Chawla is a surname among Hindus and Sikhs of India. It originates from the name of a clan of the

Arora Arora is a community of Punjab, comprising both Hindus and Sikhs. The name is derived from their native place Aror. Historically, the Arora section of the Khatri community had been principally found in West Punjab, in the districts to the sou ...

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

, likely stemming from the crop word ''chawal'', which means ''rice''.

Notable people

Notable people with the surname, who may or may not be affiliated with the clan/religions, include: *

Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla (17 March 1962 – 1 February 2003) was an Indian-born American astronaut and mechanical engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to go to space. She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' in 199 ...

(1962–2003), Indian-American astronaut killed in the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster *

Bhumika Chawla Bhumika Chawla (born Rachna Chawla; 21 August 1978) is an Indian actress and former model known for her work predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films. She began her acting career with the Telugu film ''Yuvakudu'' (2000) and the ...

(born 1978), Indian actress *

Bobby Chawla Ajay Bobby Chawla (born 2 December 1982) is a Danish cricketer. Chawla is a right-handed batsman who bowls leg break. He was born at Frederiksberg, Frederiksberg Municipality. Having played cricket since he was nine and represented Denmark at U ...

(born 1982), Danish cricketer *

Devika Chawla Devika is an Indian pop singer and songwriter. Early life and education Devika started vocal music training in New Delhi, India when she was eight years old. She continued her training and advanced to Ragas and Hindustani classical music. S ...

, Indian pop singer *

Harcharan Chawla Harcharan Dass Chawla (, November 4, 1926 – November 5, 2001) was an Urdu writer. Born in Mianwali (now Pakistan), he moved to Delhi, India as a refugee as a result of the 1947 partition of India. The event served as the backdrop for his fir ...

(1926–2001), Indian Urdu writer *

Harpinder Singh Chawla Harpinder Singh Chawla is an Indian dental surgeon, medical researcher and writer, known for his work in pediatric dentistry. Born on 15 March 1945 to Sukhdev Singh and Iqbal Kaur Chawla in Amritsar, the temple town in the Indian state of Punja ...

(born 1950), Indian dental surgeon and medical researcher *

Himani Chawla Dabangii-Mulgi aayi re aayi Bahar aa Chaman Prakash CID Hemani Chawla is an Indian television actress, who made her television debut with Zindagi Badal Sakta Hai Hadsaa in 2008. Moreover, she has also worked in Gunwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Ma ...

, Indian television actress * Himanshu Chawla (born 1991), Indian cricketer *

Isha Chawla Isha Chawla (born 6 March 1988) is an Indian actress who has primarily appeared in Telugu films. She made her debut with ''Prema Kavali'' (2012). Early life Isha Chawla was born on 6 March 1988 in Delhi. She graduated in Political Science an ...

(born 1988), Indian film actress *

Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla (born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress, film producer and entrepreneur. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and v ...

(born 1967), Indian actress * Kailash Chawla (born 1948), Indian politician * Keerthi Chawla (born 1981), Indian actress * Laxmi Kanta Chawla, Indian politician * Louise Chawla, American professor *

Piyush Chawla Piyush Chawla (; born 24 December 1988) is an Indian cricketer who has played for the India national cricket team. He has also played for the India under-19 team and the Central Zone. He is seen as a leg-spinning all-rounder in domestic cricke ...

(born 1988), Indian cricketer * Prabhu Chawla (born 1946), Indian journalist and editor of ''India Today'' *

Preetika Chawla Preetika Chawla is an Indian film actress. She started her career by starring in TV serials such as ''Mumbai Calling'' and '' Jyoti''. She made her Bollywood debut in the 2010 film '' Shahrukh Bola "Khoobsurat Hai Tu"'', playing Laali, a die-h ...

, Indian film actress *

Shuchi Chawla Shuchi Chawla is an Indian computer scientist who works in the design and analysis of algorithms, and is known for her research on correlation clustering, information privacy, mechanism design, approximation algorithms, hardness of approximation ...

, US-based Indian computer scientist * Surveen Chawla, Indian actress *

Tarang Chawla Tarang Chawla is an Indian-born Australian writer, lawyer, activist, Commissioner and former Independent political candidate. Following the murder of his sister Nikita Chawla in 2015, Chawla became an activist against men's violence. In Novemb ...

(born 1987), Indian-born Australian activist and writer *

Yogesh Kumar Chawla Yogesh Kumar Chawla is an Indian medical doctor, hepatologist and has served as the director of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. He graduated in medicine from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medi ...

, Indian medical doctor

Other uses

* Chawla (crater), a lunar crater named after Kalpana Chawla.

References

{{surname Arora clans Hindu surnames