Pruthi (Family Name), a prominent clan from the Aroras (Hindi: अरोड़ा, Punjabi: ਅਰੋੜਾ) (or Aror-vanshis, Aror Bans) are an indo European warrior(Hindu kshatriyas) community of the Punjab and Sindh. This cast among Punjabis include Sikhs and Non Sikhs, Hindus mostly from Multan and Jhang district, Shorkot now in Pakistan.
They are a group of Indo-Aryans who remained in the Indus Valley throughout most of their history. The Arora people are predominantly Hindu, but over their history some of them have accepted Sikhism.
The name Arora itself derives from Sanskrit Aroda. The city of Aror (Arorkot, Alor) was named after the Aroras, who founded and controlled the city during ancient times. They can also be called 'Aryans', the common racial name, understood by one and all. 'Arya' is also one of the subcastes of 'Aroras'.
Some historians believe that Aroras are descendants of an Indo-Aryan group known in the ancient times as Arattas (Arachosians) mentioned in the epic Mahabharata
Arora families in India place great emphasis and attention to the education of their children including their daughters; because of this, they have become prosperous and are successful in many diverse professions such as trade, education, medicine, finance, technology, engineering, manufacturing, entertainment, arts, armed forces and bureaucracy. They have achieved remarkable success despite lack of a political power-base, vigorous attempts to disparage and/or to suppress them by Muslims in pre-partition Punjab and Sind, and loss of their homes, businesses, properties and bank deposits at the time of partition in 1947. Another prominent bank of the masses at that time in Punjab ( Punjab National Bank) is reported to have played a very positive role by encashing bank deposits of migrants based on pass book entries even though the bank had lost its records in Pakistan.
Aroras have taken roles in the Indian Armed Forces. Late Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora and Gen. J.J. Singh are two prominent contributions of the Arora community to Indian Armed Forces. Aroras were particularly prominent in the recent Kargil War also. Vikram Batra was declared a war hero in India, as was Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, both of whom died during the conflicts
Hindu Aroras are very tolerant in their religious faith. Most are followers of the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism "The Vedas" however, they respect the sanctity of and frequently visit Arya Samaj temples and Sikh Gurdwaras. For several centuries in the past, the eldest son of an Arora Hindu family voluntarily changed his religion to Sikhism as a family responsibility to give a leader and a fighter and also as the devotion to the Sikh Gurus.
