18 Famous People from Haryana Everyone Should Know About!

   

People from Haryana are often stereotyped as coarse and rowdy, and their contributions to the progress of India has often been diminished or looked over. However, it doesn’t change the fact that Haryana has given India talented people from a variety of fields. With this article, we go over 18 famous people from Haryana everybody should know about!

   

Also read: 15 Famous People From Gujarat Who Became Icons Of Modern India

1. Juhi Chawla

Born in Ambala, Haryana into an Army family, Juhi Chawla is a Bollywood actress, producer & an accomplished dancer. She was the winner of the Miss India beauty contest & the Best Costume Award for the Miss Universe contest in 1984. Chawla has also acted in Punjabi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali language films. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

2. Kapil Dev

Born in Chandigarh, Kapil Dev is a former Indian cricketer & Captain of the Indian National team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Nicknamed “The Haryana Hurricane”, Kapil Dev represented the Haryana team in domestic cricket. One of the greatest all-rounders of all time, Dev held the world record for the most number of wickets taken in Test cricket at one point of time. He has been honored with the Arjuna Award, the Padma Shri, Wisden Cricketer of the Year [1983], the Padma Bhushan and Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century(2002). He was also featured in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2010. 

Source: Quote Park 

3. Sonu Nigam

Born in Faridabad, Haryana, Sonu Nigam is an Indian singer whose songs have been featured mainly in Kannada, Hindi, Punjabi & Marathi. He has also released Indian pop albums and acted in a few movies.

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

4. Baba Ramdev

Born as Ramkrishna Yadav in Alipur village of Mahendragarh district, Haryana, Baba Ramdev is a spiritual leader known for his contributions in yoga, Ayurveda, politics, and agriculture. He is the founder of Patanjali Group of Institutions. He has taught yoga to many actors including Amitabh Bachchan and Shilpa Shetty. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

5. Om Prakash Jindal

Born in Hisar, Haryana, Om Prakash Jindal was a former Member of the Parliament, was a Haryana Power Minister & Founder of Jindal Group. He was awarded the prestigious “Life Time Achievement Award” for his outstanding contribution to the Indian Steel Industry in 2004. According to the Forbes list in 2005, he was ranked 13th amongst the richest Indians and placed 548th amongst the richest persons of the world. 

Source: Jindal Stainless

6. Arvind Kejriwal

Born in Siwani, Bhiwani district and an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, Arvind Kejriwal is an Indian politician and social activist & the current Chief Minister of Delhi. He previously worked for the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) as a Joint Commissioner in the Income Tax Department. Kejriwal was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in a campaign against corruption. He was also featured in Time’s 2014 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

7. Virender Sehwag

Born in a Hindu Jat family and now settled in New Delhi, Virender Sehwag is originally from Haryana. He is the first & one of the only two Indian Cricketers to score a Test triple century. He is also the only Indian cricketer to have done it twice one of which was the fastest triple century scored in the history of international cricket. He was honored with the Wisden Leading Cricketer of the Year award in 2010. Sehwag received the Arjuna Award in 2002, Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2008 & 2009 and ICC Test Player of the Year 2010. He received the Padma Shri in 2010.

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

8. Vijender Singh 

Born & brought up in Kaluwas, Bhiwani, Haryana, Vijender Singh is an Indian Olympic boxer who won a bronze medal in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. He Has received the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna award & the Padma Shri. Singh represented India at the London 2012 Olympic Games. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

9. Subhash Chandra Goenka 

Born & raised in Hisar, Haryana; Subhash Chandra Goenka is an Indian businessman, television personality, motivational speaker and philanthropist. He is the founder & Chairman of India’s largest TV channel network, Zee Media & India’s first leisure park, Essel World. He is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha from Haryana, supported by the BJP. He received an International Emmy Directorate Award in 2011. 

 

   

Source: Wikimedia Commons

10. Sameer Gehlaut 

Born & brought up in Rohtak, Haryana; Sameer Gehlaut is one of India’s youngest self-made billionaires with a net worth of 2.5 billion US. He is an Indian entrepreneur and the Founder & Chairman of Indiabulls Group, an Indian finance company. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

11. General Dalbir Singh Suhag

Born in Bishan village, Jhajjar Dist., Haryana, Gen. Dalbir Singh Suha is an Indian Army General and the 26th, former Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of Indian Army, and the current Indian High commissioner to Seychelles. He has received several Seva medals and decorations throughout his military career. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

12. Chaudhary Devi Lal 

Born in a Jat family in Teja Khera village of Sirsa district, Haryana, Chaudhary Devi Lal was an Indian politician & former Chief Minister of Haryana who also served as the Deputy Prime Minister of India twice. He played an active and decisive role in the formation of Haryana as a separate state. He made several decisions benefiting farmers and rural people in Haryana which earned him the title of ‘Tau’ (Elder Uncle). He was popularly known as Sher-e-Haryana (Lion of Haryana) for his steadfast opposition to emergency and dictatorial misrule. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

13. Om Puri 

Born in Ambala, Om Puri was an Indian actor primarily known for his work in Hindi movies. He was part of successful mainstream movies as well as independent art films. He also appeared in a couple of Hollywood movies, earning a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his work in East is East. Back home, Puri was also known for his voice overs, having played the narrator in movies like Welcome and Mangal Pandey. Om Puri received various awards throughout his career, including several Filmfare awards. He was honored with the Padma Shri in 1990, and was made an honorary officer of the Order of the British Empire. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

14. Rajkummar Rao 

Born as Raj Kumar Yadav in Gurgaon, Haryana, Rajkummar Rao is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. He has worked in several critically as well as commercially successful movies, including Queen, Bareilly ki Barfi, and Stree. Rao is known for his range, having played a variety of characters across his projects. He has received several awards, including three Filmfare awards, one National award, and one Asia Pacific Screen Award. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

15. Neeraj Chopra 

Born in Khandra village in Panipat district, Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete who is the first Indian track and field athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympics. He is also one of the only two Indians to have won an individual Olympic gold medal. Chopra is a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Indian army, ans is currently ranked second internationally by world athletics. He is also the first Indian track and field athlete to win at IAAF World U20 championships, where in 2016 Chopra set a world record with a throw of 86.48 m.

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

16. Saina Nehwal

Sania Nehwal is an Indian professional badminton player. Born in Hisar in Haryana, Saina is a former world no. 1, and has won over 24 international titles, including Seven superseries titles. She is the only Indian female player to achieve world no. 1 ranking, and the only Indian except for Prakash Padukone to do so. In the 2014 Uber Cup, Nehwal captained the Indian team and remained undefeated, ultimately winning a bronze medal for India. She became the first Indian to win two singles gold medals in Commonwealth Games. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2016. She has also received the Arjuna Award and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

17. Geeta Phogat

Born in Balali to father Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former wrestler himself, Geeta Phogat is a freestyle wrestler who was the first Indian to have won a gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, and was the first Indian female wrestler to qualify for the Olympic Summer Games. Phogat also won the bronze medal in the 2012 World Wrestling Championships, and another bronze at 2012 Asian Wrestling Championships. Dangal, the mega-hit Aamir Khan starrer, is based on her life, where her character is played by Fatima Sana Shaikh. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

18. Yogeshwar Dutt

Yogeshwar Dutt is an Indian freestyle wrestler born in Sonipat. During the 2006 Asian Games, Dutt travelled to Doha days after his father’s demise and while suffering from a knee injury; despite these setbacks, he won the bronze medal in the 60kg category. He won a bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and gold at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2013. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons 

Did you like our list of the most famous people from Haryana? Comment below if you think we missed someone out!

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