Mahajan is an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n surname

Surname

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...

 or title

Title

A title is a prefix or suffix added to someone's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...

, found among several castes and communities.

The word "Mahajan" is an amalgam of two Sanskrit words: Maha meaning great, and Jan meaning people or individuals. Over the years, the word Mahajan has come to be used a generic job title that refers to people involved in money lending.

Caste

The Mahajan community of North India

North India

North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

 originated from present day Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

 and Punjab. Most of these Mahajans speak Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

, Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

, Punjabi

Punjabi language

Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...

 or Dogri, and reside in the states of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...

, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

.

Mahajans of Jammu, Maharashtra and Punjab were landlords, traders and business men and were supposed to have good respect and influence in the society. It was always considered to be a high caste therefore they were given the name Mahajan. The Mahajans were always economically and socially powerful people of the society. Ironically a few of them were also involved in money lending.

Maharashtra

Mahajans from Maharashtra are a diverse group. They are mostly Chitpavan or Kokanastha and Deshastha Brahmins like Late Pramod Mahajan and Vishnupant Mahajan. The surname Mahajan also exists within the Lingayat, Gujri, Leva Patil, Mali, Bhavsar

Bhavsar

The Bhavasar are an ethnic group in India. They are from the traditional Kshatriya varna in Hinduism.-Origin and legends:The Bhavasar's legendary origin dates back to the Saurashtra. Tradition holds the community was formed by Bhavsingh and Sarsingh, two young princes from north-western India...

 (Rangari), Digambar Jain communities of Maharashtra.

Sub-castes

Mahajans have many sub castes like Kubre, Beotra, Kankaal, Lamhe etc. and each of the sub casted people gather at their religious places. Actually each sub cast believes in different god(called devte). So, Mahajans created temples at their places. Mostly temples are located from Batala, Punjab to Jammu and Gurdaspur also. This gathering is called Mail of Mahajans. This day is celebrated on the occasion of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Birthday, mostly comes in November.

Traditionally, Mahajans do not get married into same sub castes. It means Kubra boy cannot get married with Kubra Girl because as per the rituals they are brother and sister.

Some Mahajans use the caste Gupta and Jandiyals. Jandiyals are mostly used by the Mahajans of Jammu.

Mahajan as a generic title

Mahajan is also used a generic job title that refers to people involved in money lending. Any person involved in money lending was referred to as Mahajan whether or not was a Mahajan by caste.

In Gujarat, the Bhatia

Bhatia

Bhatia is a group of people and a caste originating from Sindh Province and Rajasthan. The Bhatias primarily live in Northwestern India and Pakistan. They are mainly found among the following ethnic groups or clans: Rajputs, Khatris, Gujjars, Yaduvanshi/Yadav and Bhati...

s also use the "Mahajan" suranme, as the Mahajan community was traditionally associated with money lending. The Mahajans of Gujarat believe in Srinathji at Nathdwara (Rajasthan), follow strict vegetarianism.

In the coastal state of Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

 Mahajan is not used a family name. But Mahajan is a title which is used by the members of Mazanias; it means elder (Maha — great and Zan — person). Mazanias are associations of a religious nature consisting of the founders of Hindu temples or their descendants. These people mostly belong to Brahmin subcastes like Gowda Saraswath Brahmins, Daivajnas, Padye

Padye

Padye Brahmin community hails from Goa, commonly known as "Bhatt" ,they speak a unique dialect of Konkani known as "Bhati Bhasha".-Etymology:...

s or Kshatriya

Kshatriya

*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...

s.