Following is a list of famous and notable Punjabi people, an ethnic group belonging to the Punjab region. It contains people mainly from what is today Punjab, Pakistan and Punjab, India, and people with Punjabi ancestry or people who speak Punjabi as their primary language.
Artists
Authors
Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu
Pakistan
India
English
Aviators
Architects
Business
India
Pakistan
- Anwar Pervez, founder of Bestway
- Ashar Aziz, founder of FireEye in Silicon Valley
- Bashir Tahir, former CEO of Dhabi Group
- Fred Hassan, director at Warburg Pincus
- James Caan, founder of Hamilton Bradshaw
- Malik Riaz, founder of Bahria Town,
- Mansoor Ijaz, founder of Crescent Investment Management Ltd
- Mian Muhammad Latif, founder of Chenab Group
- Mian Muhammad Mansha, founder of Nishat Group
- Michael Chowdrey, founder of Atlas Air
- Shahid Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham F.C., co-owner of All Elite Wrestling
- Zameer Choudrey, CEO of Bestway
Cartoonists
Doctors
India
Educators and scientists
Nobel laureates
Pakistan
- Asad Abidi, professor of electrical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
- Masud Ahmed, theoretical physicist and one of the leading figures of the Theoretical Physics Group - the group that developed the theoretical designs of Pakistan's nuclear weapons
- Ishtiaq Ahmed, professor of political science at the Stockholm University
- Nazir Ahmed, experimental physicist and first chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)
- Munir Ahmad Khan, Pakistani nuclear scientist and engineer
- Samar Mubarakmand, Pakistani nuclear scientist and the head of the team that conducted the Chagai-I nuclear tests in 1998.
- Farooq Azam, professor of oceanography at the University of California, San Diego
- Tariq Ali, political activist, historian, writer, journalist and public intellectual
- Rafi Muhammad Chaudhry, nuclear physicist and pioneer of Pakistan's nuclear weapons research program
- Nayyar Ali Dada, architect in modernist architecture
- Fayyazuddin, theoretical physicist
- Mahbub ul Haq, economist and inventor of the Human Development Index (HDI)
- Tasawar Hayat, mathematician
- Shahbaz Khan, hydrologist and director of the UNESCO cluster office in Jakarta
- Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, nuclear engineer
- Salim Mehmud, rocket scientist
- Atif Mian, professor of economics, public policy and finance at Princeton University
- Zia Mian, physicist and co-director of the program on science and global security at Princeton University
- Ghulam Murtaza, theoretical physicist
- Qaiser Mushtaq, mathematician
- Adil Najam, dean of global studies at Boston University
- Ayyub Ommaya, neurosurgeon and inventor of the Ommaya reservoir
- Khalil Qureshi, physical chemist
- Muneer Ahmad Rashid, mathematical physicist
- Riazuddin, theoretical physicist and one of the leading figures of the Theoretical Physics Group - the group that developed the theoretical designs of Pakistan's nuclear weapons
India
- M. M. S. Ahuja, Indian physician and endocrinologist
- Om P. Bahl, Indian molecular biologist
- Jasbir Singh Bajaj, Indian physician and diabetologist; conferred with the Padma Vibhushan award
- Hoon Balakram, Indian mathematician
- Indu Banga, historian at Punjab University, Chandigarh
- Lekh Raj Batra, distinguished mycologist and linguist
- Sabeer Bhatia, founder of the Hotmail email service and Jaxtr
- Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, first director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
- Praveen Chaudhari, Indian American physicist
- Kasturi Lal Chopra, Indian material physicist
- Ram Nath Chopra, Indian medical officer; widely considered the "father of Indian pharmacology"
- Virender Lal Chopra, Indian biotechnologist, geneticist, agriculturalist, former director-general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
- Kirpal Singh Chugh, Indian nephrologist
- Manoj Datta, Indian engineer
- Sukh Dev, Indian organic chemist
- Vinod Dham, engineer, entrepreneur and venture capitalist; popularly known as "Pentium Engineer"
- Meena Dhanda, philosopher and academic at University of Wolverhampton
- Satish Dhawan
- Baldev Singh Dhillon
- Vijay K. Dhir, Indo-American scientist
- Guru Prakash Dutta, Indian cell biologist and immunologist
- Khem Singh Gill, Indian academic, geneticist
- Piara Singh Gill, Indian nuclear physicist
- Sucha Singh Gill, Indian academic, economist
- Khem Singh Grewal, Indian pharmacologist
- Ravi Grover, Indian nuclear scientist
- Hansraj Gupta, Indian mathematician
- Sardul Singh Guraya, Indian biologist
- Ranjit Lal Jetley, soldier and scientist
- Gurcharan Singh Kalkat, Indian agricultural scientist
- Ved Prakash Kamboj
- Vijay Kumar Kapahi, Indian astrophysicist
- Narinder Singh Kapany, Indian-born American Sikh physicist
- Satinder Vir Kessar, Indian synthetic organic chemist
- Pradeep Khosla, academic computer scientist
- Vinod Khosla Indian American engineer and businessman
- Rakesh Khurana, Indian-American educator
- Neelam Kler, Indian neonatologist
- Nayanjot Lahiri, Indian historian and archaeologist at Ashoka University
- Purshotam Lal, Indian cardiologist
- Narinder Kumar Mehra, Indian immunologist
- Mridula Mukherjee, Indian historian specialized in modern India Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Manohar Lal Munjal, Indian acoustical engineer
- Yash Pal, Indian scientist, educator and educationist
- Janak Palta McGilligan, Indian Padma Shri recipient, social worker, and a writer of Indian educational curriculum books
- Mohinder Singh Randhawa, Punjabi civil servant, botanist, historian, art and culture promoter, prominent writer
- Narinder Singh Randhawa, Indian agricultural scientist
- Suresh Rattan
- Birbal Sahni, Indian paleobotanist who studied the fossils of the Indian subcontinent
- Daya Ram Sahni, Indian archaeologist
- Harvinder Sahota, Indian American cardiologist
- Hargurdeep (Deep) Saini, Vice President and Principal of the University of Toronto at Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
- Sartaj Sahni, American-Indian computer scientist
- Harvinder Sahota, Indian American cardiologist
- Pritam Saini, English, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu writer; historian; literary critic
- Sanjay Saini, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School
- Subhash Saini, senior computer scientist, NASA Ames Research Center, USA
- P. K. Sethi
- Dheeraj Sharma, professor at IIM-Ahmedabad; writer
- Khushdeva Singh, Indian physician and social worker
- Manjit Singh, armament scientist
- Upinder Singh, Indian historian specialized in ancient India at University of Delhi
- Sahib Singh Sokhey, Indian biochemist
- Janak Raj Talwar, Indian cardiothoracic scientist
- B. K. Thapar, Indian archaeologist; Director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India, 1978âÂÂ1981
- Kartar Singh Thind
- Surinder Vasal, Indian geneticist scientist
- Purshottam Lal Wahi
- Khushwant Lal Wig, Indian physician
- Bagicha Singh Minhas, Indian economist
Folklore
Film industry
Bollywood (India)
The following is a list of famous Punjabi families and individual artistes who have worked in Bollywood:
Individual Actors
Directors
Documentary filmmakers
Lollywood (Pakistan)
Directors
Punjabi cinema (India)
Directors
Actors
The Punjabi film industry has produced a number of successful actors, actresses, writers, directors and filmmakers, many of whom have been known internationally.
Actors
Actresses
Tamil cinema (India)
International Film and TV personalities
Historical
Ancient
Medieval
<big>Post Medieval Era</big>
<big>Muslims</big>
Sikh Empire
Sikh
Hindu
Muslim
Monarchs
Muzzafarid Sultans of Gujarat
Sayyid Sultans of Delhi
Raja of Sialkot
Gakhar Sultans of Potohar
Langah Sultans of Multan
Sikh Empire
Misl Rulers
Sardars of Jhang
Nawab of Punjab
Nizam of Hyderabad
Raja of Kashmir
Sultans of Mysore
Journalists
Print
India
England
Pakistan
Electronic/broadcast
India
Pakistan
Military
Pakistan Armed Forces
Air Force
Army
- Maj Gen Iftikhar Khan, most senior to succeed General Douglas Gracey as the first native Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, but was killed in a C-53 crash with 22 others, including his wife and infant daughter before he could take office leading to General Ayub Khan being appointed instead
- General Asim Munir, current Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army
- General (R) Raheel Sharif, former Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army
- General (R) Qamar Javed Bajwa, former Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army
- General Zia ul Haq, former Chief of Army Staff and President of Pakistan
- General (R) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, former Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan army
- General (R) Tikka Khan, former Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army
- General Asif Nawaz Janjua, former Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army
- Lt Gen Sarfraz Ali
- Lt Gen (R) Abdul Ali Malik
- Lt Gen (R) Asim Saleem Bajwa
- Lt Gen (R) Nasser Khan Janjua
- Maj Gen (R) Rao Farman Ali
- Maj Gen (R) Muhammed Akbar Khan
- Maj Gen Iftikhar Janjua, most senior Pakistani officer killed in battle during Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 while fighting with his troops on the front line
- Maj Gen (R) Iftikhar Khan, designated as the first native Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army
- Maj Gen (R) Muhammad Yusaf Khan
- Maj Gen (R) Raja Sakhi Daler Khan
- Maj Gen (R) Akhtar Hussain Malik
- Maj Gen (R) Noel Israel Khokhar
- Brig Siddique Salik
- Brig (R) Raja Habib ur Rahman Khan
- Brig (R) Amir Gulistan Janjua
- Major Tufail Mohammad, Nishan-e-Haider
- Major Raja Aziz Bhatti, Nishan-e-Haider
- Major Muhammad Akram, Nishan-e-Haider
- Major Shabbir Sharif, Nishan-e-Haider
- Lieutenant Colonel Haroon Islam
- Captain Raja Muhammad Sarwar, Nishan-e-Haider
- Naik Saif Ali Janjua, Nishan-e-Haider
- Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz, Nishan-e-Haider
- Sowar Muhammad Hussain Janjua, Nishan-e-Haider
Navy
Indian Armed Forces
Airforce
Army
- General Deepak Kapoor, former Indian Army Chief
- General Om Prakash Malhotra, former Indian Army Chief
- Captain Saurabh Kalia, martyr of Kargil war
- General Bikram Singh, former Indian Army Chief
- Captain Arun Singh Jasrotia,
- General Pran Nath Thapar, former Indian Army Chief
- General Nirmal Chander Vij, former Indian Army Chief
- Lt General Jagjit Singh Aurora (1916âÂÂ2005), General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971; led the ground forces campaign in the eastern front of the war
- Lt General Punita Arora, first woman in the Indian Armed Forces to reach the second highest rank of Lt General; first woman to become the Vice-Admiral of Indian Navy
- Major General Shabeg Singh
- Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri (retired), awarded Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) by the Indian Army for his leadership in the Battle of Longewala
- Captain Vikram Batra, former officer of Indian army, martyred in 1999 Kargil war and was awarded Param Vir Chakra posthumously
- Lieutenant general Satinder Kumar Saini, former Vice Chief of the Army Staff
Navy
Other notables
Singapore Armed Forces
United States Armed Forces
Music
Pakistan
Punjabi Folk
Sufi Qawwali
Classical Hindustani Gharanas
Panjabi Gharana
Patiala Gharana
Sham Chaurasia Gharana
Modern Playback
India
Punjabi folk
Sufi Qawwali
Hindu devotional
Classical Hindustani music
Patiala Gharana
Sham Chaurasia Gharana
Modern playback
Models
Politicians
India
Pakistan
United States
United Kingdom
Canada
Revolutionaries
Religious figures
Sikh Gurus
Other Sikh figures
Muslim Sufis and saints
Hindu Gurus and saints
Buddhist figures
Radha Soami Satsang Beas
Ahmadiyya
Sportspersons
Baseball
Chess
Badminton
Table Tennis
Tennis
Cricket
India
Pakistan
England
Canada
New Zealand
Basketball
Hockey
Field hockey
Ice hockey
Figure skating
American football
Canadian Football
Athletics
Golf
Wrestling
Shooting
Cycling
Soccer
Boxing
Volleyball
Water Polo
Weightlifting
Freestyle Wrestling
Mixed martial arts
See also
References