Chadha (also spelled as Chattha, Chatha, Chaddha and Chadda) is a surname that is used by

Punjabi Khatri Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the ...

caste. According to a traditional account, the forefathers of Chadha Khatris fought with

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...

in a battle. However, all of them died except for one person who hid behind an aak bush. This person continued the progeny of the Chadha clan. To pay tribute to the aak bush which saved the Chadha clan from extinction, the Chadhas visit

Eminabad Eminabad ( pa, ) is a town located in the south east of Gujranwala city, Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous ...

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

district to perform prayers and worship the Aak tree as a former tradition. Before partition of India, Chadha Khatris were found in

Potohar The Pothohar Plateau ( ur, ) is a plateau in north-eastern Pakistan, located between Indus River and the Jhelum River, forming the northern part of Punjab. Geography Potohar Plateau is bounded on the east by the Jhelum River, on the west by the ...

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

, Cambellpore,

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, Gujrat district and

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

(

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

). Chadhas are

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

. Many Chadda Khatris were followers of

Guru Arjan Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith and the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of th ...

such as Bhai Jattu, Bhanu, Tirtha, Nihala. Many Chadha Khatris were followers of Guru Hargobind. Baba Sodal who was given the status of an "infant god" in

Doaba Punjab Doaba also known as Bist Doab, is the region of Punjab, India that lies between the Beas River and the Sutlej River. People of this region are given the demonym "Doabia". The dialect of Punjabi spoken in Doaba is called "Doabi". Th ...

was born in a Chadha Khatri family. Every year, a fair is organized in

to commemorate his death anniversary.

Notable persons

Activists

Ena Chadha Ena Chadha is an Indo-Canadian human rights lawyer, investigator, author and educator, known for her equality rights litigation and adjudication. She was appointed as the interim Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) on J ...

, Indo-Canadian human rights lawyer, investigator, author and educator. *

Satya Rani Chadha Satya Rani Chadha (1929 ca. - 1 July 2014) was a women's rights activist. She is known for launching the anti dowry movement in India in the 1980s together with fellow activist Shahjahan Apa. Both women were mothers whose daughters were killed as a ...

, women's rights activist. She is known for launching the anti dowry movement in India in the 1980s.

Actors

Richa Chadda Richa Chadda (born 18 December 1986) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. After debuting in a small role in the comedy film ''Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!'' (2008), Chadda's breakthrough came in 2012 with a supporting role in the noir gangs ...

, Indian actress *

Sahila Chadha Sahila Chadha (Chaddha is an alternative spelling for the surname ''Chadha'') is an Indian actress. Personal life Sahila is married to actor Nimai Bali, with whom she has a daughter. Career Sahila was crowned Miss India and won 25 contests be ...

, Indian actress *

Sheeba Chaddha Sheeba Chaddha is an Indian film, stage and television actress. Early life and career Chaddha grew up in Delhi, where she developed interest in theatre and started taking theatre workshops. She majored in English literature from Hans Raj Colleg ...

, Indian actress *

Shyam Chadda Sunder Shyam Chadda (20 February 1920 – 25 April 1951) was an Indian actor in Hindi cinema. He began his career in 1942 and worked in over 30 films until his death in 1951 at the age of 31. Early life and career Shyam was born Sunder Shyam C ...

, Indian veteran actor

Armed forces

Mahip Chadha Mahip Chadha was an Indian writer and a former colonel in the Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, an ...

, former colonel in Indian army and writer on military history. *

Puneet Chadha Rear Admiral Puneet Chadha, VSM is a serving flag officer of the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Additional Director General of the National Cadet Corps. He previously served as the Flag Officer Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area (FOTNA) ...

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in Indian Navy and serving flag officer of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

. He currently serves as the Additional Director General of the

National Cadet Corps National Cadet Corps may refer to: *Bangladesh National Cadet Corps *National Cadet Corps (Ghana) *National Cadet Corps (India) *National Cadet Corps (Pakistan) *National Cadet Corps (Singapore) *National Cadet Corps (Sri Lanka) The National ...

Artists

Ankit Chadha Ankit Chadha (21 December 1987 – 9 May 2018) was an Indian writer, story-teller, oral narrative performance artist, researcher and educator. He specialized in research-based narratives performed in the centuries-old Dastangoi form of storyte ...

. Indian writer, story-teller, oral narrative performance artist. *

Gurinder Chadha Gurinder Chadha, (born 10 January 1960) is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme among her work showcases the trials of Indian women living in the UK and ho ...

, Oscar winning British film director * Hersh Chadha, photographer * Jagriti Chadha, Indian-American designer *

, Indian writer *Navin Chaddha, Indian dialogue writer who won

Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue The Filmfare Best Dialogue Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. Here is a list of the award winners since 1958 and the films for which they won. Superlatives ;Most Awards *Gulzar – 4 *Rahi ...

for

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! ''Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! '' is a 2008 Indian comedy film starring Abhay Deol, Paresh Rawal, Neetu Chandra, Manu Rishi, Manjot Singh and Archana Puran Singh. It was directed by Dibakar Banerjee. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popu ...

Sarbjit Singh Chadha Sarbjit Singh Chadha ( ja, チャダ, Chada; born 17 June 1952 in New Delhi, India) is an Indian singer, who is said to be the first non-Japanese ''enka'' singer. He went to Japan to study the agricultural industry, and there he began to prefer e ...

, Indian singer, who is said to be the first non-Japanese ''

enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, p ...

'' singer.

Athletes

Matt Chahda Matthew Chahda (born 12 September 1993) is an Australian racing car driver. He currently competes in the Dunlop Super2 Series in the No. 18 Ford FG X Falcon Racing career Super2 Series After competing in the 2013 and 2014 Kumho Tyres V8 Touri ...

, Indian-Australian race driver * Ramesh Chadha, Indian cricketer * Ravinder Chadha, Indian cricketer

Economists and scientists

* Anju Chadha, Indian biochemist. She is a professor at Indian Institute of Technology Madras. * G. K. Chadha, Indian economist and academician for more than 40 years. He was the founding President of

South Asian University South Asian University (SAU) is an international university sponsored by the eight Member States of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The eight countries are: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Ne ...

, New Delhi. *

Jagjit Chadha Jagjit Singh Chadha ( Punjabi: ਜਗਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਚਢਾ, born 1 December 1966 in West Yorkshire is a British economist who is the Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. He is on secondment from his po ...

, British economist who is the Director of the

National Institute of Economic and Social Research The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), established in 1938, is Britain's oldest independent economic research institute. The institute is a London-based independent UK registered charity that carries out academic researc ...

. * Krishna Lal Chadha, Indian horticultural scientist, author and a former National Professor of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

Entrepreneurs

Baljit Singh Chadha Baljit Singh Chadha (born 1951) is a Canadian businessman based in Montreal, Quebec, who is the president and founder of Balcorp Limited which he started in 1976.The company has offices in Montreal, New Delhi and Mumbai. He is a leader of the Sikh ...

, Canadian businessman and president and founder of Balcorp Limited *

Ponty Chadha Gurdeep Singh Chadha (22 October 1960 – 17 November 2012), also known as Ponty Chadha, was an Indian businessman who owned the Wave Group. Early life During the Partition, a person named Kulwant Singh Chadha migrated from what subsequently b ...

, Indian businessman who owned the Wave Group *

Rattan Chadha Rattan Chadha was the founder and CEO of Mexx till he sold it in 2004. Mexx had grown to 1,200 stores in 56 countries with annual sales of one billion Euro's and 6,500 employees. After the sale of Mexx, Rattan started his own private equity com ...

, Dutch businessman and CEO of Mexx *

Rohit Chadda Rohit Chadda (born 26 August 1982) is an Indian investment banker and entrepreneur, who serves as the CEO of the digital business at Essel Group (Zee Entertainment, Zee Media and DNA). He was the co-founder of online food ordering platform Foodp ...

, Indian entrepreneur, who serves as the CEO of the digital business at Essel Group (Zee Entertainment) and co-founder of

Foodpanda Foodpanda (stylized as foodpanda) is an online food and grocery delivery platform owned by Berlin-based Delivery Hero. Foodpanda operates as the lead brand for Delivery Hero in Asia, with its headquarters in Singapore. It is currently the largest ...

Politicians

Dinesh Chadha Dinesh Kumar Chadha is an Indian politician and the MLA representing the Rupnagar Assembly constituency in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. He was elected as the MLA in the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembl ...

, Indian AAP politician * Gurmukh Singh Musafir, former Chief Minister of Punjab *

Raghav Chadha Raghav Chadha (born 11 November 1988) is an Indian politician and member of the Aam Aadmi Party. He is the youngest Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Punjab, India. He was the Vice Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board and MLA from the Rajendra ...

, Indian AAP politician * Renu Chadha, Indian BJP politician *

Hamid Nasir Chattha Chaudhry Hamid Nasir Chattha ( ur, حامد ناصر چٹھا) is a politician from Wazirabad, Punjab, Pakistan. He was born on November 15, 1944 in Lahore. Hamid Nasir Chattha is currently a Member of Punjab Assembly, Pakistan after losing in ...

, Pakistani veteran politician from

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

Akmal Saif Chatha Akmal Saif Chatha is a Pakistani politician who was a Member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, from 2003 to 2007 and again from May 2013 to May 2018. Early life and education He was born on 8 November 1973 in Alipur Chatha. He graduated ...

, member,

Provincial Assembly of the Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani provinces, Pakistani province of Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, which is located in Lahore, the provincial capital. It was established under ...

, Pakistan

References

External links

{{surname Indian surnames Surnames of Indian origin Surnames of Pakistani origin Punjabi-language surnames Hindu surnames Khatri clans Khatri surnames

Notable persons

Activists

Actors

Armed forces

Artists

Athletes

Economists and scientists

Entrepreneurs

Politicians

See also

References

External links