Ahluwalia is a surname native to the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
region of India. It is derived from the words "Ahlu" (a village in Lahore) and "
walia" (a
Punjabi-language adjectival suffix). It was first adopted by the Sikh
Kalal chief
Jassa Singh, the leader of the
Ahluwalia misl
Ahluwalia (also transliterated as Ahluvalia) was a misl, that is, a sovereign state in the Sikh confederacy of Punjab region in present-day India and Pakistan. The misl's name is derived from Ahlu, the ancestral village of the misl leaders. The A ...
. The surname was later adopted by many others, including the members of the
Kalal caste who were not his descendants, leading to the formation of the
Ahluwalia caste.
Notable people who bear the surname Ahluwalia include:
*
Ashim Ahluwalia
Ashim Ahluwalia (born 1972 in Mumbai, India) is a film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with the feature-length documentary ''John & Jane'' (2005), which had a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival an ...
, Indian film director and screenwriter
*
Dolly Ahluwalia
Dolly Ahluwalia is an Indian actress and costume designer who was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001 for costume design.[H. P. S. Ahluwalia
Major Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia (6 November 1936 – 14 January 2022) was an Indian mountaineer, author, social worker and Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) officer. During his career he made contributions in the fields of adventure, spor ...]
, Indian mountaineer
*
Harry Ahluwalia, Indian actor
*
Iloosh Ahluwalia, Indian businesswoman
*
Isher Judge Ahluwalia
Isher Judge Ahluwalia (1 October 194526 September 2020) was an Indian economist, public policy researcher, and professor. She was Chairperson Emeritus, Board of Governors, at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations ( ...
, Indian economist
*
Jasbina Ahluwalia, American matchmaker
*
Jassa Ahluwalia
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (born 12 September 1990) is a British actor, director and radio presenter. He acted in the BBC television series ''Some Girls'', the film ''The Whale'' and presented the Disney Junior TV show ''Art Attack''.
Early life ...
, English actor
*
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
Sultan-ul-Qaum Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the Supreme Leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period w ...
, Sikh Confederacy leader
*
Kiran Ahluwalia
Kiran Ahluwalia is a Canadian singer, songwriter who infuses African desert blues and Western musical styles. Kiran Ahluwalia won the 'Newcomer' category in the inaugural Songlines Music Awards (2009) – announced 1 May 2009 – the new 'world m ...
, Indo-Canadian singer
*
Kiranjit Ahluwalia
Kiranjit Ahluwalia (born 1955) is an Indian woman who fatally burned her husband in 1989 in the UK. She claimed it was in response to ten years of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. After initially being convicted of murder and senten ...
, Indian women's rights activist
*
Manraj Ahluwalia, English cricketer
*
Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Montek Singh Ahluwalia (born 24 November 1943) is an Indian economist and civil servant who was the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, a position which carried the rank of a Cabinet Minister. He tendered his resignation for t ...
, Indian economist and civil servant
*
Poonam Ahluwalia, Indian social entrepreneur
*
S. S. Ahluwalia
Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia (born 4 July 1951) is an Indian people, Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and a senior Member of Parliament in his 32nd year as a Parliamentarian.
A former Minister of State, Union Minister of ...
, Indian politician
*
Sukhdev Ahluwalia
Sukhdev Ahluwalia (born January 5, 1932) is a Punjabi film director.
Ahluwalia began his career in the film industry as an assistant cameraman with Modern Studios working with the director Suraj Prakash on a number of Flindi films before turning t ...
, Indian film director
*
Shabir Ahluwalia
Shabir Ahluwalia (born 10 August 1979) is an Indian actor and host. He is known for portraying Abhishek Prem Mehra in ''Kumkum Bhagya''. Apart from this, Ahluwalia has acted in ''Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'' (2002), ''Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeq ...
, Indian television actor
*
Waris Ahluwalia, Indian-American designer
References
{{surname
*
Sikh names
Indian surnames
Surnames of Indian origin
Toponymic surnames
Punjabi-language surnames
People from Lahore