Of all India's great industrial dynasties, few have moved a country quite as literally as the Bajajs. The Marwari business family from Rajasthan whose foundational figure Jamnalal Bajaj was a freedom-fighter and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, and whose post-Independence patriarch Rahul Bajaj built the Bajaj Auto Chetak scooter into the iconic personal-transport vehicle of late-twentieth-century India, is today led across its various businesses by Rahul Bajaj's two sons — Rajiv Bajaj, who as Managing Director of Bajaj Auto has steered the company's bold transition from scooters to motorcycles to electric vehicles, and his younger brother Sanjiv Bajaj, who has built Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv into one of India's most valuable financial-services franchises. Behind every Pulsar motorcycle and every Bajaj Finance loan sits a deeply political-and-industrial Marwari family story, rooted in five generations of Bajaj commitment to Indian public life.

The Family's Roots: The Marwari Bania Community of Rajasthan

The Bajaj family belongs to the Marwari Bania community of Rajasthan with ancestral roots in Kashi-Ka-Bas village near Sikar. The family's founding figure for the modern industrial era was Jamnalal Bajaj (1889 – 1942) — a freedom-fighter, philanthropist, and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, who adopted him as his "fifth son." Jamnalal founded the Bajaj Group's first businesses in Wardha (Maharashtra) in the early twentieth century.

Rajiv himself was born in Pune on 21 December 1966, the elder son of Rahul and Rupa Bajaj.

His Grandfather's Generation

Jamnalal Bajaj had four sons. Kamalnayan Bajaj (1915 – 1972) was the eldest and ran the Bajaj Group from the 1940s until his death. Ramkrishna Bajaj (1923 – 1994) was the second son, a freedom-fighter in his own right, and a long-time leader of Indian industry. The other two sons led other branches.

Rajiv's father Rahul Bajaj was Kamalnayan Bajaj's son — making Jamnalal Bajaj Rajiv's paternal great-grandfather.

His Father: Rahul Bajaj — The Pune Industrial Patriarch

Rahul Bajaj (10 June 1938 – 12 February 2022) was the third-generation Bajaj industrial leader and the man who shaped the company most identifiable to twentieth-century Indians. After studying at St Stephen's College Delhi, Harvard Business School (MBA, 1964), and joining the family business, he led Bajaj Auto from 1968 onwards, presiding over the Chetak scooter era — when waiting lists for a Bajaj scooter ran into years and a Chetak was often given as a dowry item. He was a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from 2006 to 2010.

He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and died on 12 February 2022 at 83.

His Mother: Rupa Bajaj née Khurana

Rupa Bajaj is Rahul's wife and Rajiv's mother. She has stayed largely out of public business life, focused on the family's Pune household and on philanthropic activities.

His Brother: Sanjiv Bajaj

Sanjiv Bajaj, born 2 November 1969, is Rajiv's younger brother — and a financial-services entrepreneur in his own right. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv Limited, the Chairman of Bajaj Finance Limited, and one of the most prominent figures in Indian financial services. He is the former President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Together with Rajiv, Sanjiv has shaped the Bajaj Group's two main businesses — auto and finance — into market-leading franchises.

His Sister: Sunaina Kejriwal

Sunaina Kejriwal is Rajiv's sister. She is married into the Kejriwal industrial family of Kolkata.

His Cousins: The Other Bajaj Branches

The wider Bajaj family includes substantial cousin branches:

Madhur Bajaj, son of Shekhar Bajaj, is Vice-Chairman of Bajaj Auto.

Niraj Bajaj, another cousin, leads Bajaj Electricals and the Mukand steel business.

Shishir Bajaj runs the Bajaj Hindustan Sugar business.

The Bajaj family is one of the largest and most distributed Indian industrial families.

His Wife: Shefali Bajaj

Shefali Bajaj is Rajiv's wife. She has stayed almost entirely out of the press.

Their Children

Rajiv and Shefali have two children — a son and a daughter — both of whom have been kept deliberately out of public view as they pursue their own educations and early careers.

The Bajaj Family Tree at a Glance

Community / Origins

  • Marwari Bania community
  • Ancestral village: Kashi-Ka-Bas, Sikar district, Rajasthan
  • Family-business base: Wardha (Jamnalal era), then Pune

Great-Grandfather

  • Jamnalal Bajaj (1889 – 1942) — freedom fighter; Gandhi's "fifth son"

Grandfather

  • Kamalnayan Bajaj (1915 – 1972) — Rahul's father

Parents

  • Father: Rahul Bajaj (10 June 1938 – 12 February 2022) — Chairman, Bajaj Group; Rajya Sabha MP; Padma Bhushan (2001)
  • Mother: Rupa Bajaj née Khurana

Siblings

  • Rajiv Bajaj (b. 21 December 1966)
  • Sanjiv Bajaj (b. 2 November 1969) — Chairman, Bajaj Finserv & Bajaj Finance; former CII President
  • Sunaina Bajaj Kejriwal — married into Kejriwal industrial family

Notable Cousins

  • Madhur Bajaj — Vice-Chairman, Bajaj Auto
  • Niraj Bajaj — Bajaj Electricals; Mukand Steel
  • Shishir Bajaj — Bajaj Hindustan Sugar

Rajiv Bajaj

  • Born 21 December 1966, Pune
  • Pune University (Mechanical Engineering, 1988; gold medal)
  • Warwick Manufacturing Group, UK (MSc Manufacturing, 1990)
  • Joined Bajaj Auto in 1990
  • Managing Director, Bajaj Auto (since April 2005)

Wife: Shefali Bajaj

Children

  • One son and one daughter (kept private)

The Bajaj Auto Story Under Rajiv

When Rajiv took over as Managing Director of Bajaj Auto in April 2005, the company was at an inflection point. The Indian scooter market — Bajaj Auto's foundational segment — was being eaten away by motorcycle sales. Rajiv's decision was both bold and contested at the time: he formally exited the scooter business in 2009 to concentrate Bajaj Auto entirely on motorcycles.

That decision produced the Pulsar range, the Avenger, the Dominar, the partnership with KTM of Austria, and the global re-positioning of Bajaj Auto as one of the world's largest motorcycle manufacturers by volume. Bajaj Auto today exports to more than 70 countries.

Rajiv has also led the company's electric-two-wheeler transition through the Chetak EV — the deliberate revival of the iconic Bajaj brand for the EV era — and has invested in fully electric three-wheelers and motorcycles.

What the Bajaj Family Story Teaches Us

The Bajaj story is the modern Indian industrial family story written across five generations. A great-grandfather who was a freedom-fighter and Gandhi's adopted "fifth son." A grandfather who ran the family business in the post-Independence years. A father who built the Chetak into the iconic Indian scooter. A son who took the company from scooters to motorcycles to electric vehicles. A brother who built one of India's most valuable financial-services businesses. A vast network of cousins running adjacent branches of the family enterprise.

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the Bajaj story carries the same lesson. Family trees are not just lists of names — they are the maps of how each generation chose to extend or transform what the previous generation had built. The Bajaj decision to exit scooters in 2009 changed everything. Your own family is making similar decisions, in its own way and at its own scale, with every generation. Write them down.

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