The Khanna Family Name Today: Migration and Tracing Your Roots
Khanna is a Punjabi surname used by both Hindus and Sikhs, and it belongs to the Khatri community. Many people search for the Khanna tribe story, but tribe is not the right word. Khanna is a surname, or a clan within a community, and this post uses those terms.
For most Khanna families today, the most important recent chapter is the Partition of 1947, which moved millions of people across the new border. This post explains that history in simple terms and then sets out practical ways to research your own family, using sources that can be checked.
Quick answer
Khanna is a Punjabi Khatri surname used by Hindus and Sikhs. Many Khatri families moved from areas now in Pakistan to India during the 1947 Partition, and a large number settled in Delhi and East Punjab. To trace your own Khanna line, start with elders and home papers, then check the Haridwar genealogy registers kept by pandas, and look at oral history collections such as The 1947 Partition Archive.
A surname and a community, not a tribe
Reference works describe Khanna as a Punjabi surname and as a clan of the Khatri community, and note that it is used by both Hindus and Sikhs. A family tradition traces Khannas to a common ancestor called Khan Chand, but that is recorded as tradition, not proven history.
Calling Khanna a tribe can give the wrong idea. Khanna families are spread across many towns and countries, and what they share is a surname and a community heritage. Surname or clan is the clearer and more accurate word.
What Partition meant for Punjabi Khatri families
Pakistan became independent on 14 August 1947 and India on 15 August 1947. The provinces of Punjab and Bengal were divided. According to the Wikipedia article on the Partition of India, it displaced between 12 and 20 million people along religious lines, and estimates of deaths vary widely.
In Punjab alone, total migration is estimated at about 12 million people, with about 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moving to East Punjab. The Wikipedia article on the Khatri community notes that Khatris migrated in large numbers to India from the regions that now form Pakistan.
Delhi's population rose from 917,939 in 1941 to 1,744,072 in 1951.
Around 500,000 Hindus and Sikhs arrived in Delhi from Pakistan.
As of December 1948, 85 relief camps in East Punjab housed 721,396 people.
Kingsway Camp in Delhi held more than 35,000 refugees at a time.
Where Khanna families live today
After Partition, many Khatri families rebuilt their lives in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. The Khatri article notes that Khatris formed about 9 percent of Delhi's population and about 8 percent of Haryana's after Partition. Over the following decades, many families moved again for work and study, within India and abroad.
This is why two Khanna families may know very little about each other's past. One may remember a town in West Punjab, another may remember only a camp or a first rented home in Delhi. Recording these memories now matters, because the generation that saw 1947 is passing.
How to research your own family history
Start close to home and move outward. Each step gives you names, places and dates that make the next step easier.
Step 1: Talk to elders and collect home papers
Ask your oldest relatives for full names, the village or town of origin, and where the family lived before and after 1947. Look for ration cards, land papers, school certificates, letters and photographs. Write down every place name exactly as it is spoken, since spellings changed over time.
Record conversations on a phone, with permission.
Note the names of the grandfather and great grandfather on the male line, since older registers often follow it.
Ask about the family's traditional priest or the pilgrimage town they visited for rites.
Step 2: Check the Haridwar genealogy registers
At Haridwar, Brahmin priests called pandas keep genealogy registers known as bahis. Families are arranged by caste and native place, and each panda usually serves clients from a particular area. If you know your family name, place of origin and the last time the family visited, you can often be matched with the right panda. You may add recent events, but existing records cannot be changed.
These registers include families from places that are now in Pakistan, and they became an important source for many families after Partition. Claims about how old the records are vary, so treat early dates with care.
Step 3: Ask at your gurdwara or temple
Some families had long links with a local gurdwara or temple. It is worth asking whether any old registers, donor lists or marriage records survive, and whether older members of the congregation remember your family. Results vary widely, so treat this as a lead rather than a certain source.
Step 4: Use Partition oral history collections
The 1947 Partition Archive describes itself as a crowdsourced, community based public history organisation. It runs free oral history workshops, invites people to become citizen historians, and lets families nominate a witness whose story should be recorded. Its collections can be browsed online. If an elder in your family remembers 1947, recording that story is one of the most valuable things you can do.
Common mistakes to avoid
Good family history keeps a clear line between what is remembered, what is recorded and what is guessed. Label each item in your notes so that later generations know which is which.
Assuming that everyone with the Khanna surname shares one recent ancestor.
Treating legends or family stories as documented fact without checking.
Relying on paid online family trees that do not show their sources.
Changing the spelling of old place names to modern forms too early, which makes them harder to find.
Waiting too long to record elders' memories.
A note on this post
This is a heritage interest piece written by Parikshit Khanna. It is not professional genealogy advice. For complex searches, such as property questions or records held in Pakistan, consider speaking with a qualified genealogist or the relevant authority.
Frequently asked questions
Is Khanna a tribe?
No. Khanna is a Punjabi surname and a clan of the Khatri community, used by both Hindus and Sikhs. Surname or community is the more accurate term.
Did many Khanna families come to India during Partition?
Reference works say Khatri families migrated in large numbers from the regions that now form Pakistan. Many Khanna families share that history, though each family's story is different.
How do I find my family's panda at Haridwar?
Go with your family name, the ancestral town or village, and if possible the date of the family's last visit. Pandas are organised by area of origin, so the place name is the key detail.
Can I record my grandparent's Partition story?
Yes. The 1947 Partition Archive runs free oral history workshops and lets families nominate a witness. You can also simply record a conversation at home and keep it safely.
What should I collect first?
Full names, the place of origin, and any old documents such as ration cards, land papers or certificates. These details unlock most other records.
Written by Parikshit Khanna. For questions about this article, email pkhanna123@gmail.com.
