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Aroras

Juhi Chawla • Malaika Arora Khan • Kalpana Chawla •  • Samir Arora •  • Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia •  • Arun Khetarpal •  • Govinda Ahuja
Languages
Urdu • Punjabi • Saraiki • Hindi
Religion
Hinduism • Sikhism • Islam
Related ethnic groups
Indo-Iranians, Indo-Aryan peoples

Arora ( Shahmukhi:اروڑہ, Gurmukhi: ਅਰੋੜਾ, Devanagari: अरोड़ा) or Aror-vanshis or Aror-vansh is an Indo-Aryan, Indo-Iranian community of Punjab. The Aroras are a mercantile ^[1] group. According to some sources they are Kshatriyas ^{[2][ dubious – discuss] [3]} according to the four varnas of Hinduism.

Nobel laureate Dr. Hargobind Khorana, astronaut Kalpana Chawla, Lt. Arun Khetarpal, Captain Vikram Batra (both recipients of Param Vir Chakra), Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, Lt. General Harbaksh Singh, Lt. General Jagjit Singh Aurora, and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Gagan Narang trace their ancestry to the Arora community.

The word Arora means one belonging to the ancient city of ' Aror' situated on the banks of the river Indus in the northwestern part of the Sindh province of Pakistan. Aroras are similar to the Khatri group. Both groups engage in similar work; have a similar accent and physical appearance; and have similar traditions and rituals. There is a significant overlap of surnames and subcastes among the two communities. Both communities are closely related to each other and intermarriage between the two communities takes place. Where in history the two groups bifurcated is not exactly known. Genetic tests demonstrate that Aroras, Khatris, and Rajputs are strongly clustered together genetically, and they are closer to Brahmin than to Vaish and Scheduled Castes. ^[4] The Aroras and Khatris engaged in trade in Central Asia. ^{[5] [6]} The Hindu temples of Kabul and the Hindu Fire Temple of Baku built and maintained by them still exist.

Prior to independence and the partition of India in 1947, Aroras used to live peacefully with their Muslim counterpart Khawaja Shaikh. Aroras were mainly concentrated in West Punjab (now Pakistan) along the banks of the river Indus and its tributaries; in the Malwa region in Indian Punjab apart from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP); in Sindh (mainly as Sindhi Aroras but there were many Punjabi and Multani speaking Aroras as well); in Rajasthan (as Jodhpuri and Nagauri Aroras/Khatris); and in Gujarat. Khatris were more numerous in the northern Potohar and Majha regions of Punjab. In post-independence and post-partition India, Aroras mainly reside in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and other parts of the country. After partition, Aroras have migrated to many parts of India and Pakistan, and all over the world.

Origins

The name Arora was derived from a place named Aror, which is located near the modern towns of Rohri and Sukkur in Sindh, Pakistan. ^[7]

Aror is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) east of Rohri. It was located on the banks of the Indus, where the river took a sharp turn towards the west, and was a center of commerce and a prosperous city. It was the ancient capital of Sindh, when it was ruled by King Dahir. In 711, the city was conquered by the Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim, who moved the capital some 300 kilometres (190 mi) south to Mansura, near Hala. In the 10th century, it received another blow when the river Indus changed its course, which was probably caused by a massive earthquake in 962. ^[8] The present course of Indus is west of Aror. The modern towns of Sukkur and Rohri are situated on both sides of the river. Aror is now a small dusty city.It is believed that Aroras came from Archosia(A place towards the west of Hindu Kush mountain) to Aror and settled there.

Aroras are divided into three main groups: Uttradhi, Gujarati, and Dakhna. Prior to partition in 1947, they only married within their own group; after partition they started intermarrying among other groups of Aroras, and with the Khatris, Bhatias, and Soods, but of different gotras. ^[9]

The Aroras in the past have also been known as Rors. ^[10]

History

According to the Indian Puranic tradition, the Arora are a people from the Suryavansha group of the Ikshvaku. According to ancient reigious texts, Lord Rama of Ayodhya had a descendant named Devaneek in the eighth generation after him, and Devaneek had three sons. ^[11] The three sons of Devaneek were called Ahinag (Aneeh), Roop, and Ruru. Ruru is remembered by all Aroras as their eponymous ancestor. The lineage from there on is well-preserved by their bards right up to King Dadror. Evidence is available to suggest that the Greeks used to call the Sauviras by names derived from the name of the Sauvira capital of Roruka. ^[12]

Arora capitals

Arora clans historically ruled from Rohri, the capital of Sindh from ancient times until 711 AD. Rorhi has been known by names such as Roruka and Rorik since antiquity. Buddhist Jataka stories talk about exchanges of gifts between King Rudrayan of Roruka and King Bimbisara of Magadh. ^[13] The Buddhist chronicle Divyavadanasaid that Rorhi competed with Patliputra in terms of political influence. ^[14] T.W. Rhys Davids mentioned Roruka as one of the most important cities of India in the seventh century B.C. ^[15]

Roruka was founded by King Ruruk, who was the fifth Ikshvaku dynasty ruler in the lineage after Raja Harishchandra of Kashi. ^{[16][ failed verification]} An idea about the age of the city can be had by exploring the time line of the Ikshvaku dynasty. King Ruruk was born 29 generations before Lord Rama and should be dated to around 2500 BC using the most conservative estimates. ^[17] Therefore, according to the traditional Puranic time-line of Indian civilization, King Ruruk may have lived around 5500 BC. ^[18]

Shortly after the reign of Rudrayan, in the times of his son Shikhandi, Roruka got wiped out in a major sand storm. ^[19] This event is recorded in both Buddhist (Bhallatiya Jataka) and Jain (Story of Udayan and the town of Vitabhaya) annals. It was then that the legendary Raja Dhaj built Rori Shankar ^[20] (the current Rohri and Sukkur) in the year 450 BC.

The ancient city of Aror was a major pilgrimage center, where Bhrithari, elder brother of King Vikramaditya, came to pay his respects to Shankar Bhagwan. After the Arab conquest of Sindh in 711 AD, the invaders pulled down the ancient temple of Shiva, but Rorhi still remains important as a religious destination for the Sindhis.

Bardic version

According to bards' chronicles and accounts, Aroras had two more capitals in India. King Mukan Dev of the Arorsa, who originally ruled from Palanpur in Gujarat, later extended his rule in the north of the country and established a second capital close to present-day Delhi in Badli, Jhajjar. Inscriptions on rocks at Junagadh refer to Rudradaman I and his 150 A.D. campaign against the Yaudheya Kshatriyas. They say that the Aror king came from Gujarat and established his rule in Haryana. ^[21]

Golden age

The first few centuries of the Christian Era and a couple of centuries prior to that constitute the golden age of Arora history whereas Jats along with Khatris Gujjars, Tarkhans, Lohars, Rajputs and Kamboj people) came from Central Asia, and established their rule in Punjab (India) . Aroras had ruling seats of power in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Sindh. During the time of Rai Dewaji in the 5th century AD, they consolidated their influence in the entire region from Afghanistan to Kanauj in India. ^[22]

The fort at Bhainsrorgarh in Southern Rajasthan was built as early as the 2nd century BC. and the Kagarol (Kaga Ror) ruins ^[23] near present-day Agra have also pointed to a similar time-line for another branch of Aroras who ruled from there. The coins found in the Agra circle by Sir Alexander Cunningham ^[24] seem to indicate a close relationship between the Arora rulers of the area and the rulers of Hastinapur and Indraprastha. A few coins found close to the site were dated to the 3rd century AD by Cunningham because of the general style of the coins and the type of Sanskrit used. ^[25]

Chach of Alor

Chach of Alor (610–682) ^[26] was a Brahmin chamberlain and secretary to Rai Sahasi II of the Rai Dynasty, and succeeded him to the throne of Sindh. ^[26] The history of Chach is related in the Chach Nama, a book about the history of Sindh.

In the 35th year of the reign of the Raja Sahasi Rai II (636 AD), the Chach Nama reports the repulsion of an Arab raid on Debal and Thana. The raid was meant for the purpose of looting the coastal cities, and not actually permitted by the Caliph Umar (634–644), who later dismissed the governor of Bahrain for raiding without permission. In 644, after Muslim conquest of the Sassanid Empire, the Rashidun army entered Makran and defeated the army of Sahasi Rai II in the Battle of Rasil, and annexed Makran and eastern Balochistan. Caliph Umar disapproved of any incursion beyond the Indus River and ordered his commanders to consolidate their position west of the Indus. ^{[27][ failed verification]} During the reign of Caliph Uthman ibn Affan (644–656), Muslims captured Qanzabil, a main military garrison of the Rai dynasty in northern Sindh. In 662, during the Ummayad Caliphate, it was retaken by the Rai kingdom, and it served as easternmost garrison town of the Rashidun army.

Chach is reported to have developed a relationship with the then Queen Suhanadi, and upon the death of Sahasi Rai II he conspired with the queen and became ruler. The Rana Maharath, the King of Chittor, who was the brother Sahasi Rai, claimed the throne and attacked Chach. The Rana was killed by strategem, in the war in 640. ^{[26] [28]}

Chach then enlisted his brother Chandra to help him administer the realm, and set off with an army to bring the rest of the realm under his control. He is reported to have fought battles at Babiah on the south bank of the River Beas, at Iskandah, and at Sikkah, where "Chach Rai took possession of the fort (of Sikkah), and killed 5,000 warlike men who were in it, and made the other residents of the town prisoners, and secured a large booty and a great number of slaves." ^[29] He appointed a Thakur at Multan and rode unopposed to settle the boundary with Kashmir.

Later he expanded his rule, subduing neighbouring Buddhist regions across the Indus River, culminating in a battle at Brahmanabad. He stayed there for a year, cementing his control by various means such as marrying the widow of the king Agham; marrying his niece to Agham's son Sarhand; taking hostages; and prohibiting the Jat and Lohana tribes from carrying weapons.

He placed upon the Jat and Lohana restrictions such as forbidding them riding horses with saddles, forbidding them from wearing silk or velvet, forbidding them from wearing headgear or footwear, and forcing them to wear black or red scarves.

He then marched into Sassanid territory to the town of Armanbelah, and through Turan to Kandahar, from where he exacted tribute before returning.

Several places along the Sindhu river are named after this king. For example, there are Chachpur, Chachar, Chachro, Chachgaon, and Chachi. ^[30]

Chandar

Chach was succeeded by his brother, Chandra (671–679). ^[31] Chandar was a Buddhist ascetic. ^[32] He defended his realm from the Rana Sahiras of Kannauj. After a protracted siege of the capital at Aror, the Rana was captured during a conflict at a parley. Peace was concluded by means of hostages. Chandra ruled for 8 years.

Raja Dahir

Chach's eldest son Dahir then succeeded his uncle Chandar. His father is reported as being named Selaij. There are conflicting reports on when Chach married the Queen Suhanandi, who had no children from the Rai, and whether it was before or after the battle with the Rana Maharath. Chach had two sons (Dahir and Daharsiah) with the Queen Suhanandi and one daughter (Bai) from the widow of Argham.

Demographics

Before partition

Prior to the partition of India in 1947, Aroras generally lived in the southwestern parts of the Punjab, including Dera Ghazi Khan District (and the recently created districts of Rajanpur), Multan, Bahawalpur, northern Sindh, and the Dera Ismail Khan Division of the North-West Frontier Province. The main language of this area is Lahnda, now known as Seraiki in Pakistan. Aroras dwelled in varying numbers further north, in the districts of Jhang, Mianwali, Lahore, Amritsar, and Lyallpur (now known as Faisalabad), and south of Derajat in Sukkur, Shikarpur District, and Karachi. In Kohat, the Aroras were split into autochthonous and immigrant Aroras; most of the immigrants were Sikh while the autochthonous were Hindu. ^[33]

Half of the Aroras of the Punjab were living in the southwest, in the areas of Dera Ghazi Khan, Jhang, Mianwali, Muzaffargarh, Multan and Bahawalpur. ^[34] According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1901), the three major mercantile communities of the Punjab province—the Aroras, the Banias, and the Ahluwalias—were dominant in the southwest ( Multan division), the southeast ( Delhi division including present Haryana), and the northeast ( Jalandhar division) respectively; in the central area ( Lahore division) and the northwest ( Rawalpindi division), Aroras and Khatris were almost equal in numbers. ^[34]

The numerical strength of the communities in the 1901 census of the province (which included Delhi) was as follows: Aroras 653,000; Banias 452,000; Khatris 436,000. In the former princely state of Bahawalpur, practically the entire commerce was in the hands of Aroras, while Ahluwalias dominated in the state of Patiala. A majority of the government employees were Aroras. In the same census of 1901, the numbers of Aroras and Khatris in North-West Frontier Province were 69,000 and 34,000 respectively; in the province of Sindh and the princely state of Khayrpur, both Aroras and Khatris were probably counted as Lohanas, the mercantile community of Sindh. Many Aroras were promoted in all departments of the Indian government as Extra Assistant commissioners, accountants, professors, doctors, civil surgeons, engineers, military officers, and court officers. After the partition of India in 1947, the majority of Sikh and Hindu Aroras from all over Pakistan migrated to India. ^[34]

Independence

Aroras joined with the rest of India to fight for Indian independence. Many were imprisoned for satyagraha (nonviolent resistance). Some were involved in the Hindu Mahasabha in fighting for independence, including Madanlal Pahwa. As the Aroras are mainly from the Western Punjab region, most Aroras had to migrate to India during the partition of India in 1947.

After partition

File:SaduBela.jpg

The Aroras settled in Amritsar during the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh or even earlier. ^[9] It is presumed that they migrated from Sind or Multan to Lahore, and then to Amritsar. This is inferred from the fact that, after a very long stay in the central Punjab, they ceased to speak their Lahnda dialect. ^[9] The Arora Sikhs are mostly found in big towns, especially in Amritsar. They were living there even before the partition. Their Hindu counterparts, the majority of whom migrated from Pakistan, arrived in India in 1947 after a journey lasting up to a month or more to cross only 100 to 400 miles, starved, dehydrated, ill, and often with only the clothes they were wearing. Aroras not only have survived but have prospered. ^[9] The Amritsar Gazetteer claims Aroras are very energetic and intelligent. They are mostly engaged in trade and industry. They are superior in business acumen to their counterparts settled in the district. A good number of them have also joined public and private services. ^[1] The Hoshiarpur Gazetteer says "Before independence, the Aroras did not constitute a sizeable population in the district. With the migration of the non-Muslim population from Pakistan to India in 1947, they settled here, though in small numbers.The Aroras were generally settled in West Punjab (Pakistan) and in the Firozepur District. Their representation in the eastern districts of the Punjab was not notable. According to Ibbetson, the Aroras are the Kshatriyas of Ror (Rori Sukkur, Sindh, in Pakistan). Whatever be their origin, the fact is that they resemble Khatris in certain traits. In certain respects, they are even superior to them. They are also divided into many groups and castes, Uchanda, Nichanda, etc., but in social life, these groups are of no importance. They intermarry in their groups like others. They also intermarry among Khatris. In the All-India meeting in 1936, held by the Khatris at Lahore (Pakistan), it was decided that the Aroras, Soods and Bhatias were Kshatriyas for all intents and purposes. ^[35]

Before the partition, Aroras used to marry only among their sub-group i.e. Uttradhi, Dakkhna or Dahra and members of the same geographic region. But after the partition, spheres of permissible arranged matrimonial alliances were widened to others of Punjabi origin, ^[9] especially Khatris, Bhatias, and Sood. Inter-caste marriages with other communities of Punjab (with Brahmins and Baniyas especially) and other parts of India and world have become quite common and are becoming more common every day. These sub-castes have mixed so overwhelmingly that all of these castes together are now referred to as the Punjabi Aroras or simply the 'Punjabi' community. Aroras have been increasingly shunning the caste system, twith he Aroras (and all Punjabis in general) becoming more liberal, especially the populace in bigger towns and cities. Among Punjabis, socioeconomic status has replaced caste as the primary concern in matrimonial alliances.

Role in Indian society

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Arora families in India place great emphasis and attention to the education of their children, including their daughters; because of this, they have become prosperous and are successful in many diverse professions such as trade, education, medicine, finance, technology, engineering, manufacturing, entertainment, arts, armed forces, and bureaucracy. They have achieved remarkable success despite being a very small minority, lack of a political power-base, vigorous attempts to disparage and/or to suppress them by Muslims in pre-partition Punjab and Sindh, and loss of their homes, businesses, properties, and bank deposits (at Punjab & Sind Bank, owned and controlled by three Sikh Khatri families) at the time of partition in 1947. Another prominent bank in Punjab at that time (Punjab National Bank) is reported to have played a very positive role by encashing bank deposits of migrants based on pass book entries, even though the bank had lost its records in Pakistan. ^[36]

Aroras have taken roles in the Indian Armed Forces. Late Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora and Gen. J.J. Singh are two prominent contributions of the Arora community to the Indian Armed Forces. Aroras were prominent in the recent Kargil War. Vikram Batra was declared a war hero in India, as was Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, both of whom died during the conflicts.

Religion

Most of the Aroras in India are Hindus and form a very small minority of Sikhs, though they are influential within the Sikh community. ^[37] Aroras are very tolerant in their religious faith. Most are followers of Hindu Dharma; however, they respect the sanctity of and frequently visit Arya Samaj temples, Jain temples, and Sikh Gurdwaras. For several centuries in the past, the eldest son of an Arora Hindu family voluntarily changed his religion to Sikhism as a family devotion to the Sikh Gurus in the 18th century. ^[38] The Arora community is in charge of most of the temples in Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab areas. Most of the Shiv Mandirs, Hanuman Mandirs, Sanatan Dharma Mandirs, Durga Mandirs, and Krishna Mandirs are managed by Arora communities in the provinces with significant Arora population.

Divisions

Genetically, Many of the Sindhi Hindus in India are also Aroras (although they are classified as Lohanas) and live in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Many Gujaratis (Lohanas) and Sindhis (Sindhi Khatris) have family names similar to Aroras. In Rajasthan, there is a distinct Khatri community. They subclassify themselves into Jodhpuri and Nagauri Khatris. They also carry Arora family names. They have about 84 clans and 201 subclans. Like their Punjabi Arora brethren, they have prospered and have migrated to other parts of India and other countries. There are still some Sindhi Hindu Aroras living in Northern Sindh; most are involved in trade.

There are three main divisions among the Aroras: Uttradhi, Dakhna, and Gujarati. ^[9] The Uttradhi Aroras used to live in the northern regions. The Dakhna Aroras used to live in southern regions nearer to the coast, and the Gujarati Aroras used to live in the west, nearer to Gujarat. ^[39]

Aroras share cultural and genetical similarity with Khatris/Kukhrans. The Arora existed in western districts of Punjab, and only influenced towards Sanatan Dharma or Shiv Lingam Poojan,^{[ clarification needed]} but Khatris in eastern Punjab followed Sikh and other beliefs. After the Khatris started condemning Brahmins,^{[ clarification needed]} the Arora stopped being known by the name Khatri. Another genetically similar group living in Pakistan is the Memons.

The folk dance of the Arora community is the Jhumar, a slow moving and expressive dance, and the Khatri folk dance is the Bhangra, which is more aggressive.

Famous Aroras

Aroras have had an impact in almost all forms of human endeavour after Indian independence and have had an indelible role in India's development.

Science- Nobel laureate for science Har Gobind Khorana, eminent zoologist Sunder Lal Hora, NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla, and ISRO scientist Satish Dhawan are among Aroras who have earned fame in the realm of science and technology. Samir Arora holds 13 patents in the field of computers. Sanjeev Arora is a professor of computer science at Princeton University who is known for his seminal work on Probabilistic Checkable Proofs (most notably the proof of the PCP theorem).

Defense- Major Ravin Juneja of 21 Sikh Regiment, Lieutenant General Harbakhsh Singh Arora played a pivotal role in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. In the Khemkaran sector near Amritsar, under the leadership of Gen. Arora, the Indian Army defeated a much better endowed Pakistani Army (equipped with American Patton M-48 tanks) and made the Khemkaran sector a "Graveyard of Patton tanks" by destroying or capturing nearly 300 Pakistani tanks, thus delivering a deadly blow to the strength and morale of Pakistani defense establishment. He had been given an option to retreat behind the river Sutlej by Indian High Command, which would have left half of Punjab under Pakistani occupation.

Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora displayed his leadership in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Under his leadership, 90,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered, which put an end to the war in the eastern sector. In the 1971 war, 2nd Lt. Arun Khetarpal was posthumously awarded the highest gallantry award of India, the Param Vir Chakra, for his bravery.

In the Kargil War (1999), Captain Vikram Batra lost his life in the mountains of the Kargil region. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra. Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja ( Vir Chakra) also lost his life in the service of his homeland during the Kargil war.

Government- Harpreet Singh Pruthi [IRSS]; Mr.Bhagwant Singh Nirula IPS (ret'd) served a distinguished career in the Indian Police Service. A 1960 graduate, he retired as Director General of Police for Gujarat State in 1992.

Dr. Ashok Dhamija is an ex-IPS officer of Maharashtra Cadre. He has handled many high profile cases and is now a leading advocate in the Mumbai High Court and the Supreme Court of India. Books authored by him:

• Prevention of Corruption Act, Second Edition (2009), published by LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur, New Delhi
• Need to Amend a Constitution and Doctrine of Basic Features, (2007), published by Wadhwa and Company Nagpur, New Delhi
• Law of Bail, Bonds, Arrest and Custody, (2009), published by LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur, New Delhi

Industry: Varun Juneja of Paramount Cement, Brij Mohan Munjal and the family of Hero Honda Group, Karam Chand Thapar, Nirula's chain of fast food joints, VLCC (Vandana Luthra Slimming Centre), the Batra Hospital in New Delhi, Dr. Batra's chain of Homeopathy clinics, and Chhabra555 are a few examples of the entrepreneurial skills of Aroras. In Singapore, Kartar Singh Thakral has built up his family's trading business, Thakral Holdings/Corp. Thakral is Singapore's 25th richest person. ^[40]

Lord Swaraj Paul of Caparo is an Arora (Paul is used by certain Aroras with suffix -pal in their surnames, like Nagpal and Kathpal). The Bajaj family of Bajaj Motors are of Arora lineage (Aroras settled in Rajasthan).

Entertainment: A number of Aroras are involved in show business, including Gulzar (his real name is Sampooran Singh Kalra), Gulshan Bawra (Gulshan Kumar Mehta) Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Raj Babbar, Subhash Ghai, Vijay Arora, Jas Arora, Akshay Kumar (Rajiv Bhatia), Govinda (Govind Arun Ahuja), Pooja Batra, Shiney Ahuja, Juhi Chawla, Gulshan Grover, Harman Baweja, Nitin Arora, electronic music producer Aditya Arora, Malaika Arora, singer Jaspinder Narula, and others.

Fashion: Manish Arora, Ritu Kumar, Rohit Gandhi, Neeta Lulla, and Vijay Arora are fashion designers.

Politics: Gopal Singh Qaumi was a leading freedom fighter from Punjab and a leader of Shiromani Akali Dal. Madan Lal Khurana, former CM of Delhi, is an Arora. Other Arora politicians include Ashok Arora, former Speaker of Haryana State Assembly, and Pritam Arora, former member of the AICC and vice president of All India Mahila Congress. ^[41]

Media: Khushwant Singh, the Sikh historian and MP who was the editor of Illustrated Weekly, Surya and Hindustan Times is of Arora heritage. Other media persons include Ravinder Singh Chugh, Ravinder Singh Laddi, Shiv Khera, Prabhu Chawla, Vinod Dua, Pritam Arora, ^[42] and Nalin Mehta.

Sports: Gautam Gambhir, Nayan Mongia, and Piyush Chawla are eminent cricketers and Gagan Narang an eminent shooter.

Social Service – Mandeep Pujara is a youth leader who has represented Indian and Asian youth at various platforms of social change, especially Rotary International.

Religion: Avtar Singh Makkar, President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee is of Arora extraction.

Numerous people from the Arora community are successful doctors, engineers, politicians, entrepreneurs, painters, and sportspersons.

Arora surnames

Over 1,500 gotras exist among the Aroras.

Some of the family names of the Aroras include Ahuja, Alreja, Arya, Aneja, Ajmani, Asija, Babbar, Bajaj, Balana, Bagai, Bakhru, Banga, Batra, Baweja, Bhathheja, Baseeja, Bhyana, Bhutani, Buddhiraja, Chawla, Charaipotra, Chhabra, Chhabaria, Chugh, Chuggha, Dhamija, Dawar, Dhingra, Dureja, Doda, Doomra, Dua, Dudeja, Gambhir, Gaba, Gagneja, Gakhar, Ganda (now changed to Gandhi), Gandhi, Gavri, Gawri, Gera, Ghawri, Ghavri, Girdhar, Gogia, Grover, Gulati, Guliani, Hangal, Handa, Hasija, Huria, Jhamb, Jhandai, Juneja, Kakkar, Kalra, Kamra, Kataria, Kathpal, Kharbanda, Khera, Khetarpal, Khirbaat, Khurana, Khorana, Kukreja, Kumar, Lakhina, Lal, Leekha, Lekhi, Loona, Lulla, Luthra, Madaan, Mahatta, Mahtta, Makhija, Makkar, Malik, Manaktala, Manchanda, Manocha, Mehndiratta, Mendiratta, Middha, Miglani, Mongia, Munjal, Nagpal, Narang, Narula, Nirula, Nijhawan, Pahuja, Pahwa, Papneja, Pasricha, Pruthi, Pujara, Raheja, Rahuria, Rajpal, Rehani, Relan, Sachdev, Sachdeva, Saluja, Sardana, Sehtiya, Sethi, Setia, Shreedar, Siddhar, Sidana, Sikri, Sindhwani/Sindhuria, Sukhija, Suneja, Taneja, Thakral, Tuteja, Vasant, Virmani, Wadhwa, and others. A complete list is available at Wictionary.

See also

• Hinduism in Punjab
• Forward Caste
• Lohana
• Siraiki

References

• Short Ethnographical history of the Aror Bans, "Proceedings of the General Meeting of the Aror Bans Punchayat", Lahore, held on July 20, 1888.

External links

Category:History of Sindh

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