Bal

For other uses, see Bal (disambiguation).

The Bal surname, of differing origins, is common among several communities.

History and origin

Bals are descendents of Indo-Aryan tribes. According to the Mahabharata (Chapter -Adi Parva), they are the descendents of Bhagat Prahlada's grandson Raja Bali (Mahabali).

Distribution in India

• People having 'Bal' surname are also found in Orissa. They belong to Kshatriya community, and mostly found in coastal belt of Orissa like Keonjhar, Kendrapara,Jajpur,Cuttack, Bhadrak etcs.^{[citation needed]}

• Several people belonging to this Jat gotra can be found in Haryana. In Punjab, the gotra can be found in the district of Amritsar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala.^{[citation needed]}

• A village of Bals can also be found near Ajeetpur, Uttrakhand. According to them, they moved from Amritsar around the time of partition.^{[citation needed]}

• People belonging to this gotra can also be found in Maharashtra. They trace back their origins to the village of Ladghar which is located in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.^{[citation needed]}

• The Bal gotra can also be found in Northern Kashmir^{[citation needed]}

Distribution in Pakistan

• Bal is one of the largest Jat tribe, found throughout the central districts of Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujranwala, and Okara.

• Many have also settled in the canal colony districts of Faisalabad, Sahiwal and Sargodha.

• Prior to partition, Muslim Bal were also found in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala.

Distribution elsewhere

The Arabic derived surname is also found in Afghanistan and Turkey.

Prominent Bals

• Nanda Kishore Bal, Indian poet
• Bhikari Bal, Indian Singer
• Bülent Bal, Turkish footballer
• Duygu Bal, Turkish volleyball player
• Harigopal Bal, Bengali revolutionary
• Jagmeet Bal, Indian music video director
• Rohit Bal, Indian fashion designer
• Sambit Bal, Indian journalist
• Vidya Bal, Indian writer/editor and social activist

See also

• List of Jat Clans of West Punjab