Sethi is a surname that is found among the Punjabi Khatris of India. They are a part of

Khukhrain The Khukhrain or Khokhrain is a clan composed of eight septs of the Khatri caste that originally hailed from the areas of the Salt Range. Battle of Bhera The Khukhrains spread over Khushab, Dhune Kheb, Chakwal, Pind Dadan Khan, Peshawar, Nowshe ...

sub-caste among the Khatris which also includes the clans of Anand, Bhasin

Chadha Chadha (also spelled as Chattha, Chatha, Chaddha and Chadda) is a surname that is used by Punjabi Khatri caste. According to a traditional account, the forefathers of Chadha Khatris fought with Babur in a battle. However, all of them died exc ...

, Kohli,

Ghai Ghai is a surname that is found among the Khatri community of India. They are a part of Khukhrain sub-caste among the Khatris which also includes the clans of Anand, Bhasin, Chadha, Kohli, Ghai, Sahni (Sawhney), Sethi and Suri. Kamal Shankar ...

, Sahni, Sethi, (Sawhney) and Suri. The surname is also found among Arora which is another sub-caste of

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 d ...

s. Historian Kamal Shankar Srivastava writes that all Khukrains including Sethis were originally found near the banks of Indus and Jhelum river especially in the towns of

Pind Dadan Khan Pind Dadan Khan (P.D. Khan), a city in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan, is the capital of Pind Dadan Khan Tehsil, which is an administrative subdivision of the district. Location It is located at 32°35'16N 73°2'44E on the bank of River Jhel ...

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

and Nowshera. In Peshawar, the Sethi Khatri was associated with mercantile activities along the

Karakorum Highway The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...

. The Sethi muhallah in the old walled-city of Peshawar housed which was established by the Sethi clan is very close to the oldest settled location in the walled city known as Gor Khatri (Grave of the Khatris), famous for its religious structures and bustling bazars. Sethi is derived from the word "Sreshta" meaning "Pure" or "Superior" . Many Sethi Khatris adopted

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

as well. During the times 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 ...

, Bhai Chuhar Sethi, Bhai Sain Sethi and Bhai Lama Sethi were important leaders of Sikhs who were all good musicians too. Besides, they were very good commentators of scriptures. The Sikh Sangat including

had high appreciation for their artistic skills. A Sikh

masand A masand was a representative and tithe collector in Sikhism. They were an officially appointed missionary minister representing the Sikh Guru, who baptized conversions to Sikhism, and collected ''dasvandh'' ("the tenth" of income) as an offering ...

by the name of Sadh was a Sethi of Balkh,

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 ...

who arranged horses for Guru Arjan in an emergency situation when Guru's son fell ill. During 1782, a poet named Agra Sethi wrote "Haqiqat Rai di Var" which was about the real life incident of Haqiqat Rai Puri, a Hindu martyr.

Notable people

* Akshay Sethi (born 1980), Indian television actor * Aman Sethi, Indian journalist and writer * Ali Sethi, Pakistani singer and author *

Arjun Sethi (entrepreneur) Arjun Sethi (born January 15, 1983) is an American internet entrepreneur, investor and executive. He is co-founder and partner at venture capital firm Tribe Capital. He previously was partner at Social Capital and served as an executive at Yahoo! ...

, Indian American entrepreneur, investor and executive * Arjun Singh Sethi, Indian American civil rights writer and lawyer *

Geet Sethi Geet Siriram Sethi (born 17 April 1961) of India is a professional player of English billiards who dominated the sport throughout much of the 1990s. He is also a notable amateur (ex-pro) snooker player. He is a five-time winner of the professio ...

, Indian billiards player * Kiran Sethi, Indian police officer *

Mira Sethi Mira Sethi (born January 12, 1987) is a Pakistani actress and writer. The daughter of journalists Najam Sethi and Jugnu Mohsin, she attended Lahore Grammar School and Cheltenham Ladies' College then graduated from Wellesley College in 2010; she ...

Pakistani Actress. *

Najam Sethi Najam Aziz Sethi (Urdu, pa, ; born 20 May 1948) is a Pakistani journalist, businessman and cricket administrator, currently serving as the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He also is the founder of ''The Friday Times'' and ''Vangua ...

Senior Pakistani Journalist and former Chief Minister of Punjab Province in Pakistan during a caretaker Government, Chairman of

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Counc ...

in 2022 *

Nargis Sethi Nargis Sethi ( ur, ) is a retired Pakistani civil service officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service who served in BPS-22 grade as the Cabinet Secretary of Pakistan and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Other heavy ...

Senior Pakistani civil servant * Prem Gopal "Biloo" Sethi, Indian golfer *

Parmeet Sethi Parmeet Sethi is an Indian actor, director, producer and writer. He is best known for portraying Kuljeet Singh in his debut in Aditya Chopra's directorial debut ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (1995). Sethi has also acted in films such as '' D ...

, Indian actor * Pramod Karan Sethi, Indian orthopaedic surgeon and coinventor of the Jaipur leg *

Rajeev Sethi Rajeev Sethi (born 24 May 1949) is a noted Indian designer, scenographer and art curator. He is known for his outstanding designs across the world. In 1986, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, given Governmen ...

, Indian art curator, scenographer and designer *

Ramesh Sethi Ramesh Kumar Sethi (born 4 September 1941) is a former Kenyan cricketer who represented East Africa in one first-class match and three One-Day Internationals in the 1975 World Cup. He was born at Nakuru and educated at Menengai High School a ...

, Kenyan cricketer *

Ram Sethi Ram Sethi (born 15 November 1938), also known as Pyaare-laal, is an Indian actor who works in the Bollywood industry. Sethi has worked in many films as a main or supporting character in his long career of 6 decades. Biography Ram Sethi (Pyarel ...

, Indian actor-director-writer *

Ravi Sethi Ravi Sethi (born 1947) is an Indian computer scientist retired from executive roles at Bell Labs and Avaya Labs. He also serves as a member of the National Science Foundation's Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Advisory Co ...

, Indian computer scientist * Ricky J. Sethi, Indian-American computational scientist * Suresh P. Sethi, American mathematician and economist known for the Sethi model *

Vikas Sethi Vikas Sethi (born 12 May 1976) is an Indian actor. He played the lead role in the 2003 adult drama film ''Oops!'', he went on to play supporting roles in numerous hit TV series and Bollywood films. His most notable television appearances inclu ...

, Indian actor * Sethi K.C. Poet ,Writer , 5 World ,3 Asia and 3 India Book of Record holder in literature & and Art.d Art

References

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

Notable people

See also

References