2021 under 30 List

Baljinder aka ‘Kaur B’ is a Punjabi singer from India. She participated in Awaz Punjab Di’s Season 3 and in the Voice of Punjab in 2011. Her first movie ‘Daddy Cool Munde Fool’ was a very big hit as was her first song ‘Classmate’. Since then she has had many hit songs ‘Just Desi’, ‘Maa Nu Chitti’, ‘Allah Ho’, ‘Miss you’, ‘Velly Ja’,’ Kaurizm’ to name a few.

Ashnoor Kaur was born on the 3^rd May 2004. She is an Indian actress who is best known for her acting in several television serials including Jhansi Ki Rani, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and Patiala Babes. In 2018, she made her Bollywood debut with supporting roles in Sanju and Manmarziyaan.

Entertainment, 29

Nimrat is an Indian singer, actress and playback singer known for her work in Punjabi music and films. She has been nominated for two Filmfare Punjabi Awards and one PTC Punjabi Film award. She is the winner of Voice of Punjab season 3. Nimrat gained fame after the release of her single ‘Ishq Kacheri’. She performed at Saras Mela, held in Bhathinda and hosted the third edition of Radio Mirchi Music Awards.

Entertainment, 24

Karan is an Indian singer, lyricist and rapper known for his work in Punjabi music. He is best known for the songs ‘Don’t Look’, ‘Hint’, ‘Don’t Worry’, and ‘Chitta Kurta’. His singles ‘Hint’, ‘Chitta Kurta’, and ‘Red Eyes’ have featured in Global YouTube weekly chart. In 2020, his song ’Jhanjar’ was viewed over five million times within 24 hours on YouTube and has topped trending lists in Australia, Canada and India.

Faith, 21

With the Blessings of Dhan Sant Baba Teja Singh Ji Maharaj Rara Sahib Ji, Bhai Arshnoor Singh become able to share messages from Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji since 2009. He has been fond of Kirtan from a very young age and now he travels the country inspiring children to follow in his footsteps and embrace the Sikh faith.

Bhai Parampreet Singh from Nanaksar. His talent and spirit has been noticed worldwide and 1000’s attend his Kirtan Diwans. He has been doing path and Kirtan from a very young age and now he travels the country inspiring children to follow in his footsteps and embrace the Sikh faith.

Sports, 28

Khusbir is an Indian athlete, a 20-kilometre race walker. She first came into the limelight after winning bronze in the 10,000-metre walk race at the 2012 Asian Junior Athletics Championships held at Colombo, Sri Lanka. She is the first Indian woman to win a silver medal at the Asian Games.

Entertainment, 26

Jasmin Kaur Bajwa is a Punjabi Actress and Model associated with Punjabi Flim Industry. She was born on 22^nd September 1995 in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. She was one of the finalists in Miss India Global International 2014. Jasmin made her first movie debut in the 2018 Soorma movie along with Diljit Dosanjh. Later, she worked in other Punjabi movies like Husband Material, Doorbeen, Sohreyan Da Pind Aa Gaya, and Sufna. She was also featured in Punjabi music songs like Subah Jatt Da by Amrit Maan and Birthday Gift by Sharry Maan. In 2018, she got the role of Daizy in the Sharry Mann‘s Punjabi web series Yaar Jigree Kasooti Degree.

Sports, 21

Chandeep Singh Sudan was 11 years old when he suffered an electric shock of approximately 11,000 volts. When all hope seemed lost, he decided to fight back. Today, he is a national-level skater and holds the world record for fastest 100 meters para skating. This bright young man who pursued his electrical engineering from M.B.S College of Engineering and Technology, Jammu aspires to become an IAS officer. Not only that, his eyes are centred on becoming the world champion in Para-skating and is looking forward to taking part in the Olympics for India.

Sports, 12

Jarnail Singh the twin brother of Jabarjang Singh aka the ‘twin stallions’. Both started learning Muay Thai Boxing in the late 2014 under the guidance of Kru Master Jompop from Kiatphontip Gym who was formerly ranked no1 at Rajadamnern stadium in Thailand. One of their major achievements was when they both got selected for team Great Britain at the World Championships held in Germany October 2019. Jarnail won Gold and was crowned new World Champion.

Sports, 25

Harmanpreet is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a defender for the Indian national team. He was named in the Indian squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics. He was the member of Junior Hockey World Cup 2016 champion’s squad.

Sports, 26

Gurjit is an Indian female field hockey player. She plays the position of a defender and is also the Indian team’s designated drag flicker. She has represented India internationally, most recently at the Hockey World Cup 2018. She was the most successful goal-scorer of the Indian team during the series with 8 goals, in which the Indian team emerged victorious as the continental champions.

Education, 27

Ruby Kaur Dhal is a bestselling author of 5 books of poetry/prose and bitesize self-help. Boasting an online readership of half a million, Ruby’s words on healing, self-discovery, love, heartbreak, grief and moving on have been greatly appreciated by readers all around the world. Ruby has featured in various online magazines, from Harper’s Bazaar to The Times of India and has done guest appearances on the BBC Asian Network and BBC Radio 1. Ruby is also a contributing writer to widely read online magazines such as We are The Tempest and Thought Catalog, and she has graduated with an MA in Philosophy. Presently Ruby is working on her debut romance-suspense novel.

Business, 26

Navjyot is a master of making people and businesses famous with his digital marketing and promotional skills, with his client database of over 500 companies he is constantly expanding. He was selected for the TV Show, ‘Roadies’ at a very small age as he was extremely impressive in the battleground. Navjyot is an expert in press releases, brand promotion, music videos and artist management, handling their social media accounts.

Education, 25

Gurmehar is an Indian student activist and author. She currently pursuing her Master’s from Somerville College, Oxford University. She is also an ambassador for Postcards for Peace, a UK based charitable organisation that helps eliminate any form of discrimination. She was in the news due to a video she released. Time Magazine described her as a ‘free speech warrior’ and included her in their ‘10 Next Generation Leaders’ list.

Sports, 22

Harleen is the WMKF World Champion Silver Medallist and is known as a competent martial arts competitor, training for nearly 10 years she is now 2nd Dan Black belt. She currently trains in a combined programme of Karate, Kickboxing and Jiu Jitsu. Harleen is an ambassador for the Asian Sports Foundation and is one of a few in her niche field not only a world competitor in martial arts, but the WMKF British Champion in kickboxing and All Styles Champion.

Education, 27

Sukhjit is a first generation Australian Sikh spoken word artist, educator, performer and human rights reformer based in Melbourne, Australia. Her work predominantly provokes conversations around Australian identity, feminism, cultural confusions, and the power of uncomfortable conversations.

Role Model, 12

Munsimar was told “no you can’t play, because you’re a terrorist” by a group of teenagers in a park. She shared her ordeal in a heartbreaking video on her dad’s Instagram account. Mansimar’s experience proved to her the lack of exposure and knowledge some people have about Sikhs. Her story went viral and many celebrities and sports players showed their support for Munsimar and Sikh Community.

Sports, 27

Jujhar is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). On January 16, 2017, Khaira scored his first NHL goal, against Mike Smith of the Arizona Coyotes. On December 9 of the same year, Khaira earned his first multi-goal game, scoring twice against Carey Price of the Montreal Canadians.

Role Model, 21

Kabir is the youngest Indian and Sikh serving as a PTE in the Territorial Forces-Infantry Regiment in the New Zealand Army. He applied in the Army at the age of 18 and went off to do his basic training earlier this year and graduated to become a soldier. He comes from a family who has been serving in the Indian Army and Indian Air Force for the past three generations.

Role Model, 21

Harnoor is the founder of the Peace Welcome Club, he lives in Georgetown, Ontario with his family and he is a high school student. He has had his work published in Indo-Canadian Voice, Asian Journal, Times of India, The Independent, Free Press and in Amazing Kids Magazine. Harnoor volunteers with many local organizations including the Willow Park Ecology Centre, the Town of Halton Hills and the Halton Children’s Aid Society.

Education, 14

Simar Singh is aged 15 and he studies in Bhupindra International Public School. He is the world’s youngest Sikh researcher/historian. He belongs to the family of great Sikh personality Sant Sayyad Prithipal Singh Ji and his journey began in 2018. He is President of Historical Heritage Society (‌International). Simar has achieved 8 world records based on Sikh history research. He is also working on the digitalization of rare books and religious articles.

Sports, 27

Amrinder joined Mumbai City FC for the Hero ISL 2016 after previously representing ATK, Bengaluru FC and Pune FC at different stages in his career. Amrinder kept five clean sheets in six matches for the Islanders in 2016, thus winning the Golden Glove Award. The 2017-18 campaign proved to be even better for the goalkeeper as he finished with 55 saves – the most by any keeper in the league.

Sports, 22

Samrath Singh ’22 grew up in New Jersey. His baseball debut was February 29, 2020, BC played a game against Fairfield University that quickly turned into a laugher. When Fairfield came to bat in the bottom of the ninth, they were behind 19-6. Standing on the mound to get the last three outs for BC was Samrath Singh. His appearance marked not just his Boston College debut, but also, as near as can be determined, the first time that an observant Sikh had ever played in a Division 1 baseball game.

Entertainment, 28

Gurlaine is known for her work on EastEnders (1985), Holby City (1999) and Doctors (2000). She is a talented young actress whose credits include BBC One’s Eastenders, Doctors and Holby. She is highly trained in tae kwon do, boxing and kick boxing and is the European Champion for Tae Kwon Do.

Entertainment, 22

Karan is an American actor. He portrayed Chirag Gupta in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film franchise and Ravi Ross on the Disney Channel Original Series Jessie and its subsequent spin-off Bunk’d. He began his acting career at the age of 11, starring as Indian middle schooler Chirag Gupta in the comedy feature film Diary of a Wimpy Kid. In 2018, he had a role in the sci-fi movie Pacific Rim: Uprising.

Model, 25

Sonia was born in Oslo, Norway. She is an Indian-Norwegian model and was crowned Miss India Norway and she represented Norway at Miss India Worldwide 2015. At the grand finale, she was crowned ‘Miss Catwalk’. Sonia is a very successful model although she is young. Miss Universe Norway, Miss Grand International Norway, Miss Supernational Norway are just a few pageants she has taken part in.

Sports, 29

Gurpreet began his professional football journey with East Bengal in 2012. He then joined Norway based Stabaek Football in 2014. He became the first Indian to feature in a UEFA Europa League match. Thereafter, he returned to India and joined Bengaluru FC in 2017 as their No.1, emerging as a runner-up in the 2018 Hero ISL campaign and a Hero Super Cup winner. In the 2019 season he won the Golden Glove award en route to helping the team bag the Hero ISL trophy.

Education, 26

Naureen currently works as a Community Organizer with the Asian Pacific Development Center and the Policy Director of Colorado Sikhs. Naureen was the first Sikh-American to be selected to speak at the Denver Women’s March. In front of a crowd of thousands, Naureen first shared a Shabad written by Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji about the role of women. She shared how her experience as a Sikh and as the daughter of immigrants has shaped her worldview on gender equality and courage.

Sports, 20

Prabhsukhan, currently 18 years old, had a stellar domestic season in the Hero I-League 2018-19 for the Indian Arrows. He also emerged as the team’s hero during the young Arrows team’s memorable victory over Kerala Blasters FC in the Hero Super Cup 2019 qualifiers. Prabhsukhan was also a part of the 21-man India side for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017.

Sports, 24

Germanpreet is a graduate of the Tata Football Academy. He was picked up in the draft leading up to Hero ISL 2017 by Chennaiyin FC and played seven matches for them during their title-winning campaign. He featured for John Gregory’s side on nine occasions in Hero ISL 2018-19. Germanpreet is a full-fledged India international and was part of the Blue Tigers squad in the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

Sports, 27

Gursimran Singh (born 15^th December 1994) is a National field hockey player who used to play as a forward. He is currently serving Delhi Hockey in the position of Vice President. He started playing for his schools’ senior team while he was in the tenth grade and he was the captain of the team. He participated in the School Games Federation of India games in 2012. Gursimran was also a team member of the Delhi Junior National Championships in 2013. He got an award for playing national hockey from member of parliament Shri Parvesh Verma.

Role Model, 23

Jahan, has broken the glass ceiling. She is one of the few, and was definitely the youngest, female dhol player. The 8kg dhol that Jahan picked up at the tender age of 12 has become a part of her identity. Now 22, she is pursuing Law from the Panjab University and has given hundreds of live performances across India and abroad.

Business, 26

Evan has that rare and coveted ability to turn original ideas into businesses that are both innovative and profitable. At 25 years old, he has an already impressive resume and career history. He started his journey as a serial entrepreneur as an adolescent and was bitten by the ‘digital bug’ early and often. He now works with non-tech entrepreneurs and backs them with capital, technology and marketing resources to launch new companies from the ground up.

Entertainment, 27

Rohan is an Indian Singer who sings Punjabi Songs. He is famous due to his appearance in Rising Star season 2. He also appeared in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs 2007-08. On May 20, 2018, Rohan released his debut Punjabi song named ‘Taqleef’ alongside ‘Kirat Gill’. In the same year on 31st October 2018, he also released another song ‘Pehli Mulakat’ which is a big hit.

Sports, 25

Considered as one of the most promising young forwards in the country, Manvir made his Hero ISL debut for FC Goa in 2017. He came off the bench eight times in his maiden campaign and even started a match against Bengaluru FC. Manvir scored his maiden Hero ISL goal in a match against Kerala Blasters FC last season and will be hoping to add to the tally in the upcoming season.

Sports, 30

Gurtej, a defender for Hyderabad FC, started his professional career with the now-defunct JCT. After plying his trade with Pailan Arrows and Churchill Brothers, Gurtej signed for Bengaluru FC in 2013. FC Pune City signed him in 2017. In his very first season with the Stallions, he formed one of the most formidable defensive partnerships in the league alongside Rafael Lopez.

Sports, 23

Arshdeep is promising goalkeeper who rose through the ranks at the AIFF Elite Academy, later joining Minerva Punjab in 2015. Last season was his most productive yet as he made 8 Hero I-League and 4 AFC Cup appearances for Minerva. The youngster will be getting his first taste of Hero ISL this term with Odisha FC.

Sports, 24

Gursimrat was signed by Bengaluru FC in 2016. He was also a part of their 2017 AFC Cup squad. He was picked up in the draft leading up to Hero ISL 2017-18 by NorthEast United FC. He returned to Bengaluru for the 2018-19 campaign. The young defender will be back with the Blues to help with their title defence in Hero ISL 2019-20.

Sports, 29

Simranjit  plays as a midfielder for Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League. After graduating from Tata Football Academy he joined I-Leagues developmental side Pailan Arrows in 2013. He made his debut for the club in the I-League on 20 January 2013 against Shillong Lajong F.C. in which Pailan Arrows won the match 1–0. In December 2014, Simranjit joined newly founded I-League team Bharat FC.

Social Media, 19

Simranjeet is a social media star who has gained fame for his self-titled YouTube channel. He has risen to massive fame as the creator of Punjabi Carpool Karaoke, alongside adventure vlogging, challenges and pranks. Simranjeet is one of the most successful young YouTubers in the United States today.

Entertainment, 29

Raginder aka ‘Raaginder’ is a Union City, California based violinist, music producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in 2011 when he released his first mix tape ‘Take One’. Following up with his debut studio album Beach Chair in 2014. He played the United States national anthem for the LA Clippers and has played at the White House on numerous occasions.

Entertainment, 28

Hardeep Singh is a professional dancer, public relations officer, social worker and an entrepreneur. In 2011 he started ‘Pure Bhangra’ which is the first and longest running group in the Middle East. Hardeep has been recognised in local newspapers, TV channels, radio stations and social media. Pure Bhangra recently received the silver play button from YouTube.

Business, 20

Arminder is the youngest person to win an investment on Dragons’ Den after securing £20,000 for a gadget that can clean muddy boots in minutes. He was only 11 years old when he came up with the idea for his ‘Boot Buddy’, after getting fed up with the time he had to spend washing his shoes after playing football. His handheld time-saving device gets the job done in less than five minutes using 300ml of water.

Sports, 19

Arjan Singh Raikhy is an English footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for National League team Stockport County, on loan from Aston Villa. He is a product of the Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion academies. Raikhy was named in the Aston Villa starting line-up for his senior debut on 8 January 2021 in an FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool.

Media, 30

Gurpreet Singh has been working as a manager and a journalist at Akaal Channel for many years presenting various programs and news based on sikh issues. He is a volunteer for Akaal AID which provides community services and attends disaster areas around the globe. Prior to this he worked for DSGMC on the digital library and Gurbani presentation projects. Gurpreet actively covered the Farmers Protest in Delhi.

Sports, 26

Tal Singh was born and raised in Liverpool. Singh has had 14 amateur fights, In 2018, competing at 105 pounds, he became the first member of the Sikh community to win a British national amateur title. Now he aspires to be the first Sikh to win a professional title. Tal Singh is currently working with Amir Khan.

Sports, 23

Harmilan Bains became the queen of middle-distance running in India as she set a new national record in the 1500m event at the 60th National Open Athletics Championships in Warangal. Even though Harmilan completed the distance in 4:05.39 to set the national record, she missed out on breaching the 2022 World Championships qualification mark of 4:04.20. However, she broke Sunita Rani’s long standing record of 4:06.03 set at 2002 Asian Games in Busan.

Sports, 20

Simran Kaur Jhamat (born 22 January 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder in the FA Women’s Championship for Bristol City. Jhamat started her professional career with Liverpool of the FA Women’s Super League. Jhamat made her professional debut on 6 January 2019 in a 2–0 defeat against Brighton. Jhamat moved to Leicester City in March 2019, making 3 appearances before the end of the 2018–19 season. In January 2020, Jhamat moved to Coventry United. She made her debut for the club starting in a fourth round FA Cup victory over Southampton. She made two league and two cup appearances for the club before leaving at the end of the season.

Education, 22

Abhayjeet Singh co-founded Break The Divide in 2016 when he was only 14. Since then, 1,000 students in 20 schools from eight countries have got involved. He has a $100,000 scholarship to attend the University of Toronto’s global health, peace, conflict and justice program, where he is researching pre-traumatic stress and the mental health impacts of climate change in young people. In 2017, he was named one of Starfish Canada’s Top 25 Environmentalists under 25. In 2019, he was Canada’s Walk of Fame Community Hero and Canada’s Excellence in Environmental Education and Communication Outstanding Youth Leader.

Model, 27

Rajvatan, moved to the UK in 2006 from Punjab. In 2017 he completed his Masters in the Science of International Politics from the University of London. During his time in university, he became interested in modelling and has acted in Diljit Dosanjh’s movie ‘Sajjan Singh Rangroot’, as well as in his promotional song ‘El Sueno’. Transforming ‘Cat Walk’ into a ‘Tiger Walk’, Rajvatan received the ‘BEST WALK’ award in the International Sardar World Model Contest 2017 in Melbourne.

Business, 25

Gurleen aka ‘Glam by Gilly’, is a rising freelance HMUA based in Brampton, Ontario. Gurleen has over thousands of followers on Instagram and continues to grow her following every week. She has a diversified fan base that shows an endless amount of love and support which motivates her to do even better.

Sports, 17

From Punjab, Harsimran aged just 16, is one of the most exciting prospects in the entire country of India. She’s had some opportunities to represent the country and is dreaming of reaching the ultimate goal of playing in the WNBA. In February, she was in Chicago for the sixth annual Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Global Camp as one of the elite 64 prospects from 30 different countries.

Media, 26

Gauravdeep Singh is a popular youth empowerment icon of Punjab and has been actively advocating for youth rights and human rights from last 10 years. He started his organisation Initiators of Change along with his sister and two of his friends in 2015 which is now an organisation of over 2000 volunteers and has working branches all across North India. Gauravdeep has worked as a journalist and TV anchor with Ludhiana Live and Fateh TV.

Entertainment , 18

Nisha aka ‘NSB’ by her fans is breaking down barriers as the first female Sikh DJ. Nisha hopes her foray into the world of DJing will empower other Sikh girls to follow suit. She is an ambassador for equality and diversity and has spoken at the Scottish Parliament about improving the lives of the nation’s ethnic minorities.

Business, 19

Arnav is a high school student at Neuqua Valley High School, Naperville, IL. At 15 he started his non-profit organisation, Power Minds, with the intent of enabling deserving youth and adults achieve their educational goals and dreams through the use of online tutoring. It is a non-profit organisation that provides free online tutoring and free homework help, with the help of professional and high qualified community of online tutors.

Role Model, 9

Anaik Singh is 9 years old. He started Anaik’s Loving Library in May 2020 when his mom and grandmother contracted Covid. For his 8th birthday, he wanted to do something to give back and help others so he came up with the idea of Loving Library – a mini library to help isolated Covid hospital patients escape loneliness. Before Anaik’s Loving Library, Anaik was active in his community – he advocated for the Arizona Board of Education to update school curriculum to be more inclusive of other cultures and religions and he was also asked by the Mayor of Phoenix to say the Pledge of Allegiance at her inauguration.

Education, 16

Harsimran Kaur is a 16yr old Indian author who has written and published two books. She started writing poems and short stories at the age of ten. At 14, she published a poetry collection of 60 poems and a book with around 25,000 words. She is also founder of Pastlores – an online history club where she connects with people and researchers across the globe and discusses about various elements of History. She is researching Mesopotamian Civilization, under her unnamed new project and will be publishing a research paper soon. She has recently been recognised for having the maximum colours of poetry in one book by the India Book of Records organisation.

Entertainment, 21

She was drawn to singing at a young age, and her willingness to learn led to being on the winning podium at school competitions and singing at her high school graduation. Daddy & Daughter was formed in two months and the mesmerizing voice of this daughter and her father’s creative vision combined to produce two fusion tracks. Naunidh envisions herself working as an integrated nutritionist, but music will always remain her contribution to the world as a rainbow in the midst of gloom.