Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Group	Gujaratis
Population	c. 65 to 75 million
Region1
Pop1	65 million
Ref2
Region5
Region6
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Region9
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Region14
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Pop17	600,000
Ref15
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Langs	Gujarati
Rels	Mostly Hinduism but also Islam, Jainism, Zoroastrianism (see Parsis), Christianity

Gujarati people (Gujarati: ગુજરાતી લોકો ''Gujǎrātī loko''?), or Gujaratis are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India. Famous Gujaratis include Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Mohandas Gandhi, Dhirubhai Ambani, Swami Dayananda Saraswati and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Demographics

Gujaratis in India

The Gujarati people live in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, in the state of Gujarat. Gujaratis have rich cultural heritage. Many Gujaratis inhabit the states Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh of India and the Indian capital of New Delhi as well as territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Additionally, the Gujarati language has been adopted by communities such as the Kacchis, who use it as their literary language, and the Parsis, who had made the Gujarat region of the Indian subcontinent their home. Gandhinagar is the capital city of Gujarat. Gujaratis mainly follow Hindu religion (89%), although Gujarati Muslims are the prominent minority (9%) apart from others including Sikhs, Christians, Jains. There are many Gujaratis living in various cities in South Indian states viz. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh many of them following Jainism.

Gujarati diaspora

Significant migrant Gujarati communities exist around the world. The largest expatriate Gujarati populations are in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Other major Gujarati communities exist in South and East Africa (most notably Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique - a substantial number of Gujaratis from this former Portuguese colony settled in Portugal after its independence) and South-East Asia (Myanmar, Malaysia).

According to the US Census Bureau in 2006 there were 1,417,000 people in the US who spoke Gujarati, Hindi or other Indic languages (e.g. Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu) at home; Gujaratis comprised 299,000 of these numbers, suggesting greater than 20% of the approximately 3 million Indian Americans are Gujarati, with the highest number residing in the New York City Metropolitan Area. (This total excludes 325,000 Urdu speakers who it might reasonably be assumed are predominantly of Pakistani origin.) Note that this estimate does not include second or greater generation Gujaratis who report they primarily speak English at home. Most East African Asians are Gujaratis. Early 2010 figures estimate that there are 104,000 people who speak Gujarati in Canada, with the majority living in the Greater Toronto Area. In the UK, Gujarati people live primarily in London and Leicester.

Gujaratis of Pakistan

There is a community of Muslim Gujaratis in neighbouring Pakistan, mainly settled in Sindh for generations. A sizable number migrated after the Partition of India and subsequent creation of independent Pakistan in 1947. These Pakistani Gujaratis belong mainly to the Khoja Bohra, Chhipa, Chundrigar, Charotar Sunni Vohra, Muslim Ghanchi and Memon groups; however, many Gujaratis are also a part of Pakistan's small but vibrant Hindu community. Many Gujaratis in Pakistan retain ties to their relatives in Muslim communities living in Gujarat, and maintain Gujarati as their native language. However, a growing number are adopting Urdu as their native tongue. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, is one of the most notable people of Gujarati Muslim ancestry belonged to the province of Gujrat however born in Karachi. Gujarati Muslims constitute the majority in Saddar Town.

Genetics

In terms of ancestry, the majority of Gujaratis share similar genes with the rest of the northern Indian populations, but show a significant relationship with Iran.

A 2004 Stanford study conducted with a wide sampling from India, found that over 33% of genetic markers in Gujarat were partially of West Eurasian origin, the second highest amongst the sampled group of South Asians with Punjabis at 42%, Sindhis at 31% and Kashmiris at 30%.

Haplogroup U7 is found only in Iran, the Near East, Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan; with extremely low frequencies in neighboring countries Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Iraq. Its frequency peaks at over 12% in Gujarat, 9% in Iran, 9% in Punjab, 6% in Pakistan and 6% in Afghanistan. Elsewhere in India, its frequency is very low (0.00% to 0.90%). Outside of the Near East, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Northwestern Indian states, Haplogroup U7 is non-existent. Expansion times and haplotype diversities for the Indian and Near and Middle Eastern U7 mtDNAs are strikingly similar. The possible homeland of this haplogroup likely spans the coverage of Iran to Western India. From there its frequency declines steeply both to the east and to the west. Its equally high frequency as well as diversity in Gujarat favors a scenario whereby U7 has been introduced by the coastal Gujarat to the uncultured areas of Iran . It is to be noted that very sophisticated civilisations were existing in Gujarat before it touched the shores of Iran. Dwarkapuri, the recently excavated capital city of Krishna is a primary example.

Some preliminary conclusions from these varying tests support some of the highest degrees of Indian mtDNAs found in Western Asia, with a particular close relationship between Iran and Gujarat, supporting a theory of trade contact and migrations out of Gujarat into West Asia.

Food

The majority of Hindu and Vaishnav Gujaratis are vegetarian. Gujarati cuisine follows the traditional Indian full meal structure of rice, cooked vegetables, lentil curry or daal and ''roti''. The different types of rotli (breads) that a Gujarati cooks are rotli or chapati, bhakhri, thepla or dhebara, puri, maal purah and puran-pohli. Ghari and Khakhra are also eaten as rotli, but they are usually eaten as a snack. Khaman, Dhokla pani puri, dhokli, dal-dhokli, undhiyu, jalebi,fafda, chevdoh, Samosa, papdi, muthia, bhajia, patra, bhusu and Sev mamra are traditional Gujarati dishes savoured by many communities across the world.

Khichdi - a mix of rice and toor daal, a type of lentil, cooked with little spices in a pressure cooker - is a popular Gujarati meal. It is found very satisfying by most Gujaratis, and cooked very regularly in most homes, typically on a busy day due to its ease of cooking. It can also become an elaborate meal when served with several side dishes such as a vegetable curry, yogurt, papad, mango pickle, and onions. It is found to be served in Gujarati immigrant families settled abroad even after decades of being outside India.

Use of Ghee in meals is very common. For example, rice or khichdi on roti. The meal is usually accompanied with a sweet and a salty snack (''farsaan'') like Vada. Gujarati cookbook writers like Tarla Dalal are famous internationally.

Gujaratis are more comfortable cooking with peanut oil (shing tel). However, while living abroad they adjust their cooking method with available canola or sunflower oil. The making of masala is traditionally done on grinding stones. Nowadays, people use a blender or grinder to make masala. Each person makes masala differently, hence cooking tastes differ depending on the household. People from north Gujarat use dry red chili powder, whereas people from south Gujarat prefer using green chili and coriander in their cooking. Gujarati Jains (and many Hindus) avoid using garlic and onions in their cooking. Traditionally Gujaratis eat Mukhwas or paan at the end of a meal. In many parts of Gujarat, having Chhass butter milk or soda after lunch or dinner is quite common. Gujarati families celebrate Sharad Purnima by having dinner with doodh-pauva under moonlight. There are many great delicacies to try out in Gujarati food.

Dress

Indian jewelry like mangalsutras, necklaces, nose rings, earrings, bangles and rings, toe rings, bracelets are all part of the Gujarati attire. Most of this jewelry is made in 22 carat gold but cheaper costume jewelry is becoming more common. During weddings, Gujarati brides wear a lot of jewelry. It is common to see a Gujarati (Hindu) male wearing a gold chain and a ring.

Years ago, only married Gujarati (Hindu) women wore a red bindi (red powder worn in a round shape on the forehead also found in the form of stickers). These days, most women, married or not, wear 'bindi' as a fashion accessory when they wear traditional Indian outfits. Modern Bindis are like stickers, and are available in various shapes, sizes, colors and designs. Only married women however, wear red powder, called 'sindoor', in a short straight line on the scalp, starting near the hairline and covers the area where the hair is generally parted(middle). During a traditional Hindu wedding, the groom applies 'sindoor' on the bride for the very first time. This act can be compared to a ring ceremony in western weddings.

There are several different outfits that are worn by both men and women depending on the occasion. Generally, men wear pants and shirts or t-shirts and younger women wear western outfits like skirts, dresses, jeans, etc. Older women usually wear saris or salwar kamiz, usually accompanied by white trainers (running shoes).

However traditionally, males will wear dhotis be it every day on a special occasion and a kurta is worn on top. Females will wear saris or something similar. On special occasions females will wear slightly more expensive saris. These traditional garments can be seen both in and outside of India. A famous example is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who wore a dhoti.

Literature

Gujarati literature's history may be traced to 1000 AD. Since then literature has flourished till date. Well known laureates of Gujarati literature are Hemchandracharya, Narsinh Mehta, Akho, Premanand Bhatt, Shamal Bhatt, Dayaram, Dalpatram, Narmad, Govardhanram Tripathi, Gandhiji, K. M. Munshi, Umashankar Joshi, Suresh Joshi, Pannalal Patel and Rajendra Keshavlal Shah.

Kavi Kant and Kalapi are famous Gujarati poets and Vipul K Rawal is the famous Bollywood writer who has written blockbusters like ''Iqbal''.

Gujarat Vidhya Sabha, Gujarat Sahitya Sabha, and Gujarati Sahitya Parishad are Ahmedabad based literary institutions promoting the spread of Gujarati literature. Saraswatichandra is a landmark novel by Govardhanram Tripathi. Writers like Harindra Dave, Suresh Dalal, Jyotindra Dave, Tarak Mehta, Harkisan Mehta, Chandrakant Bakshi, Vinod Bhatt, Kanti Bhatt, Makarand Dave, and Varsha Adalja have influenced Gujarati thinkers.

A huge contribution to Gujarati language literature came from the Swaminarayan paramhanso, like Bramhanand, Premanand, with prose like Vachanamrut and poetry in the form of bhajans.

Gujarati theatre owes a lot to bhavai. Bhavai is a musical performance of stage plays. Ketan Mehta and Sanjay Leela Bhansali explored artistic use of bhavai in films such as ''Bhavni Bhavai'', ''Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India'' and ''Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam''. Dayro (gathering) involves singing and conversation reflecting on human nature.

Gujarati language is enriched by the Adhytmic Literature written by Srimad Rajchandra and Pandit Himmatlal Jethalal Shah. This Literature is both in the form of Poetry and Prose.

Mention in history

Early European travelers like Ludovico di Varthema (15th century) traveled to Gujarat and wrote on the people of Gujarat. He noted that Jainism had a strong presence in Gujarat and opined that Gujaratis were deprived of their kingdom by Muslims because of their kind heartedness. His description of Gujaratis was:

Notable Gujarati Business people

Gujaratis are considered as one of the major business communities not only in India but globally as well. With a strong global presence in USA, UK, South and Central African countries along with a sizable population in Canada and Australia many Gujaratis have made a mark in global trade and commerce.

! Rank !! Name !! Net Worth (Billion USD) !! City !! Company !! Industry
1	Mukesh Ambani	27.1	Mumbai	Reliance Industries	Petrochemicals
3	Anil Ambani	13.3	Mumbai	Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
4	Gautam Adani	10.7	Ahmedabad	Adani Group
5	Dilip Shanghvi	5.20	Mumbai	Sun Pharmaceutical	Pharmaceuticals
6	Uday Kotak	3.4	Mumbai	Kotak Mahindra Bank	BFSI
7	Sudhir & Samir Mehta	2.5	Ahmedabad	Torrent Pharma	Pharmaceuticals
8	Pankaj Patel	2.05	Ahmedabad	Cadila Healthcare	Pharmaceuticals
9	Anand Jain	1.190	Mumbai	Jai Corp.	Infrastructure & Real Estate
10	Ashwin Dani	1.03	Mumbai	Asian Paints	Paints
11	Tulsi Tanti	1.00	Pune	Suzlon Energy	Wind energy equipment
12	Zeinal Bava	1.00	Lisbon, Portugal	Portugal Telecom, CEO	Portugal's State Telecom

Arts and entertainment

Fabric designs involve use of Batik. The embedding of mirrors (called ''abhla'') in fabric is a favourite among art lovers. Wall hangings demonstrate use of knitting and embedding of mirrors. Gujarati pottery includes different kinds of deeva (lamps) and pots. During the festival of Navratri, youngsters wear traditional dress and go out to play dandia and sing garbas. Typically men wear Kedia and women wear Ghaghra Cholee to dance in Navratri.

Gujarati films have made artists like Upendra Trivedi, Snehlata, Raajeev, Mahesh Kumar Kanodia, Naresh Kanodia, Aruna Irani and Asrani popular in the entertainment industry. In the U.S., Bali Brahmbhatt came up with the hit song "Patel Rap", referring to changing values of Gujarati culture.

There are dedicated television channels airing Gujarati programs.

There are very few well known Gujarati painters like Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh, Moazzam Mirza, Amit Ambalal, Haku Shah. UK based Kamal Koria's work often depicts traditional Gujarati village life.

See also

List of people from Gujarat

References

http://www.Lohanamilan.com/ Website for Gujarati Lohana's

http://www.maaumiya.com/

Further reading

.

Category:Ethnic groups in India Category:Ethnic groups in Pakistan Category:Social groups of Gujarat Category:Gujarati culture Category:Indo-Aryan peoples Category:Gujarati people Category:Gujarati writers Category:Gujarati literature

bg:Гуджаратци gu:ગુજરાતી os:Гуджаратаг адæм ka:გუჯარათელები nl:Gujarati (volk) ru:Гуджаратцы simple:Gujarati people

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Name	Narendra Modi
Alt	Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, India, speaks during the welcome lunch at the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit 2008 in New Delhi
Birth date	September 17, 1950
Birth place	Vadnagar, Gujarat, India
Residence	Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Constituency	Maninagar
Office	Chief Minister of Gujarat
Governor	Dr. Kamla Beniwal
Term start	7 October 2001
Predecessor	Keshubhai Patel
Successor	Incumbent
Party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Alma mater	Gujarat University
Religion	Hinduism
Website	Narendra Modi
Date	9 March
Year	2009
Source	http://www.gujaratassembly.gov.in/chiefminister.htm Government of Gujarat
Signature	}}

Narendra Damodardas Modi (, ; born 17 September 1950) is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat.

Born in a middle class family in Vadnagar, a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since childhood, and an active politician since early in life having a masters degree in political science. In 1998, he was chosen by the leader of the BJP, L K Advani to direct the election campaign in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh.

He became Gujarat's Chief Minister in October 2001, promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections.

His tenure as chief minister of Gujarat began on 7 October 2001, and he is the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat. In July 2007 he became the longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously. He was elected again for a third term on 23 December 2007 with an emphatic win in the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on his rule".

Personal life

Modi was born to a middle class family in Vadnagar in Mehsana district of what was then Bombay State, India. During the Indo-Pak war in the mid sixties, even as a young boy, he claims to have volunteered to serve the soldiers in transit at railway stations{. As a young man, he joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student organization and was involved in the anti-corruption ''Nav Nirmāṇ'' ("Reconstruction") Movement. After working as a full time organizer for the organization, he was later nominated as its representative in the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a member of the Hindu nationalist right wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

Modi completed his schooling in Vadnagar. He earned a masters degree in Political Science from Gujarat University.

Early activism and politics

During his tenure with the RSS, Modi played several important roles on various occasions including the 1974 anti-corruption agitation and the harrowing 19-month (June 1975 to January 1977) long Emergency,declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, when the fundamental rights of Indian citizens were strangled. Modi was a ''Pracharak'' in the RSS during his university years.

He took up the challenging task of energizing the party cadres in right earnest. In partnership with Shankarsingh Vaghela, Modi set about creating a strong cadre base in Gujarat. In the initial period, Shankarsingh Vaghela was seen as a mass leader, while Modi was recognised as a master strategist.

The party started gaining political mileage and formed a coalition government at the centre in April 1990. This partnership fell apart within a few months, but the BJP came to power with a two-thirds majority on its own in Gujarat in 1995. Since then, the BJP has been governing Gujarat.

During this period, Modi was entrusted with the responsibility of organizing two crucial national events, the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra (a political rally through India on a converted Toyota van) of L.K. Advani and a similar march from Kanyakumari (the southernmost part of India) to Kashmir in the North. After the exit of Shankarsingh Vaghela from the BJP, Keshubhai Patel was made Chief Minister while Narendra Modi was sent to delhi as a General Secretary of the Party.

In 1995, Modi was appointed the National Secretary of the party and given the charge of five major states in India. In 1998, he was promoted as the General Secretary (Organization), a post he held until October 2001. In 2001, Narendra Modi was chosen by the party to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat after the removal of chief minister Keshubhai Patel.

During his stint at the national level, Modi was given the responsibility to oversee the affairs of several state level units, including the sensitive and crucial state of Jammu and Kashmir and the equally sensitive north-eastern states. While working at the national level, Modi emerged as an important spokesman for the party and played a key role on several aspects.

Tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat

In October 2001, he was called upon by the party to lead the Government in Gujarat. When the Modi government was sworn in on 7 October 2001, the economy of Gujarat was reeling under the adverse effects of several natural calamities, including a massive earthquake in January 2001.

Development of Gujarat

Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat when its economy was shrinking and the domestic growth was stagnant. Faced with massive economic losses, he re-organised the government's administrative structure and embarked upon a massive cost-cutting exercise. As a result of the administration's efforts, Gujarat registered a GDP growth rate of over 10% during his first tenure. This was the highest growth rate among all the Indian states.

As a Chief Minister, Modi started various 'yojanas' or plans. This includes ''Panchamrut Yojana'', a five-pronged strategy for an integrated development of the state, ''Sujalam Sufalam'', a scheme to create a grid of water resources in Gujarat in an innovative step towards water conservation and its appropriate utilization.

''Krishi Mahotsav'' – agricultural research labs for the land

''Chiranjeevi Yojana'' – To reduce infant mortality rate

''Matru Vandana'' – Providing preventive and curative services under the Reproductive and Child Health Programme

''Beti Bachao'' – Campaign against female infanticide to improve sex ratio

''Jyotigram Yojana'' – Provide electricity to every village

''Karmayogi Abhiyan'' – To educate and train government employees

''Kanya Kelavani Yojana'' – To encourage female literacy and education

''Balbhog Yojana'' – Midday meal scheme for students to encourage school attendance from poor backgrounds.

Vibrant Gujarat

Vibrant Gujarat is a biennial Global Investors' Summit held by the Government of Gujarat in Gujarat, India. The event is aimed at bringing together business leaders, investors, corporations, thought leaders, policy and opinion makers; the summit is advertised as a platform to understand and explore business opportunities in the State of Gujarat. the event has been held continuously since 2003.

Gujarat earthquake

The biggest challenge which he had to face, when he took over as the Chief Minister, was the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the areas affected by the massive Gujarat Earthquake of January 2001. Bhuj was a city of rubble and thousands of people were living in temporary shelters without any basic infrastructure. For Gujarat Government's contribution for disaster management and rehabilitation, on 16-10-2003 Gujarat govt got UN Sasakawa Certificate of Merit for outstanding work in the field of disaster management and risk reduction.

Gujarat riots

As an aftermath of the riots, there were calls for Modi to resign from his position as chief minister of Gujarat. The opposition parties stalled the national parliament over the issue. Even Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), allies of the BJP, asked for Modi's resignation. Modi submitted his resignation to the Governor and recommended the dissolution of the 10th Gujarat Legislative Assembly. In the following state re-elections the BJP, led by Modi, won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.

In April 2009, India's Supreme Court appointed a special team of investigators to look into the role Modi had played in the alleged anti-Muslim conspiracy. The team was appointed in response to the complaint of Jakia Jafri, the widow of ex-Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was murdered in the riots. In December 2010, a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in its report to the Supreme Court seeking answers pertaining to the Ehsan Jafri case, submitted that they had found no evidence against Narendra Modi.

However in February 2011, the Times of India reported that a confidential report from the SIT indicted Modi on several counts of alleged complicity in the Gujarat riots of 2002. Other sources have noted that the SIT report does not indict Modi for the riots due to lack of evidence. The Indian Express too said the report did not find any Modi involvement in the violence, though it did accuse him of watering down the seriousness of the situation. According to the Hindu, the report not only found that Modi tried to water down the seriousness of the situation, but Modi also implicitly justified the killings of Muslims, and failed to condemn the attacks on them. The Bharatiya Janata Party demanded an investigation into the publication of the report, claiming it politically motivated by the Indian National Congress-dominated government.

2007 elections

Modi made a speech at Mangrol in which he justified the fake Encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, During the election campaign In response to Sonia Gandhi's speech calling him a "merchant of death", and referred to Sohrabuddin's killing. For this speech the Election Commission of India, a constitutional body governing election proceedings in India, cautioned Modi as it considered it as indulging in an activity which may aggravate existing differences between different communities. Modi won the election and continued his post as the Chief Minister Of Gujarat.Mr.Narendra Modi has got clear majority with 122 seats out of 182 total assembly seats.

Views and Opinions

Modi's position on terrorism

On 18 July 2006 Modi delivered a speech criticizing Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislations" like the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the Centre to empower states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the blasts in Mumbai. Quoting Modi:

Narendra Modi has frequently commented that if the BJP came to power at the Centre, they will honor the 2004 Supreme Court judgement to hang Afzal Guru. Afzal was convicted of terrorism in the 2001 Indian Parliament attack in 2004 by the Supreme Court of India and is in Tihar Jail.

During the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, on Thursday 27 November, Narendra Modi held a meeting to discuss waterfront security along the coastline. At the conclusion of the meeting, it was decided that a number of steps be taken to improve security:

Increase the number of police stations along the coast to 50 (from 10)

Increase the number of police to 1500 from 250

30 modern high-speed surveillance boats.

2009 Lok Sabha elections

Although the BJP narrowly managed to win majority of the seats in Gujarat, the loss of the Rajkot seat, after almost 20 years of control, was unexpected. Prominent politicians like Sharad Yadav commented that the BJP's projection of Modi as a future Prime Minister affected its performance in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Furthermore BJP criticism of Modi worries Gujarat leaders.

Awards and recognitions

30 January 2006 – In a nationwide survey conducted by ''India Today'', Narendra Modi was declared the Best Chief Minister of the country.

5 February 2007 – Adjudged the best CM for the third time in the nationwide survey conducted by India Today – ORG Marg, a unique achievement for any CM during a 5-year tenure.

25 August 2009 – Chosen as The Asian Winner of the fDi Personality of the Year Awards for 2009 by ''fDi Magazine''. The award was however withdrawn and awarded to the Gujarat state instead.

References

External links

; Official

Narendra Modi ''Official website''

Narendra Modi ''Personal blog''

; Other

Profile at ''BBC News''

Narendra Modi collected news and commentary at ''The Times of India''

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:Gujarati people Category:Chief Ministers of Gujarat Category:Gujarat University alumni Category:Indian vegetarians Category:Bharatiya Janata Party politicians Category:Personae non gratae Category:People from Mehsana district Category:Indian Hindus

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Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	Russell Peters
birth name	Russell Dominic Peters
birth date	September 29, 1970
birth place	Brampton, Ontario, Canada
medium	Stand-up, Television, Film, Radio
nationality	Canadian
genre	Satire, Improvisational comedy, Observational comedy
active	1989–present
subject	Racism, Race relations, Stereotypes, Multiculturalism, Indian culture
influences	George Carlin, Steve Martin, Cheech and Chong, Don Rickles, Eddie Murphy
signature	Russell Peters Autograph.svg
website	RussellPeters.com
spouse	Monica Diaz (2010–present) 1 child }}

Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970) is a Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.

Early life

Russell Peters was born in Brampton, Ontario, Canada to Eric and Maureen Peters. His family is of Anglo-Indian ancestry and is Catholic. His father was born in Pune, India and worked as a federal meat inspector and his mother was born in Calcutta, India. He has an older brother named Clayton who was born in Calcutta.

He went to Georges Vanier Catholic Elementary School from kindergarten to grade 8, Bramalea Secondary School for grades 9–10, and North Peel Secondary School for grades 11–12 in Brampton.

Career

Peters began performing in Toronto in 1989. He has since also performed in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Iran, Denmark, South Africa, the Caribbean, Vietnam, New Zealand, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Sweden, India, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Norway , Lebanon, London, Pakistan and Trinidad among other places.

He hosted the Canada Day Comedy Festival 2006. His comedy special ''Russell Peters: Outsourced'', aired on Comedy Central on August 16, 2006. The DVD version features his uncensored performance. The DVD has been popular, especially in Canada, selling over 100,000 copies. ''Outsourced'' remained on the National DVD Chart over one and a half years after release.

In September 2008, it was confirmed that Peters made a deal with Fox to develop a new sitcom, based on his experience in Canada. Peters says, "It's really a snapshot of where my family maybe was ten years ago" and he ensures that the sitcom is "Something that will be funny and honest." Peters participated in a USO tour of Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Africa and Greenland in November 2007 with Wilmer Valderrama and Mayra Veronica. Peters' latest DVD/CD combo ''Russell Peters: Red, White, and Brown'' was recorded on February 2, 2008, at The WAMU Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Peters and his brother, Clayton Peters, who is also his manager, self-produced and financed ''Red, White and Brown''. It was released in Canada in September 2008 and in the US on January 27, 2009. Peters also currently produces and stars on the radio situation comedy series, ''Monsoon House'', on CBC Radio One.

Peters was the host of the 2008 Juno Awards televised ceremonies in Calgary on April 6, 2008, for which he won a Gemini Award for "Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series". The 2008 awards broadcast received the second-highest ratings ever for the program. He was asked to host the Juno Awards for a second year in a row. The 2009 Juno Awards took place in Vancouver on March 29, 2009.

Between June 2008 and June 2009, Peters earned $10 million, making him one of the highest-paid comedians during that twelve-month period.

Between June 2008 and June 2010, Peters earned $15 million, continuing his run as one of the highest-paid comedians.

On October 26, 2010, Peters released his autobiography, ''Call me Russell'', co - written with his brother Clayton and Dannis Koromilas.

Russell first appeared as a guest on the Joe Rogan podcast on December 17th 2010, episode 63. On June 21st 2011, Russell went onto the Joe Rogan podcast again, this time with Junior Simpson. Joe Rogan was the main host and Brian Redban was the co-host/technician.

Popularity

Peters' popularity extends to several countries. In Canada, Peters became the first comedian to sell out Toronto's Air Canada Centre, with more than 15,000 tickets in two days for the single show. He ended up selling over 30,000 tickets nationally over the two-day sales period. A total of over 60,000 tickets were sold across six cities. In Sydney, Peters had a record breaking audience of 13,880, making the event the largest stand-up comedy show in Australian history He broke a UK comedy sales record at London's O2 arena when he sold over 16,000 tickets to his show on February 14, 2009 . Peters attributes his sudden widespread popularity to a stand-up performance he did on the Canadian TV comedy series ''Comedy Now!'' that was uploaded onto YouTube and became viral. While the initial video upload featured his performance in its 45 minute entirety, subsequent videos uploaded by other YouTube users were snippets of that performance, chopped into each of the cultural groups he targeted. According to Peters, those snippets made their way to those specified cultural groups, and were well received by them.

Comedy

Russell Peters' stand-up performances are mostly made up of observational comedy where he uses humor to poke fun at the subjects of race, class and culture, often using his own life experiences as well as impersonations of different cultural accents to illustrate his act. Russell Peters uses his minority status to allow him to poke fun at different races in his performance, but according to an interview done for ''The National'', he does not intend to put down or offend different races and cultures, but instead tries to raise them up through humor. For example: "Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad".

Personal life

Peters proposed to girlfriend Monica Diaz García on July 10, 2010 at the Los Angeles International Airport. He announced the engagement via Twitter. The couple married on August 20, 2010 at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The wedding was attended by about 20 guests, including an Elvis impersonator. Peters and Diaz had their first child, a girl, due February 23, 2011. When announcing the pregnancy, Peters told The Canadian Press, "Did I get married because she was knocked up? I would say that expedited it." His daughter was born two and a half months early,on December 14, 2010, but was healthy as Peters stated on his Twitter. She was given the name Crystianna Marie Peters.

Awards and recognition

He has been nominated for four Gemini Awards, the Canadian television awards. He has also been nominated for Best Male Comic at the Canadian Comedy Awards. Peters has been featured at such shows as Montreal's Just for Laughs (Juste pour rire) Comedy Festival, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival.

On June 28, 2011 it was announced that Peters will receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame and will be inducted on October 1 at Elgin Theatre in Toronto.

1997 – Nomination for the Gemini Award in the category "Best Individual Performance in a Comedy Program or Series". This was for ''Show Me The Funny'', from the TV-series ''Comics!'' (1997)

2004 – Nomination for a Gemini Award for his Comedy Now! special.

2008 – Nomination for a Gemini Award for hosting The Junos.

2008 – Winner of a Gemini Award for 'Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series'.

Filmography

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Notable roles played

Peters has appeared in a few films, most recently ''Senior Skip Day'' also starring Larry Miller, Tara Reid, and Gary Lundy. Besides this, he has also had short appearances in the 1994 film ''Boozecan'' as Snake's Friend, the 1999 film ''Tiger Claws III'' as Detective Elliott, the 2004 film ''My Baby's Daddy'' as the obstetrician, the 2006 film ''Quarter Life Crisis'' as Dilip Kumar, the 2007 film ''The Take'' as Dr. Sharma, and the 2008 film ''Senior Skip Day'' as Uncle Todd.

Peters is scheduled to star as "Pervius" in ''National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus'' he is also going to appear in a CBC movie entitled 'Breakaway'. He also acted in Duncan Jones's movie ''Source Code'' as Max, an amateur comedian with a bad attitude. ;Acting roles – television

"Comics Without Borders" (2008)

Russell Peters: Red, White and Brown (2008)

Senior Skip Day/High School's Day Off (Australia title) (2008)- Uncle Todd

;Appearances on television

"Lopez Tonight" - Himself (February 2, 2010)

"The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" – Himself (2009)

"The 9th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards" (2008)- Himself (Winner – Best Large Venue Stand-up)

"CBC News: The Hour" .... Himself – Episode dated 18 September 2008 (2008) TV episode .... Himself

"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" – Himself – Episode dated 15 February 2008 (2008)

"Def Comedy Jam" – Episode #8.4 (2008) TV episode – Himself/Comedian

"Pulse: The Desi Beat" – Episode #1.9 (2007) TV episode – Himself

"Video on Trial" – Episode #3.3 (2007) TV episode – Himself

"Comics Unleashed" – Episode #1.6 (2009) TV episode- Himself

The 4th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards (2003) – Himself

The 5th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards (2004) – Nominee (Male Stand-up)

MTV Cribs (Where he featured on two different episodes)

;Self

Heckler (2007)

Let's All Hate Toronto (2007)

References

Further reading

External links

Official website

Russell Peters at Facebook

Russell named first Toronto ambassador

Category:1970 births Category:Actors from Ontario Category:Anglo-Indian people Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian Internet personalities Category:Canadian people of Indian descent Category:Canadian radio actors Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Canadian stand-up comedians Category:Gemini Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from Brampton

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