The Majithia family are a family of Shergill Jat sardars that derive their name from the village of Majitha, in Amritsar District, Punjab.[1] The Majithias were a prominent family in the court of the Sikh Empire, serving as administrators and military generals.[2][3]
Some members of the family continue to play a role in Indian politics, such as Bikram Singh Majithia, who served as a cabinet minister in the Punjab government.[4]
History
The family is divided into three principle branches, the Dayal Singh branch, Surat Singh branch, and Mahtab Singh branch.[5][1] Dayal Singh and Matab Singh were fifth cousins, whilst Surat Singh was considerably more distantly related to them. One had to go back fourteen generations from their generation to find a common relation between Surat Singh and the other two branches.[6] An early ancestor of the family was Madho, a Jat of the Gill clan, which the Sher-Gill clan is a derivative of.[7][8] He founded the village of Madho-Jetha, later known as Majitha.[9][10] Lepel H. Griffin in his work, Panjab Chiefs (1865), states that the Majithia family is the progeny of a certain Rana Dhar, who was the son of Sher-Gil (founder of the clan).[11]
Notable Members
Below is a list of prominent members of the Majithia family.[12]
Dayal Singh branch
- Desa Singh (1768–1832)[2][13]
- Lehna Singh (d. 1854)[14][15]
- Ranjodh Singh (d. 1872)[16]
- Dyal Singh (1848–1898)[17]
Surat Singh branch
- Surat Singh (1810–1881),[18] zamindar and military officer in the Khalsa Army[19] In 1877, he was awarded the title of Raja and made a Companion of the Star of India.
- Sundar Singh Majithia (1872–1941),[20] landowner and politician. He was a member of Khalsa Nationalist Party and Revenue Member at the first and second legislative councils of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The first president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee
- Umrao Singh Sher-Gil (1870–1954)[21] aristocrat and a scholar in Sanskrit and Persian and Father of Amrita Sher-Gil
- Amrita Sher-Gil (1913–1941, through her father, Umrao Singh Sher-Gil),[22][23][24] Hungarian-Indian painter. Daughter of Umrao Singh
- Wing Commander Surjit Singh Majithia (1912–1995),[25] Indian politician, diplomat, and air force officer. Son of Sundar Singh Majithia
- Satyajit Singh Majithia, educationist, industrialist, philanthropist, and Chancellor of Khalsa University. Son of Sardar Surjit Singh Majithia, former Deputy Defence Minister
- Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a former Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing Industries. Daughter of Satyajit Singh Majithia
- Bikram Singh Majithia, a former cabinet minister in the Punjab Government. Son of Satyajit Singh Majithia
- Jimmy Shergill (born Jasjit Singh Gill; 3 December 1970), also known as Jimmy Shergill, is an Indian actor and producer who primarily works in Hindi and Punjabi films
Mahtab Singh branch
- Mahtab Singh (1811–1865)[26]
Pedigrees
-
Pedigree for Dayal Singh branch of Majithias
-
Pedigree for Surat Singh branch of Majithias
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sir Sundar Singh Majithia and His Relevance in Sikh Politics{{#if:Rekhi|, Rekhi}. Har-Anand Publications Pvt. Ltd.(1999)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Encyclopedia of Sikhism{{#if:Hasrat|, Hasrat}. Punjabi University, Patiala(2002). ISBN 8173801002
- ↑ Socio -Cultural Conditions of Early to Mid-Nineteenth Century Punjab as Described by Baba Prem Singh Hoti. The Panjab Past and Present({Template:Date).
- ↑ Council of Ministers – Government of Punjab, India. punjab.gov.in.
- ↑ Brahmo Samaj and Dyal Singh Majithia{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Uppal Publishing House(1998). ISBN 8185565929
- ↑ The Panjab Chiefs: Historical and Biographical Notices of the Principal Families in the Lahore and Rawalpindi Divisions of the Panjab{{#if:Griffin|, Griffin}. Civil and Military Gazette Press(1890)
- ↑ Deeper Roots of the Gill, Bhatti, Sidhu, Brar, Tur, and Related Jat and Rajput Clans{{#if:Gill|, Gill}. Indian Family History Society(2008)
- ↑ Jatta da Itihas{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Lahore Books Ludhiana(2001)
- ↑ Oral history with Satyajit Singh Majithia. The 1947 Partition Archive, Survivors and their Memories - Spotlight at Stanford - Stanford Libraries - Stanford University(28 May 2013). Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ↑ Special on the death anniversary of Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, which falls on September 9 - Majithia's virasat knows no sarhad. The Tribune India(8 September 2005).
- ↑ The Punjab Chiefs: historical and biographical notices of the principal families in the territories under the Punjab government.{{#if:Griffin|, Griffin}. T.C. McCarthy, Chronicle Press(1865)
- ↑ Majithia (Bansawali) Gharane Da Itihaas{{#if:Gill|, Gill}. B. Chattar Singh Jiwan Singh Amritsar
- ↑ Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia: As Seen by His Contemporaries{{#if:Nadiem|, Nadiem}. Dyal Singh Research & Cultural Forum
- ↑ Desa Singh Majithia. The Sikh Encyclopedia(19 December 2000). Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ↑ Lahina Singh Majithia. The Sikh Encyclopedia(19 December 2000). Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ↑ Ranjodh Singh Majithia. The Sikh Encyclopedia(19 December 2000). Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ↑ Dyal Singh Majithia. The Sikh Encyclopedia(19 December 2000). Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ↑ Surat Singh Majithia, Raja. The Sikh Encyclopedia(19 December 2000). Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ↑ Amrita Sher-Gil Portrait Comes to Market After 80 Years. Sotheby's(26 November 2018). Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ↑ Sundar Singh Majithia, Sardar Bahadur Sir. The Sikh Encyclopedia(19 December 2000). Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ↑ Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation | Sher-Gil Sundaram Family. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ↑ Amrita Sher-Gil{{#if:Anand|, Anand}. National Gallery of Modern Art(1989)
- ↑ Splendours of Himachal Heritage{{#if:Anand|, Anand}. Abhinav Publications(1997). ISBN 978-81-7017-351-9
- ↑ Memoirs of Old Mandarins of India: The Administrative Change as the ICS Administrators Saw in India{{#if:Nigam|, Nigam}. Documentation Centre for Corporate & Business Policy Research(1985)
- ↑ Surjit Singh Majitha. The Sikh Encyclopedia(19 December 2000). Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ↑ Mahtab Singh Majithia. The Sikh Encyclopedia(19 December 2000). Retrieved 13 September 2022.