Sethi

Etymology

Sethi is a common surname among Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs now living in India as well as Pakistan. In Hindi, Seth means merchant or rich man, Sethi was derived from Seth. Sethis are believed to be one of the bravest and Richest clan of the Khatris. For the most part, Sethis have been in the civil, government, and military administrators roles for centuries. They expanded into trade and mercantile businesses.

Origin

Sethis are a regional sub caste of Khatris of ten clans of Punjab, originally from the town of Bhera in the Jech doab (Jhelum - Chenab interfluve) region of Sargodha district of Pakistani Punjab. In keeping with Khatri-like traditions, Bhera was an important trading outpost on the road to Kabul, and a 'taksal' (mint) during the reign of Ranjit Singh.

Sethis are Indo-Aryan peoples and have originally followed Hinduism, however a significant number adapted Sikhism during the 18th and 19th centuries. This, and also because many Hindu Sethi families, as well as other Khatri and Khatri-like clans (Arora), raised at least one Sikh son after the formation of the Khalsa in 1699, resulted in Kukhran family names, as well as other Khatri-like clan names, being present in both Hindu and Sikh communities worldwide.

Religion

Indian Sethis are mostly Hindu and Sikhs, while in Pakistan, they are mostly Muslims.

   Hindu 45%, Sikh 40%, Muslim 15%

Famous Sethi's' -

-Jagdish Sethi is an Indian actor. He has starred in more than 50 films.

-Ramesh Kumar Sethi (born 4 September 1941) was an East African cricketer representing the Kenyan national team.

-Najam Sethi, a Pakistani journalist, editor, and media personality, is the editor-in-chief of The Friday Times,

-Ravi Sethi (born 1947 is an Indian computer scientist retired from Bell Labs and now president of Avaya Labs Research. He is best known as one of three authors of the classic computer science textbook Compilers: Principles, Techniques and Tools, also known as the Dragon Book.

-Simran Sethi (born October 12, 1970, in Munich, Germany) is an American journalist, television producer and activist.

-Rajendra Sethi is an Indian Bollywood actor who appears in Bollywood films.

-Geet Sethi (born April 17, 1961) is an Indian billiards player who dominated the sport of billiards throughout much of the 1990s.

-Pramod Karan Sethi (born 1927 in Varanasi, India) is a noted Indian orthopaedic surgeon and Padma Shri awardee. He helped develop the so called "Jaipur Foot", an artificial limb, and was given the Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1981.