# List of people from Himachal Pradesh

This is a list of notable people from Himachal Pradesh, India.

## Arts

* Baba Kanshi Ram - poet and independence activist
* Chandradhar Sharma Guleri - writer and scholar
* Gambhari Devi - folk singer and folklorist
* Gautam Chand Sharma 'Vyathit' - folklorist, poet, writer
* H.R. Harnot - writer
* Nainsukh - painter of Kangra school of painting
* Nirmal Verma - writer
* Ram Kumar - painter
* Shriniwas Joshi - writer and theatre artist
* Siddharth Pandey - writer, photographer, musician
* Vijay Sharma - painter and art historian

## Business

* M S Banga

## Defence
### Awardess of the Param Vir Chakra and equivalent awards

* Major Som Nath Sharma - the first ever Param Vir Chakra awardee (1950)
* Lieutenant Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa - Param Vir Chakra awardee (1962)
* Captain Vikram Batra - Param Vir Chakra awardee (1999)
* Rifleman Sanjay Kumar - Param Vir Chakra awardee (1999)
* Major Sudhir Kumar Walia - Ashoka Chakra awardee (1999)
* Jemadar Lala, Victoria Cross awardee (1916)
* Honorary Captain Bhandari Ram - Victoria Cross awardee (1945)

### Other notable defence personnel

* Major General Siri Kanth Korla, PVSM, DSO, MC - decorated WWII and Indo-Pak War (1965) veteran
* Major General Anant Singh Pathania, MVC, MC - decorated WWII and Indo-Pak War (1947-49) veteran
* Brigadier Sher Jung Thapa, MVC - 'The Hero of Skardu' in the Indo-Pak War (1947-48)
* Colonel Thakur Prithi Chand, MVC - the defence of Ladakh during the Indo-Pak War (1947-48)
* Lt. Col. Kushal Chand, MVC - the defence of Ladakh during the Indo-Pak War (1947-48)
* Subedar Major and Hony Captain Bhim Chand, VrC & bar - the defence of Ladakh during the Indo-Pak War (1947-48)
* Lieutenant General Ranjit Singh Dyal, PVSM, MVC - Indo-Pak War (1965) veteran
* Brigadier Rattan Nath Sharma, MVC - decorated Indo-Pak War (1965) and Indo-Pak War (1971) veteran
* Group Captain Virendera Singh Pathania VrC, Vayusena Medal - first IAF pilot to make a confirmed kill of a Pakistani jet in independent India; veteran of the 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars
* General Vishwa Nath Sharma, PVSM, AVSM, ADC - 14th Chief of the Army Staff in the Indian Army (1988-1990)
* Lt. Saurabh Kalia - PoW in the Kargil War (1999)
* Subedar Major and Hony Captain Chhering Norbu Bodh, SC - Mountaineer (1990s-2000s)

## Historians from Himachal pradesh

* Bipan Chandra
* Chetan Singh
* Hari Sen
* Mian Goverdhan Singh
* Om Chand Handa
* Raaja Bhasin
* Tobdan
* Tshering Dorje

## Judicial

* Sanjay Karol is the sitting Judge of Supreme Court of India.
* Mehr Chand Mahajan was the third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India.
* Deepak Gupta (judge) is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India.
* Lokeshwar Singh Panta is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India and was the first chairperson of the National Green Tribunal.
* Abhilasha Kumari is a former first female Chief Justice on the Manipur High Court in 2018.

## Entertainment and Television

* Adarsh Rathore - journalist, singer
* Anuj Sharma - singer
* Anupam Kher - film actor
* Ashish R Mohan - film director
* Asmita Sood - television actress
* B. R. Ishara- film director and script writer
* Kangana Ranawat - Bollywood actress
* Manohar Singh - theatre and film actor
* Mohit Chauhan - Bollywood singer
* Motilal (actor)
* Mrinal Navell - Actress
* Neeraj Sood - Film Actor
* Preity Zinta - film actress
* Prem Chopra - Bollywood Actor
* Priya Rajvansh - film actress
* Purva Rana - model
* Ravi Bhatia - television actor
* Rubina Dilaik - television actress
* Savi Thakur - Television actor
* Shipra Khanna - chef
* Shivya Pathania - television actress
* Shriya Sharma - film actress
* Siddharth Chauhan - screenwriter, director, and producer
* Vishal Karwal - television actor
* Yami Gautam - film actress

## Politicians
### Chief Ministers

* Yashwant Singh Parmar, the founder of the Himachal Pradesh state and its first chief minister (1952-1956; 1963-1977)
* Thakur Ram Lal (1977; 1980-1983)
* Shanta Kumar (1977-1980; 1990-1992)
* Virbhadra Singh (1983-1985; 1985-1990; 1993-1998; 2003-2007; 2012-2017)
* Prem Kumar Dhumal (1998-2003; 2008-2012)
* Jai Ram Thakur (2017-2022)
* Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (2022–present)
* List of chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh

### Present and ex Union Ministers

* Jagat Prakash Nadda current Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare; and Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers. Also the President of Bharatiya Janata Party
* Anurag Thakur
* Anand Sharma
* Chandresh Kumari Katoch
* Sukh Ram
* Shanta Kumar
* Virbhadra Singh
Council of Ministers of Himachal Pradesh
Members of Current Assembly of Himachal Pradesh

### Other politicians from Himachal Pradesh

* Asha Kumari
* Balak Ram Kashyap
* Brij Behari Lal Butail
* Chander Kumar
* G. S. Bali
* Jai Bihari Lal Khachi
* Jagdev Chand Thakur
* Kaul Singh Thakur
* Khimi ram
* Kishan Kapoor
* Lata Thakur
* Mahender Singh
* Mukesh Agnihotri
* Phunchog Rai
* Pratibha Singh
* Rajeev Bindal
* Dr. Salig Ram
* Satpal Singh Satti
* Sukh Ram
* Thakur Devi Singh
* Thakur Sen Negi
* Vidya Stokes
* Vikramaditya Singh (Himachal Pradesh politician)

## Himachalis outside India

* Gaurav Sharma (politician) - medical doctor and MP in New Zealand
* Jay Chaudhry - CEO and founder of Zscaler a Nasdaq listed company in USA

## Science and Education

* Dr Randeep Guleria - Padma Shri, Director AIIMS New Delhi and Professor and Department Head of Pulmonary Disease and Sleeping Disorders
* Dr Jagat Ram - Padma Shri, ophthalmologist and Director PGI Chandigarh
* Dr Mahesh Verma - Padma Shri, Vice Chancellor Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
* Dr D.S. Rana - Padma Shri, nephrologist and chairman, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (India) New Delhi
* Dr Jagdev Guleria - Padma Shri
* Dr Omesh Kumar Bharti - Padma Shri
* Arvind Mohan Kayastha - biologist
* Anand Mohan - geologist, petrologist
* R.C. Sawhney - scientist, professor
* T. R. Sharma - plant biologist, educator
* Vijay Kumar Thakur - engineer and nano-technologist
* Munmun Dhalaria - documentary filmmaker
* Bittu Sehgal - nature conservationist and writer

## Sports

* Ajay Thakur - kabaddi player
* Ashish Kumar - silver medalist in Asian Games in boxing 2019
* Charanjit Singh - hockey (1964 Olympics)
* Chuni Lal Thakur - Winter Olympian
* Deepak Thakur - hockey
* Dicky Dolma - Mountaineer
* Hira Lal - Winter Olympian
* Manavjit Singh Sandhu - sports shooter
* Manvinder Bisla - cricketer
* Nanak Chand Thakur- Winter Olympian
* Paras Dogra - cricketer
* Renuka Singh - cricketer (India women's national cricket team)
* Rishi Dhawan - cricketer
* Samaresh Jung - sports shooter
* Shiva Keshavan - luge (Winter Olympian)
* Skalzang Dorje - Archery (1996 Olympics)
* Suman Rawat - Track and field athlete
* Sushma Verma - cricketer (India women's national cricket team)
* The Great Khali - wrestler
* Vijay Kumar - sports shooter

## Religion

* Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen - Buddhist teacher and scholar
* Thakur Ram Singh - RSS and Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan

## Non-Himachalis with significant contributions to HP

* Amrita Sher-Gil - painter
* Bhabesh Chandra Sanyal - painter
* Brijinder Nath Goswamy - art historian
* Didi Contractor - architect
* Harish Kapadia - mountaineer and writer
* Helena Roerich - philosopher and explorer
* Kirin Narayan - anthropologist
* Manohar Singh Gill - administrator, politician, and writer
* Mohan Singh Oberoi - hotelier
* Mohinder Singh Randhawa - art historian
* Norah Richards - theatre
* Nicholas Roerich - painter, philosopher, explorer
* Penelope Chetwode - travel writer
* Rahul Sankrityayan - scholar and travel writer
* Samuel Bourne - early photographer
* Satyananda Stokes - orchardist
* Sobha Singh - painter
* Svetsolav Roerich - painter
* Tenzin Gyatso - the fourteenth Dalai Lama
* Tenzin Palmo - Buddhist nun and activist
* Timothy A. Gonsalves - academic, entrepreneur
* Yeshi Dhonden - Sowa Rigpa doctor

## Miscellaneous

* Sansar Chand - ruler of Kangra in the 18th and early 19th centuries
* Seu - exponent of Kangra painting (late 17th - early 18th cent.)
* Nainsukh - exponent of Kangra painting (18th cent.)
* Manaku - exponent of Kangra painting (18th cent.)
* Kinkri Devi - activist and environmentalist
* Shyam Saran Negi - India's first voter
* Zorawar Singh Kahluria - general of the Dogra army in the first half of the 19th century
* Narain Chand Parashar - linguist, cultural historian, and politician
* Pelden Gyeltshen - the 40th Ganden Tripa (17th century)