Sikh surnames
Romanise
Nirvana wrote: Thurs, Feb 26 2004 5:12 pm
> I've got quite a few Punjabi Hindu and Sikh friends, and their
> surnames do *NOT* sound Indic. For example: Bajwa, Arora, Dua,
> Rehal, Dhillon, Gill, Dosanj, Cheema, Saini, and so on.
Largely from Kate Monk I have following surnames
Agroia
Ahluwalia
Ahuja
Arakoni
Arneja
Attariwala
Attwal
Atwal
Aujla
Aulakh
Ayer
Badal
Badyal
Bagha
Bahia
Balil
Balli
Banga
Bansal
Banwait
Barmi
Barn
Basra
Basrai
Bassi
Batra
Bawa
Baweja
Beasley
Beesla
Bhachu
Bhambra
Bhangu
Bhardwaj
Bhasin
Bhaura
Bhudraja
Bhuppal
Birdi
Bisla
Brar
Brara
Chadha
Chaha
Chahal
Chahall
Chahil
Chana
Chand
Chandha
Chattha
Chaudhary
Chawla
Cheema
Chhugani
Chima
Chopra
Daire
Dale
Dalel
Dambria
Das
Dass
Denhoy
Dhami
Dhamija
Dhanoa
Dhariwal
Dhudwal
Dindral
Doabia
Gandhi
Garcha
Ghag
Ghai
Ghuman
Girgla
Gogia
Grewal
Gugral
Gupta
Gurai
Heer
Hira
Hora
Hothi
Hundal
Jaggi
Jagur
Jammu
Janda
Japra
Jethani
Jhuti
Johal
Johar
Johl
Judge
Kaal
Kahlon
Kaila
Kalra
Kals
Kang
Kapani
Kasal
Kattaura
Khahera
Khaira
Khalsa
Khangura
Khatri
Khatter
Khattri
Kler
Kohli
Kooner
Lalli
Lally
Laungani
Lell
Loey
Mahal
Mahmi
Malhan
Malhi
Mann
Mansukhani
Maroke
Matharu
Mattu
Maude
Mundra
Nagra
Nahal
Narindra
Nijjar
Pabley
Padda
Pannu
Panu
Patiala
Pind
Prewal
Ragi
Rahul
Raj
Ram
Rama
Randhawa
Rani
Rao
Rattu
Reel
Rekhi
Sabdhu
Sabharwal
Sachdev
Sachdeva
Sambhi
Samra
Samran
Sandhar
Sandhu
Sanghera
Sarkaria
Sawhney
Sekhon
Shahraj
Shergill
Siddhu
Sihota
Sikand
Sodhi
Sohota
Sokhey
Sra
Sran
Sudan
Sukhija
Sull
Sutantar
Takhar
Takkar
Talib
Thakkar
Thakkur
Thiara
Thind
Tind
Tjiinder
Toor
Tur
Uppal
Virdee
Virk
Wahlia
Walia
Waraich
Warwaha
Everybody is welcome to add, comment, etc
baa...@rediffmail.com
Aneja, Dhamija.
TheSecularist
<baa...@rediffmail.com> wrote in message
news:1143705232.2...@e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...
> Most of the Arora surnames will end with "JA" like Taneja, Dhaneja,
> Aneja, Dhamija.
I thought Sikhs always took the surname Singh, "lion"??
baa...@rediffmail.com
sikhs use the surname Singh
Romanise
> Most of the Arora surnames will end with "JA" like Taneja, Dhaneja,
> Aneja, Dhamija.
I have Arora in list of Hindu surnames, list containing over 2100 out
of which 400 I have identified as Dravidian/SouthIndian names ( I would
put them here for readers to comment).
In the list above with -ja there are following
Sukhija
Baweja
Dhamija
Bhudraja
Ahuja
Arneja
Thanks for Taneja, Dhaneja and Aneja
Ruud Harmsen
sci.lang:
>Largely from Kate Monk I have following surnames
>Agroia
[many many names]
>Warwaha
And I always thought all Sikhs were called Singh. Poor little me. Live
and learn.
--
Ruud Harmsen - http://rudhar.com
Romanise
> And I always thought all Sikhs were called Singh. Poor little me. Live
> and learn.
Often those who just stick to 'Singh' as surname are hiding their
traditional lower status in Indian Society compared to those who use
one of many Sikh surnames. Of course many of these surnames are used
across Sikhs and Hindus and among Hindus of Punjab there has been a
tradition of making one of the sons a Sikh.
baa...@rediffmail.com
the mentioned surnames. But their clan would be Arora.
Neeraj Mathur
"Romanise" <jos...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1143723985.0...@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Not necessarily 'lower' - one of the Sikh gurus (was it Arjan?) encouraged
the Sikhs to not use their caste-based designations as names, but to instead
use 'Singh' for all men, and 'Kaur' for all women. This was part of
Sikhism's attempt to create a society without caste - one of many failed
attempts over the years (Buddhism tried to get rid of caste, unsuccessfully
in India (meaning the Indian sub-continent), and famously even Muslim and
Christian communities in India developed caste along the same lines as the
Hindus).
There are lots of people who cover their caste, simply because they don't
want to broadcast it. This can happen not only because of an attempt to
cover a low caste, but also people who don't want to be broadcasting their
higher caste status (like Europeans who refuse to use inherited noble
titles) and people who simply disagree with caste and want to avoid anything
to do with it. Amongst North Indians, one of the most common ways of doing
this is to use something that was originally a middle name as a surname -
Kumar is one of the most common such names.
Neeraj Mathur
nin
surnames of 'upper' caste Brahmins, like Aathavale, Kale. So it is not
easy to identify caste from the surname. It has, in a way, helped to
cover the caste.
Surinder Singh
s
<baa...@rediffmail.com> wrote in message
news:1143724592.3...@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
Surinder Singh
> Often those who just stick to 'Singh' as surname are hiding their
> traditional lower status in Indian Society compared to those who use
> one of many Sikh surnames.
This is not true. Guru Gobind Singh asked Sikhs to to discard "caste" last
names and use Singh/Kaur. For a long time, this was the way Sikhs did.
Adding laste name has gained currency lately, as religion has lost some of
its attraction. I was reading the news about SGPC elected members and
could see that all of them have added last names. Another thing is that
many Sikhs add their village names, like "longowal" etc. Why I disagree
with this is that many so-called high "Caste" sikhs also discard their last
names. Many Sikhs who would otherwise be brahmins of the Punjab, or
Brahmins of Kashmir, as well as Kshatriyas do not use last names. They
certainly are higher up in the pecking order. Jatts of the Punjab are not
exactly high (of course Jatts will protest my statement), but are the most
likely to use their last names.
s
southind...@yahoo.com
Surinder Singh
<southind...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1144597825.2...@t31g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>I never knew that Gandhi could be Punjabi / Sikh surnames.
I know some Ghandi Sikhs. I think it is Khatri, Kshatriya, caste.
s
gunja...@gmail.com
was a hated name in the Sikh/Punjabi Hindu community. And then 1984
karthika
<gunja...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1144634532.2...@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Romanise
:
> > traditional lower status in Indian Society compared to those who use
> > one of many Sikh surnames.
> Surinder Singh wrote
> This is not true. Guru Gobind Singh asked Sikhs to to discard "caste" last
> names and use Singh/Kaur. For a long time, this was the way Sikhs did.
> Adding laste name has gained currency lately, as religion has lost some of
> its attraction. I was reading the news about SGPC elected members and
> could see that all of them have added last names.
If SGPC fellows are getting back to theirsurnames then religion losing
its attraction could notbe the reason for castenames surfacing again.
If Christianity nand Islam (at least on thev subcontinent) are not
immune to their caste, race bugs one wonders if Sikhs have freed
themselves from it.
Of course giving up and getting back to caste surnames is not unique to
Sikhs, even hindus of north have vpracticed it. Charan Singh,
Chandrasekhar and then Mulayam Singh Yadav, though only Mayavati and
Kanshiram.
In UK Kaurs are twice the number of Singhs and Alis are 3/4 number of
begums.
baa...@rediffmail.com
Sareens. Traditionally marriages between the 3 sub castes were not
allowed.
Surinder Singh
> If SGPC fellows are getting back to theirsurnames then religion losing
> its attraction could notbe the reason for castenames surfacing again.
This statement is logically false, for it assumes that SGPC members cannot
be irreligious.
> If Christianity nand Islam (at least on thev subcontinent) are not
> immune to their caste, race bugs one wonders if Sikhs have freed
> themselves from it.
Sikhs never quite freed themselves from the caste bug. Even when not using
their caste last names, they are aware of what caste they are and marry only
within. Take a look at Sikh matrimonials in the Hindustan Times or the
Tribune.
s
Romanise
> > If SGPC fellows are getting back to theirsurnames then religion losing
> > its attraction could notbe the reason for castenames surfacing again.
> Surinder Singh wrote:
> This statement is logically false, for it assumes that SGPC members cannot
> be irreligious.
I think I have summerised what you stated.
You wrote
"Adding laste name has gained currency lately, as religion has lost
some of
its attraction."
&
"SGPC elected members ...all of them have added last names."
> > If Christianity nand Islam (at least on thev subcontinent) are not
> > immune to their caste, race bugs one wonders if Sikhs have freed
> > themselves from it.
> Sikhs never quite freed themselves from the caste bug. Even when not using
> their caste last names, they are aware of what caste they are and marry only
> within. Take a look at Sikh matrimonials in the Hindustan Times or the
> Tribune.
As for untouchability Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi could be the first
person to put his neck out to get it removed. Of course there was Narsi
Mehta (AD 1414-1480) who was outcasted by his Nagar Brahmin Caste
because Mehta was going to untouchable bastis to sing songs he composed
about his spiritual relations with krishna.
me
> Gandhi is an Iranian name and no Indian name!
Show that there are Iranians named Gandhi.
Surinder Singh
> As for untouchability Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi could be the first
> person to put his neck out to get it removed.
Ghandi was not the first, by no means. Countless religious saints of India
have attacked the caste system. Sri Ramanuja Charya, the Guru of the
Iyengars of South India, took caste system head on. Very successfully, if I
may add. His disciple Swami Ramanand, and many of Ramannd's disciples like
Kabir, Ravidas, and Peepa, attacked caste system. There are many many
examples like this.
Regards.
s
Romanise
> > person to put his neck out to get it removed.
> Surinder Singh wrote
> Ghandi was not the first, by no means. Countless religious saints of India
> have attacked the caste system. Sri Ramanuja Charya, the Guru of the
> Iyengars of South India, took caste system head on. Very successfully, if I
> may add. His disciple Swami Ramanand, and many of Ramannd's disciples like
> Kabir, Ravidas, and Peepa, attacked caste system. There are many many
> examples like this.
Did anyone throw away his wife, mother of his several sons, for
refusing to clean after excreta of others of castes lower than
themselves?
Did anyone, a family man, got thrown out of the caste with marriagable
daughter like Narsi Mehta was?
People even wanted to physically hurt Dayanand for advocating getting
out of idol worship.
Surinder Singh
> Did anyone throw away his wife, mother of his several sons, for
> refusing to clean after excreta of others of castes lower than
> themselves?
I do not know. What is your point?
> Did anyone, a family man, got thrown out of the caste with marriagable
> daughter like Narsi Mehta was?
I do not know. What is your point?
> People even wanted to physically hurt Dayanand for advocating getting
> out of idol worship.
What is the relevance of this example of Dayanand?
s
Romanise
> > refusing to clean after excreta of others of castes lower than
> > themselves?
> Surinder Singh wrote:
> I do not know. What is your point?
Nohandas Karamchand Gandhi shut her wife out of the house for that
reason.
> > Did anyone, a family man, got thrown out of the caste with marriagable
> > daughter like Narsi Mehta was?
> I do not know. What is your point?
Talking against castes is one thing, doing something against
untouchability is another.
> > People even wanted to physically hurt Dayanand for advocating getting
> > out of idol worship.
> What is the relevance of this example of Dayanand?
None to Sikh durnames.
