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
Allah Bakhsh
Amrita Sher-Gil
Anish Kapoor, sculptor
Abdur Rahman Chughtai, painter
Ahmed Parvez, painter
Bashir Mirza, painter
Zubeida Agha, painter
Rashid Rana, sculptor
Quddus Mirza, art critic
Authors
Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu
Pakistan
India
English
Aviators
Kalpana Chawla
Air Commodore Ravish Malhotra
Rakesh Sharma, first Indian in space
Architects
Ahmad Lahori
Ataullah Rashidi
Bhai Ram Singh
Business
India
Pakistan
Cartoonists
Shekhar Gurera, editorial cartoonist
Pran Kumar Sharma, cartoonist of Chacha Chaudhary fame
Farooq Qaiser
Doctors
India
Educators and scientists
Nobel laureates
Abdus Salam, Pakistani theoretical physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the electroweak unification theory
Har Gobind Khorana, Indian-American Medicine Nobel prize laureate
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 University of Stockholm
Nazir Ahmed, experimental physicist and first chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)
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
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
Mukesh Gautam
Lollywood (Pakistan)
Directors
Anwar Kamal Pasha
Hassan Tariq
Iqbal Kashmiri
Javed Raza
M. Akram
Masood Parvez
Pervaiz Kaleem
Riaz Shahid
Sarmad Khoosat
Syed Noor
Punjabi cinema (India)
Directors
Amberdeep Singh
Amitoj Maan
Anurag Singh
Baljit Singh Deo
Gippy Grewal
Harry Baweja
Jagdeep Sidhu
Manmord Sidhu
Pankaj Batra
Rohit Jugraj Chauhan
Simerjit Singh
Smeep Kang
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
Governor
Mughal Empire
Muslim
Abd al-Samad Khan
Zakariya Khan Bahadur was the Mughal Empire's subahdar of the Lahore Subah from 1726, succeeding his father, Abd al-Samad Khan, in the post.
Shaikh Gadai Kamboh, Chief Justice of Mughal Empire
Shahbaz Khan Kamboh, Governor of Bengal
Wazir Khan, Grand Vizier of Mughal Empire
Saadullah Khan, Grand Vizier of Mughal Empire
Hifzullah Khan, Governor of Sindh and Kashmir
Sayyid Abdullah Khan, Governor of Bijapur and Ajmer
Sayyid Hassan Khan, Grand Vizier of Mughal Empire.
Sayyid Hussain Khan, Mir Bakhshi of Mughal Empire.
Moin-ul-Mulk was the Mughal and later Durrani governor of the Punjab between 1748 and 1753
Adina Beg Arain, Governor of Lahore and Multan
Fakir Azizuddin
Mutawassil Khan Rustam Jang
Nizam Hidayat Muhi-Ud-Din Khan
Sikh
Hari Singh Nalwa
Chattar Singh Attariwalla
Sham Singh Atariwala
Jodh Singh Ramgarhia
Jawahar Singh Aulakh
Tej Singh
Sher Singh Attariwalla
Ranjodh Singh Majithia
Mangal Singh Ramgarhia
Hindu
Dewan Mokham Chand
Misr Diwan Chand
Gulab Singh
Mahan Singh Mirpuri
Ranbir Singh
Dhian Singh
Dewan Sawan Mal Chopra
Zorawar Singh Kahluria
Diwan Mulraj Chopra
Monarch
Sikh Empire
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of Sikh Empire
Maharaja Kharak Singh, second ruler of the Sikh Empire
Maharaja Nau Nihal Singh, third emperor of the Sikh Empire.
Maharaja Sher Singh, was the fourth maharaja of the Sikh Empire.
Maharaja Duleep Singh was the last Emperor of the Sikh Empire
Misl Rulers
Banda Singh Bahadur, Commander-in-chief of Khalsa army
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia founder of Ahluwalia Misl and leader of Dal Khalsa
Nawab Kapur Singh Organizer of Sikh Confederacy
Jassa Singh Ramgarhia founder of Ramgarhia Misl
Jai Singh Kanhaiya one of the most powerful sikh rulers during Sikh Confederacies period founder of Kanhaiya Misl
Charat Singh founder of Sukerchakia Misl father of Maha Singh and grandfather of Ranjit Singh
Hari Singh Dhillon one of the most powerful and admired Sikh Worrier leaders of Bhangi Misl
Maha Singh son of Charat Singh and father of Ranjit Singh second chief of Sukerchakia Misl
Jhanda Singh Dhillon son of Hari Singh Dhillon under his leadership Bhangi Misl become the most powerful among all the Misls
Baba Deep Singh founder of Shaheedan Misl
Others
Shaikha Khokhar
Jasrath Khokhar
Khizr Khan
Sultan Zafar Khan
Sultan Mahmud Shah I
Sultan Husseyn Langah I
Sarang Khan Gakhar
Kamal Khan Gakhar
Inayatullah Khan Sial
Fath Muhammad
Hyder Ali
Tipu Sultan
Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq
Porus
Journalists
Print
India
England
Simon Singh
Riz Khan
Pakistan
Electronic/broadcast
India
Pakistan
Yawar Hayat Khan
Mishal Husain
Hassan Nisar
Suhail Warraich
Military
Pakistan Armed Forces
Air Force
Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed
Air Chief Marshal Zafar Chaudhry
Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat Rana
Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman
Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan
Air Marshal Abdul Rahim Khan
Air Marshal Nur Khan
Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry
Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas, Nishan-e-Haider
Army
Adina Beg
Ranjit Singh
Hari Singh Nalwa
Ilahi Bakhsh
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 (R) Asif Nawaz Janjua, former Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army
Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa
Lt Gen (R) Abdul Ali Malik
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, first local 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 (R) Raja Habib ur Rahman Khan
Brig (R) Amir Gulistan Janjua
Major Tufail Muhammad, Nishan-e-Haider
Major Raja Aziz Bhatti, Nishan-e-Haider
Major Muhammad Akram, Nishan-e-Haider
Major Shabbir Sharif, Nishan-e-Haider
Captain Muhammad Sarwar, Nishan-e-Haider
Naik Saif Ali Janjua, Nishan-e-Haider
Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz, Nishan-e-Haider
Sowar Muhammad Hussain, Nishan-e-Haider
Navy
Admiral (R) Muhammad Asif Sandila
Admiral (R) Muhammad Afzal Tahir
Indian Armed Forces
Airforce
Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra, former Chief of Indian Air Force, Awarded highest military peace award.
Marshal Arjan Singh, former Chief of Indian Air Force; only marshal in the history of Indian Air Force
Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh, former Chief of Indian Air Force
Air Chief Marshal Nirmal Chandra Suri, former Chief of Indian Air Force
Rakesh Sharma, Indian Air Force, first Indian in space
Army
General Deepak Kapoor, former Indian Army Chief
General Om Prakash Malhotra, former Indian Army Chief
Captain Saurabh Kalia, martyr of Kargil war
General Ved Prakash Malik, former Indian Army Chief
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 (1916–2005), 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
Navy
Admiral Robin K. Dhowan, former Chief of Indian Navy
Admiral S.M. Nanda, former Chief of Indian Navy
Other notables
Kiran Bedi, first woman IPS officer
Uday Singh Taunque, awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star; first Indian to die in Iraq War as part of the US Army
Singapore Armed Forces
Colonel Gurcharan Singh Sekhon
Music
Pakistan
Punjabi Folk
Sufi Qawwali
Fateh Ali Khan
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Badar Miandad
Ghulam Farid Sabri
Maqbool Ahmad Sabri
Amjad Sabri
Classical Hindustani Gharanas
Panjabi Gharana
Shaukat Hussain
Ustad Tafu Khan
Tari Khan
Patiala Gharana
Barkat Ali Khan
Amanat Ali Khan
Bade Fateh Ali Khan
Ghulam Ali
Hamid Ali Khan
Asad Amanat Ali Khan
Farida Khanum
Sham Chaurasia Gharana
Salamat Ali Khan
Sharafat Ali Khan
Shafqat Ali Khan
Modern Playback
India
Punjabi folk
Sufi Qawwali
Classical Hindustani Music
Patiala Gharana
Sham Chaurasia Gharana
Modern playback
Models
Politicians
India
Pakistan
United States
Preet Bharara, former member of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
Nikki Haley, Governor of South Carolina, former member of the United States House of Representatives
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, former member of the United States House of Representatives
Jenifer Rajkumar, Member of New York State Assembly from Queens
Ro Khanna, Member of United States House of Representatives from California's 17th congressional district
United Kingdom
Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Baroness Sayeeda Hussain Warsi
Sajid Javid
Sajjad Karim
Humza Yousaf, Prime Minister of Scotland
Canada
Harjit Sajjan
Jagmeet Singh
Raj Saini
Sonia Sidhu
Navdeep Bains
Gurratan Singh
Gagan Sikand
Tim Uppal
Revolutionaries
Religious figures
Sikh Gurus
Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism
Guru Angad
Guru Amar Das
Guru Ram Das
Guru Arjan Dev, was the first two Gurus Martyred Sikh faith
Guru Hargobind
Guru Har Rai
Guru Har Krishan
Guru Tegh Bahadur
Guru Gobind Singh, Last Sikh Guru in human form founder of Khalsa panth
Other Sikh figures
Bhai Kanhaiya, he was known for pouring water for all the wounded members of the battlefield no matter whether they were Sikhs or enemies
Baba Buddha, one of earliest Sikh figures
Bhai Mardana, was the first Sikh
Bhai Daya Singh, first in Panj Pyare
Muslim Sufis and saints
Hindu Gurus and saints
Baba Shri Chand
Swami Rama Tirtha
Swami Shraddhanand
Sri Chauranginatha
Bawa Lal Dayal
Mastana Balochistani
Virajanand Dandeesha
Buddhist figures
Khema
Bhadda Kapilani,
Anoja
Kumaralata.
Radha Soami Satsang Beas
Baba Jaimal Singh
Baba Sawan Singh
Sardar Bahadur Maharaj Jagat Singh
Maharaj Charan Singh
Baba Gurinder Singh
Ahmadiyya
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1889–1908)
Malauna Hakeem Noor-ud-Din (1908–1914)
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad (1914–1965)
Mirza Tahir Ahmad (1982–2003)
Mirza Masroor Ahmad (2003–present)
Sportspersons
Baseball
Chess
Tania Sachdev
Table Tennis
Manika Batra
Tennis
Cricket
India
Pakistan
England
Canada
New Zealand
Basketball
Sim Bhullar
Satnam Singh Bhamara
Amjyot Singh
Hockey
Field hockey
Ice hockey
Athletics
Golf
Wrestling
Shooting
Cycling
Alexi Grewal, American-Sikh, won gold medal in Olympics
Soccer
Boxing
Volleyball
Nirmal Saini
Weightlifting
Nooh Dastgir Butt
Freestyle Wrestling
Muhammad Inam Butt
Muhammad Bashir
Amar Dhesi
Zaman Anwar
Mandhir Kooner
Nishan Randhawa
Mixed martial arts
Singh Jaideep, Indian-Japanese mixed martial artist
Arjun Bhullar, Punjabi-Canadian mixed martial artist