Banga Saini's
Banga(ਬੰਗਾ)/Bangwai(ਬੰਗਵਾਈ) is a subcaste of the Saini Rajput community which has a long and rich history in India. The Saini(Shoorsaini) community as a whole is believed to be descendent from the ancient Kshatriya warrior class and is traditionally associated with military service and landownership.
Geographical Distribution
The Banga subcaste is primarily found in Northern India. There is stronghold of Banga Saini's is region in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Nawan Shahr districts of Punjab where they are among the leading land owning group. The caste hierarchy in Punjab varies by the region. In Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Jalandhar, Sainis are ranked on top and are a very influential and affluent group. The MP of Hoshiarpur was generally always a Saini before the seat became reserved.
Origin and Identity
Its original spelling in Punjabi was 'Bunga', and its literal meaning is 'flower'. Though the origin of the name is not clear, historians suggest that the name Banga is likely derived from the Bhaagi tribe. Bhaagi was an ancient tribe of Rajputs, who were of a high class social hierarchy in the northern part of India. This tribe fought several battles with other tribes, and eventually settled in the area of present day Jalandhar, acquiring the name for their new home(Banga Town).
On The Hills Banga clan name is also found among Dogra Rajputs as "Bangwai". Almost 100% of Saini clans are same as that of Hill Rajputs and both groups are of identical Chandarvanshi descent. The only difference is that Saini villages fell in Muslim ruled areas where Rajputs were being actively being converted to Islam or forced to marry their girls with them. This led to Rajputs on the plains starting to hide their Rajput identity to avoid persecution. Due to this reason Saini's and Mahton's aka Sikh Rajputs gradually cut adrift from Rajputs on hills and adopted farming identity even though both tribes are of proven Rajput descent (SS Gahlot, 1989;Hugh Kennedy Trevaskis, 1928).
Some Also Believe that The surname Banga is derived from the name of a mountain range in India and Pakistan, located in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains(Shivalik Range). It is believed to have originated from a place called Bagan which was a part of ancient India.
Prominent Figures
Few prominent Banga Saini's in public space are:-
- Dr. Indu Banga (renowned historian of Punjab)
- Ajay Banga (President of the World Bank/Ex Master Card CEO)Ajay Banga, 14th President of the World Bank Group.Ajay Banga began his five-year term as World Bank Group President on June 2, 2023.
- Manvinder Banga (the Chairperson of UK Government Investments/Ex CEO of Unilever)
- Lt.General Harbhajan Singh Banga (retd), the father of Banga brothers, is also a decorated army general
- Harindarpal Banga(Founder of Caravel Group in HongKong)Dr. Harindarpal (“Harry”) Singh Banga founded The Caravel Group in 2013 and has been the key architect in the establishment, growth, and expansion of the Group since its inception. Dr. Banga is actively involved in managing the Group and serves on the Board (and Chairs) each of The Caravel Group subsidiary companies and all Management Committees.
- Navpreet Banga(Punjabi Actress/YouTuber)In 2016, she got immense fame as a lookalike of Priyanka Chopra on various social media platforms.She runs a YouTube channel with the name- @BrownGirlLiftsTV
- Harpreet Singh Banga-Founder Chairman - Indian Chambers Of Human Resource (Worlds 1st HR Chambers);Founder Chairman - Super Gatkaa Sports Global Confederation (Worlds 2nd Sec. 8 Sports Co.);Founder Chairman - Indian Executives & Officers Foundation;Vice Chairman - Worldwide Saragarhi Foundation (USA);Chief Advisor - Corporate Life Lines (Media Advisory Company);Former Sr. Vice President - Indian Express Multimedia Ltd.;Former Advisor - IL&FS Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited;Former Member - The Haryana Union Of Journalists (1986);Former Professor - Computers & Education of India's Top TEN leading Schools.
- Gurdyal Kaur Banga Wife of Subedar Joginder Singh Sahnan
- Jaz Banga Founder & CEO of Airspace in San Francisco
- Sanjeev Banga President of International Business Radico Khaitan.
Additional DIG of CRPF, Hari Ram Banga, is another prominent Banga Saini police officer decorated for gallantry.
Canadian Sikh Legacy Personalities
Connection to Banga Town
The Banga Town is also named after Saini Banga Rajputs. Currently, it is a Jat dominated town. The town was given to Mann Jats during Akbar's era where the latter became "Darbari Jats". There are number of Banga Saini dominated villages still around this town.
Overall, the Banga subcaste of the Saini community is a proud and vibrant community with a rich history and culture. While specific individuals from the subcaste in medieval. All this would tell you that Banga's are people of formidable standing, education and influence.
But some Banga's are also Jatts as there is always ambiguity between Rajput and Jatt gotras. Some also exist in the Khatri/Arora Clans and the Ravidassia Caste. More in:-
- Main article: Banga Surname
Banga Name Meaning According to: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
Indian (northern states): Saini (gardener) and Kayastha(Kayastha in certain parts were considered either as Brahmins or equal to Brahmins.)name of a subgroup of the Kayastha community from Banga region in Jalandhar district. West Frisian: possibly from Bawnga from Bau(w)inga a habitational name from a farmhouse originally belonging to a certain Bave or Bouwe and his kin formed with the patronymic suffix -ing and genitive plural ending -a. Galician: habitational name from a place called Banga in Ourense province Galicia (Spain). Latvian: apparently from the vocabulary word banga ‘surf wave’.
Note:- Saini Doesn't mean Gardner. This is an Error done by Dictionary of American Family Names. The name is actually derived from a Ancestor of Saini's whose was known as King ShoorSaini which Meant 'Valiant Warrior'. So Saini actually means "Warrior".
External Links
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banga_Sainis (Vandalized)
