It’s time that we all acknowledge that Punjabi culture or Punjabis are not limited to mere Punjab. The community has taken their culture to the global stage and represented India at an international level.
The Punjabi Community’s presence at World Level is commendable. Be it any field, you’ll find a prominent Punjabi face winning the hearts of the world, breaking records and making the community as well as the whole country proud at an international level. Why shouldn’t the efforts of the Punjabis be recognized?
Punjabis Who Got Fame At International Level For Their Prestigious Work
1. Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu – Miss Universe 2021
Born in Gurdaspur, Punjab, 21-year-old Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu made the community and the whole country proud at the global stage by winning the Miss Universe Crown. She became only the third Indian ever, and the first-ever Punjabi woman to win the Miss Universe title. For India, it was last won by Lara Dutta in 2000.
2. Chandeep Singh – Para-athlete
At the 9th Taekwondo World Championships held in Istanbul, Turkey, Chandeep Singh grabbed a silver medal. With this, he became the first-ever para-athlete from the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir to win a medal at the World Level. It also marked the first-ever instance in Indian history that an athlete won a medal at the Para World Taekwondo Championships.
3. B Praak – Rajat Kamal Award
Along with sports and other fields, music is another area where Punjabis remain unbeatable. The Punjabi industry has grown exponentially in the past few years and B Praak’s contribution in the industry’s growth has been commendable.
At the 67th National Awards, B Praak went on to win the ‘Rajat Kamal Award’ and was recognized as the ‘Best Male Playback Singer’ for the song, Teri Mitti from the movie Kesari. He also became the first Punjabi artist to be honored with the UAE Golden Visa.
4. Hockey Players – Bronze Medal (2020 Summer Olympics)
The Indian Hockey Team reignited the lost Hockey spark in the country by bringing a Bronze Medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics after a wait of 41 years! The Women’s Hockey Team also delivered its best ever performance at the Olympics by entering the Semi-Finals. The team had 8 players from Punjab who brought the greatest sporting medal home.
Harmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Manpreet Singh (Captain), Shamsher Singh, Gurjant Singh, and Mandeep Singh from Punjab represented the Indian Men’s Hockey Team while Gurjit Kaur was part of the Women’s Squad.
5. Kamalpreet Kaur – Best-ever Performance In Disc Throw
Belonging to the Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab, National Record Holder Kamalpreet Kaur exhibited India’s best-ever performance in the Disc Throw discipline at the Tokyo Olympics, ending up 6th in the finals of the event.
6. Sikh Men Who Rescued People With Turbans
5 Sikh Men set an example for the world by exhibiting the bravest feat you would have ever heard of. At the Golden Ears Waterfall, the 5 men were chilling around when a woman came to them, asking for help. On reaching the incident spot, they found 2 hikers drowning in the waterfall. The 5 international students, Gagandeep Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Arvindjeet Singh, Kulinder Singh and Ajay Kumar helped save their lives by removing their turbans & jackets and making a rope with the help of them. Their heroic efforts were recognized at a global stage and they were also honoured at various events held in Canada.
7. Raunak Nirmal – Forbes 30 Under 30
Raunak Nirmal, an Indian born American Sikh, booked his spot in the Forbes’ 30 under 30 list and made the whole community proud. He grabbed the spot in the Retail & E-Commerce category. Aged 29, he is the co-founder and the CEO of Acquo, one of the largest and fastest-growing aggregators of companies that sell on Amazon.
8. Harpreet Kaur – Emmy Award
Another Indian-American Sikh, who is dedicated to making the community proud at the international level. She won her first Emmy Award in 2019 and went on to win a third in 2021. She is also the first-ever Sikh woman to win the prestigious award. She won it in 2021 for producing and directing segments of Season 9 of the TV show ‘Maryland Farm and Harvest’.
9. Bob Nagra – Brampton’s Citizen Of The Year
The Punjabi Community’s presence in Canada is well known to the world. Bob Nagra is just another example of it. He is the first-ever turbaned police officer to join the Peel Police Canada and was awarded with Brampton’s Citizen of the year award for 2021.
10. RJ Happy Singh – Farmers’ Flag On Mount Kun
Professional Punjabi mountaineer RJ Happy Singh successfully completed his expedition to the summit of the second-highest point in the Ladakh region, Mount Kun. He described it as his life’s toughest task. Mount Kun has an elevation of 7077 meters. To make the climb even more special, RJ Happy Singh hoisted the farmers’ flag from the top, extending his support to the farmers’ protest in 2021.
These were some of the Punjabis who made the community proud at an international level. The list contains 10 of them but we are sure it could go on forever. Punjabis are marking their presence at the world stage and we are sure the best is yet to come.
