Raj

Raj (Hindi: राज) in different contexts means "rule", "king", "ruler", "emperor" or "royalty" in the Sanskrit language families of the Indian sub-continent including in Romanes, its closest Indo-European relative. Also, Raj is a Polish and Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian word meaning "paradise" or "heaven".

Indian history

In India, 'Raj' may refer to any of several regimes:

• British Raj, the British Empire in India (sometimes referred to as Indian Empire in the UK)
• Company Raj, the British East India Company in the Indian Subcontinent
• Licence Raj, the former Indian system of elaborate licences, regulations and accompanying red tape
• Mafia Raj, where public property and funds are controlled by a criminalised nexus of politicians and business interests

Ethnic group

• Raj caste, a Hindu ethnic group found in India and Pakistan
• Raj, an ethnic group found in the Philippines known by their mix of Indians and Filipinos

Places

• Raj, Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland
• Raj, Pomeranian Voivodeship, north Poland
• Raj, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Poland
• Jaskinia Raj
• Ráj, village in the Czech Republic
• Raj, the Hungarian name for Brazii Commune, Arad County, Romania

People

• Maria Venus Raj (born 1988), Filipino beauty queen, TV personality, model, and actress
• Mithali Raj (born 1982), Indian cricketer
• Rajkumar (actor) (born 1929), Indian actor
• Raj Gupta, American business executive
• Raj Kamal Jha (born 1966), Indian novelist and journalist
• Raj Kapoor (1924–1988), Indian actor, director, and producer
• Raj Kaul, eighteenth century ancestor of Jawahar Lal Nehru
• Raj Kaushal, Indian director, producer and stunt director
• Raj Khosla (1925–1991), Indian director
• Raj Krishna, Indian economist
• Raj Koothrappali, a character of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory
• Raj Manhas, American educator
• Raj Mohinder Singh Majitha, Indian politician
• Raj Mukherji, New Jersey lobbyist and real estate developer
• Raj Narain (1917–1986), Indian politician
• Raj Pannu (born 1934), Canadian educator and politician
• Raj Patel (born 1972), British-born academic, journalist, activist and writer
• Rajendra Persaud (born 1963), psychiatrist, broadcaster, and author
• Dabbala Rajagopal Raj Reddy (born 1937), pioneer in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
• Raj Rajaratnam (born 1957), former manager of the hedge fund Galleon Group, convicted in 2011 of insider trading
• Raj Thackeray (born 1968), Indian politician
• Prakash Raj or Raj (born 1965), Indian actor and producer

Rajko,Rajke,Rajo and Rajan are masculine given names of Serbian origin and comes from the Serbian word "raj" meaning "Paradise". Raja, Rajka, Rajana are the female given names.

• Rajko Mitić, Serbian football player and coach
• Rajko Kojić, Serbian guitarist
• Rajko Prodanović, Serbian handball player
• Rajevac, Milovan, Serbian football player and coach. The Serbian surname Rajevac means "inhabitants of Paradise".

Other

• raj, the ISO 639 code for the Rajasthani language
• Raj, a word meaning "Paradise" in many Slav languages
• Roger "Raj" Thomas, a fictional character on the U.S. TV series What's Happening!! and What's Happening Now!!

See also

• Raja (disambiguation)