Mehta

Mehta
Regions with significant populations

Primary populations found in:

  • Punjab
  • Himachal
  • Haryana
  • Gujurat
  • Maharashtra
Languages
Punjabi, Hindi
Religion
Hinduism
Sikhism

Mehta (Punjabi: ਮੈਹਤਾ/ਮਹਿਤਾ, Hindi: मैहता, Gujurati: મહેતા), is a prominent surname found in Punjabi Khatris, Gujaratis, Parsis, Oswals and Mohyals. Its origin is from the Sanskrit word mahita meaning 'praised' or 'great'. Punjabi origin mehtas are entirely different from Gujarati origin mehtas on all grounds of cultural and ethnic properties, Punjabi mehta belong to Kshatriya clan being a suryavanshi group where as Gujarati Mehtas are either Vaishya clan or a Mohyal Brahmin clan or a foerign clan of Parsis who used the surname Mehta after arriving to India.

Mehtas of Punjab

The mehtas are from Multan Distt and surroundings in pakistan migrated to eastern side cities of british indian terriroty in august 1947. [1] Being genetically from the same stock lineage all their surnames are similar to Khatri, Sindhi and Arora people but Mehta are majorly a land owning clan among western Punjabis as opposed to other genetically similar Arora/Khatri clans who are traders/servicemen. Most of the Mehtas in Punjab and Haryana have origins from tehsils of pakistani districts Multan and surrounding areas like Bahavalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarg, Vehari, Faislabad etc.

Mehta is a surname that is also commonly used by the Mohyal/Mohan[2] sect of the Mohyal brahmin-warrior community; or by Saraswat Brahmins in the Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar and Amritsar districts of Punjab.


In Punjab, approximately 25 miles north of the city of Amritsar, is the town of Mehta Chowk. This is the location of the headquarters of the Damdami Taksal (Punjabi: ਦਮਦਮੀ ਟਕਸਾਲ; [Damadamī ṭakasāl]), a Sikh educational organization in India. It was founded by Guru Gobind Singh in 1706 and until 1736 it was known as Damdama Sahib. Mehta Chowk is often considered to be the location of the highest seat of learning for the Sikhs and is over 300 years old.[3] It is also where the headquarter of the All India Sikh Students Federation is based. The founder of Sikhism "Parmatam Swaroop" Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji Maharaj was born in Mehta clan in Sheikhupura(Distt Faislabad).

In Haryana Mehtas clan is found widespread in districts like Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar comprising big part of urban population. Other districts also have significant population of mehtas. They mix up very well with their arora and khatri counterparts.

Mehtas of Gujarat

In Gujarat, the term Mehta often means ‘teacher’ or ‘accountant’, probably because in colonial times many people with the Mehta surname were educated and took up those jobs.

Some Parsi families which migrated to Western India due to persecution by Muslim rulers in Persia, took Mehta as their surname with the most notable example being Zubin Mehta.

Mehtas are today among the most successful entrepreneurs and industrialists in Gujarat and Mumbai, of which the Mehta Group is an example.

Mehtas of Rajasthan

Some members of the Oswal community also use 'Mehta' as their surname.[4]

Mehtas of Uttarakhand

Mehta in Uttrakhand mainly belong to Rajasthan. They are migrated to Different location of Pithoragarh and Other Kumaon Districts. The main occupation of the Mehta in Uttrakhand is in the army, government teachers and farmers. Mehta in Uttrakhand are Kumaoni Rajputs.

Religion and Language

Mehtas mostly belong to either Hinduism or Sikhism or both but there are some followers of Jainism and Zoroastrianism. They speak either Rajasthani, Punjabi, Pahari, Haryanvi, Hindi or Gujarati.

Notable Mehtas

Notable individuals with this surname include:

References

  1. ↑ https://books.google.com.au/books?id=vYSQzRyzKBcC&pg=PT147&lpg=PT147&dq=mehta+mahita&source=bl&ots=feC-PTOg7q&sig=sEhkUoQzB-4wnIkgHNOpUqLe3qI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zoCdVJbWJsXs8AW4tIGoCw&ved=0CD4Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=mehta%20mahita&f=false
  2. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohan_(Mohyal)
  3. ↑ Kapoor, Sukhbir (2003). Dasam Granth An Introductory Study. Hemkunt Press. p. 12. ISBN 81-7010-325-8.
  4. ↑ Studies In Indian History: Rajasthan Through The Ages The Heritage Of ... by R.K. Gupta, S.R. Bakshi