Sapru, also spelled as Sipru or Saproo is a Kashmiri Pandit clan [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] and surname native to the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India.
The Kashmiri Pandits are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located within the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits are Hindu Kashmiris native to the Kashmir Valley, and the only remaining Hindu Kashmiris after the large-scale of conversion of the Valley's population to Islam during the medieval times. Prompted by the growth of Islamic militancy in the valley, large numbers left in the exodus of the 1990s. Even so, small numbers remain.
Kak is a Kashmiri Pandit surname originating in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Munshi is a Persian word, originally used for a contractor, writer, or secretary, and later used in Mughal India for native language teachers, teachers of various subjects, especially administrative principles, religious texts, science, and philosophy and were also secretaries and translators employed by Europeans.
Kashmiris are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language and originating from the Kashmir Valley, which is today located in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
Dhar is a surname commonly found among the Hindu Bengali Kayastha community in West Bengal, India. Dhar or Dar is also used by some Kashmiri clans and communities native to the Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India, and common today among Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Muslims.
Haksar is a Kashmiri Pandit surname and clan. They are native to the Kashmir Valley within the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and they have a long tradition of Indian administrative service based on fluency in a link language - Persian under the Mughals and English under the British. In light of this fact, the Haksar family historically became a prominent administrative family in other parts of India, namely in Indore and Gwalior.
Jalali is a Kashmiri surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Madan/Madaan/Madhan is a Hindu surname. In India, it is found among Parsis, Kashmiri Pandits, Punjabi Aroras and Sindhi Lohanas. It is also found among Europeans.
Bhan is a Kashmiri Pandit clan and surname native to the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The Bhan Brahmin dynasty founded an erstwhile tribal hill state of Kashmir in the 10th century AD. It was ruled by the Bhan dynasty for two hundred years. Currently, all the territory of this state of Bhan is found in the Sidhnuti district of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Bhan, as a surname, is also used by Punjabi Saraswat Brahmins.
Razdan is a Kashmiri Pandit surname and clan that refers to the royal or aristocratic bloodline of old Kashmir, mostly attributed to the warriors of the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India. They are Saraswat Brahmins from the Kashmir Valley, belonging to the larger community of Pancha-Gauda Brahmins, and are widely known for their allegiance to Lord Shiva.
Pandit, also spelled as Pandita or Pandith is a Kashmiri Pandit clan or surname, native to the Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Pandit as a last name depicts a Brahmin lineage and is used by both Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir.
Gurtu or Gurtoo is a Kashmiri Pandit clan or surname, native to the Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Bazaz is a Kashmiri Pandit clan and surname native to the Kashmir Valley of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Tikoo, also spelt as Tickoo, Tikku, Tikhu or Ticku is a Kashmiri Pandit clan and surname native to the Kashmir Valley of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Thussu, also spelt as Thusu, Thusoo or Thussoo is a Kashmiri Pandit clan and surname native to the Kashmir Valley of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Thussu as a last-name is used by both Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Muslims of Hindu lineage.
Fotedar or Fotadar is a Kashmiri Pandit clan, kram and surname native to the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Raina is a Kashmiri Pandit clan and surname, native to the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Raina as a last-name depicts a Brahmin-lineage and is today found amongst both Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Muslims.
Ganjoo, also spelt as Ganju is a Kashmiri Pandit clan or surname, native to the Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Drabu or Draboo is a Kashmiri Pandit clan or surname, native to the Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Drabu or Draboo as a last name is shared by both Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir.
Among the leading Krams may be mentioned the following names:— Tikku, Razdan, Kak, Munshi, Mathu, Kachru, Pandit, Sapru, Bhan, Zitshu, Raina, Dar, Fotadar, Madan, Thusu, Wangnu, Muju, Hokhu, and Dulu.
Meaning of surnames found on the Kashmiri Pandit tree: Bakaya, Sapru, Bakshi, Munshi, Wazir, Chalkbast, Bhan, Langar or Langroo, Wattal, Bazaz, Taimini, Mattu, Chak, Zalpuri, Khar, Hazari, Zutshi, Razdan, Tikhu, Kathju, sopori, Thussoo, Haksar, Raina, Waloo or Wali, Wantu/Wanchu, Gamkhwar, Kakh, Mushran, Sharga, Handoo, Gurtu, Kitchlu, and Ganjoo.
Among the leading Krams may be mentioned the following names: Tikku, Razdan, Kak, Munshi, Mathu, Kachru, Pandit, Sipru, Bhan, Zitshu, Raina, Dhar, Fotadar, Madan, Thusu, Wangnu, Muju, Hokhu, and Dulu. Of these the members of the Dhar family have probably been the most influential.
Even now there are many distinguished scholars of Persian among the Kashmiri Brahmins in India. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Raja Narendranath to mention two of them.
Mohammad Iqbal, the poet philosopher, was born on November 9, 1877 at Sialkot, and died at the peak of his glory and fame in the early hours of April 21, 1938 at Lahore. Sialkot is a border town on Pakistan side of the Punjab; only a few miles beyond the city on the Indian side begins the land man of Jammu and Kashmir. His grandfather, a Sapru Hindu, embraced Islam. He was the first cousin of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru.