjot Singh
• Ramandeep Singh
• Baljit Singh Dhillon
• Deepak Thakur
• Dhyan Chand
• Surjit Singh Randhawa

Athletics

• Milkha Singh
• Ajmer Singh (1940–2010), Olympian and 1966 Jakarta Asian Games gold medallist sprinter
• Kamaljeet Sandhu
• Baljinder Singh (born 1986), race walker
• Inderjeet Singh, shot put athlete

Golf

• Jeev Milkha Singh
• Gaganjeet Bhullar

Wrestling

The "Great" Gama

• The Great Gama
• Dara Singh
• Jinder Mahal
• Premchand Dhingra
• Tiger Jeet Singh
• Gurjit Singh
• Sonjay Dutt (real name Ritesh Bhalla), TNA wrestler

Fighters

• Akshay Kumar, real name Rajeev Bhatia, black belt in karate; film actor
• Veeru Devgan, father of Ajay Devgan, action and stunt designer

Shooting

• Avneet Sidhu, Commonwealth Games medalist, Arjun Award recipient
• Harveen Srao, 2011 Summer Universiade medalist in 10m air pistol

Basketball

• Satnam Singh Bhamara, drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 52nd pick in the 2015 NBA draft, making him the first person of Indian descent to be drafted into the NBA

See also

• List of Sikhs
• List of British Sikhs
• List of British Punjabis