Mahajan
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Mahajan is an Indian surname, found among the Vaishya castes (business communities).
This surname is an amalgam of two Hindi words: mahaan meaning great, and jan meaning people or individuals.
In India the surname Mahajan is used by two communities: - one residing in North India (mainly in the Amritsar to Jammu belt) and another belonging to North Maharashtra.
Most of the Mahajans speak Hindi or Punjabi. Mahajans from Jammu speak Dogri.
Mahajans from Northern India are a caste (business community) whereas Mahajans from Maharashtra acquired the surname from a title given to their community by royalty.
At times Mahajans and Baniyas are confused, originally 'Baniyas' were involved in the practice of trading where as Mahajans were usually involved in money-lending.
In Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir some Guptas have chosen to call themselves Mahajans, which is a generic name of the broader family to which Guptas belong. Additionlly, many Mahajans took the name of Gupta, as the Mahajan last name became infamous as money lenders.
Mahajans were the early bankers and were able to meet the credit needs of the society for centuries. The lending risk was usually mitigated by getting a collateral in the form of land or property.
Notable Mahajans from North of India: -
- Mehr Chand Mahajan, former Chief Justice of India
- Sat Mahajan,former Revenue Minister Himachal Pradesh
- Harsh Mahajan,current Animal Husbandry minister of Himachal Pradesh
Notable Mahajans from Maharashtra(India): -
- Late Pramod Mahajan, a prominent Indian Politician
- Vishal Mahajan, a philosopher
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