List of Kashmiri Pandits

List of persons of Kashmiri pandit lineage:

Military

• Air Chief Marshal S.K. Kaul, former Chief of Air Staff^[1]
• Gangadhar Nehru, Last kotwal of delhi, father of Motilal Nehru and grandfather of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Administrators and diplomats

• Parmeshwar Narayan Haksar,^[2] Principal secretary to Prime minister of India, Policy Maker and Strategist. Indian Ambassador to Nigeria and Austria.
• Rameshwar Nath Kao, Intelligence chief and founder of India's Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW)^[3]
• Triloki Nath Khoshoo,^[4] Administrator and environmentalist
• Amitabh Mattoo^[5] (1962– ), Vice Chancellor, Jammu University, Noted thinker & writer, Padma Shri awardee.
• Birbal Dhar (early 19th century), invited Maharaja Ranjit Singh to Kashmir.
• Braj Kumar Nehru (1909–2001), ambassador of India to the United States (1961–1968) and Governor of Assam (1968–1973).
• Durga Prasad Dhar (1918–1975), ambassador of India to the Soviet Union, and politician.

Philosophers and historians

• Anandavardhana, Philosopher
• Bhatta Kallata
• Abhinavagupta, Philosopher
• Utpaladeva, wrote a commentary on the book Samhita
• Lalleshvari, mystic and poet, 14th century

Politicians and lawyers

• Kashyap Bandhu^[6]
• Ram Chandra Kak^[7] First prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir
• Neel Kashkari,^[8] U.S. Treasury Department official
• Jawahar Lal Nehru, First Prime Minister of the republic of India
• Indira Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru's daughter and the first female Prime Minister of the republic of India
• Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru,^[9] Politician and lawyer.
• Motilal Nehru, Father of Jawahar Lal Nehru, member of the Indian National Congress.

Saints

• Lalleshwari(1320–1392), a Shaivite saint.
• Rupa Bhawani mystic poet saint of Kashmir from the Saahib clan of Kashmiri Pandits. The famous Chashme Shahi was built in her memory and consequently named after her.
• Lakshman Joo (1907–1991), scholar of Kashmir Shaivism.

Scholars, writers and educationalists

• Kailas Nath Kaul^[10] - Renowned botanist and agricultural scientist, Padma Bhushan awardee.
• Kalhana. Historian, known for his book Rajatarangini based on the history of kashmir.
• Braj Kachru^[11] – Linguist and author, coined the term World Englishes
• Krishna Hutheesing^[12] – Indian writer and sister of Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Nilkanth Gurtu^[13] – Sanskrit and Saiva Scholar
• Rahul Pandita,^[14] author and journalist
• Ravinder Kumar^[15] – Historian
• Agni Shekhar – writer and political activist
• Satish Ganjoo(1956-),writer and historian, worked extensively on Islamic Studies, Central Asian Studies, Foreign Affairs, Afghan Affairs, History and Culture of Kashmir, authored about 12 books and research papers.
• Sat Lal Razdan (1924-2009),Teacher known for his innovative way of teaching and known for teaching notable people like Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Prince Charles^[11]
• Sanjay Kaul,Founder of University of Petroleum and Energy Studies

Visual and performing artists

Rahul Bhat actor

• Suresh Raina, Indian cricketer^[16]
• Raaj Kumar ^[17] Bollywood superstar
• Mani Kaul, Indian film maker^[18]
• A. K. Hangal, film actor^[19]
• Omkar Nath Dhar (also known as Jeevan), Indian actor.
• Anupam Kher, Indian actor, director, producer.^[20]
• Sharad Haksar^[21]
• Amit Kilam^[22]
• Vaibhav Kaul^[23][24]
• Bhajan Sopori, Indian instrumentalist awarded with the Padma Shri
• Abhay Sopori, Instrumentalist and composer. Son of Bhajan Sopori.^[25]
• Om Prakash,Bollywood actor.
• Kiran Kumar,Bollywood actor.Son of Bollywood actor Jeevan.^[26]
• Kunal Khemu,Bollywood actor.
• Mukesh Rishi,Bollywood actor.

References

1. Bharat Rakshak, Chief of Air Staffs. "Indian Air Force: Swaroop Krishna Kaul". Retrieved 11 December 2014.
2. Mitra, Ashok (12 December 1998). "The P.N. Haksar Story". Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
3. Yadav, R K (15 January 2009). "Remembering the legendary Kao". canarytrap.in. Retrieved 23 July 2012. Many eyebrows were raised on the selection of Mr Kao ... he too was a Kashmiri Pandit like Mrs Gandhi - but she was firm in her decision
4. Brat, S. Ved (2003). "In Memoriam: T.N. Khoshoo (1927-2002)" (PDF). Conservation and Society 1 (1). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-15.
5. naqshbandi, Aurengzeb (18 Feb 2011). "Amitabh Mattoo set to join Congress". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 20 Sep 2013.
6. Zutshi, Chitralekha (2004). Languages of belonging: Islam, regional identity, and the making of Kashmir. C. Hurst & Co. pp. 267, 297. ISBN 978-1-85065-694-4. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
7. "One kashmiri pandit winning panchayat polls". Rediff Online. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
8. Haniffa, Aziz (22 January 2014). "The Kashmiri Pandit who wants to be California's governor". Rediff. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
9. Kumar, Mohan. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: a political biography. Vipul Prakashan. Retrieved 2007-03-25. Even now there are many distinguished scholars of Persian among the Kashmiri Brahmins in India. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Raja Narendranath to mention two of them.
10. Gandhi, Sonia (2004). Two Alone, Two Together: Letters Between Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru 1922-1964. Penguin. ISBN 9780143032458.
11. "Braj B Kachru: A Biographical Sketch". onlinelibrary.wiley.com. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
12. Gupte, Pranay (2009). Mother India: A Political Biography of Indira Gandhi. Penguin Books India. p. 191. ISBN 9780143068266.
13. Koul, M. L. "Nilkanth Gurtu: The Last Kashmiri Pundit". Kashmir Sentinel. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
14. Griffin, Peter (27 February 2013). "Rahul Pandita On Kashmir and its Stories". Forbes. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
15. Kaw, M. K. (2001). Kashmiri Pandits: looking to the future. APH Publishing Corporation. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
16. TBE
17. "The true avatar of ‘Mother India’!". The Hindu. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
18. "Kashmiri Pandits - A Tradition of Excellence". SALT (South Asian Life & Time). January–March 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
19. "Unknown facts about Veteran actor, AK Hangal, who dies at 98 in Mumbai". Post.jagran.com. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
20. "Anupam Kher to work for Empowerment of Kashmiri Pandit Community". Hindustan Times. 11 April 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
21. "Sharad Haksar's photographs on sale". The Hindu. 7 November 2005. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
22. Indian Ocean|title=Drums, Percussion, Vocals for Indian Ocean|url=http://www.indianoceanmusic.com/artists/
23. "Framing the Himalayan landscape". The Hindu. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
24. "The Himalayan Saga". The Asian Age. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
25. "Another Sopori RISES". The Hindu. 11 September 2014.
26. "An interview with Kiran Kumar". indiantelevision.org.