Cars24 co-founder Gajendra Jangid has sparked a discussion online after sharing an observation about the number of entrepreneurs, business leaders and accomplished professionals he has encountered who hail from West Delhi .
He pointed out that around 25 lakh people live across 129 square kilometres in West Delhi. He said that the area also has a long history of families building their lives and businesses from scratch after moving there following Partition in 1947. That is exactly the floor a 25-year-old needs to say no to a safe job,” he said. Many Punjabis in west Delhi are folks from pre partition Punjab who lost all their wealth in 1947.
I am from west Delhi and I feel what motivates those people to work hard (not only those in business but others who got into knowledge work) is reclaiming lost generational pride/wealth. Jangid then turned his attention to West Delhi’s history and demographics. He also suggested that home ownership among many such families provided a degree of financial stability that could make it easier for younger people to take entrepreneurial risks. “And a lesser known thing. Most of those families own the house they live in. Not wealthy, but not fragile. “I’ve seen the pattern too and glad someone articulated it well.
In a post on X, Jangid said he kept “running into the same pin code – West Delhi”, citing several people in his professional and personal circle who are from the area. He said that he initially wondered whether he was simply experiencing selection bias, prompting him to look further into the phenomenon. “Then I started noticing it outside work,” he wrote, pointing to cricketer Virat Kohli , who grew up in Uttam Nagar, former cricketer Virender Sehwag , who grew up in Najafgarh, and singer Neha Kakkar, who is also from Uttam Nagar. I’ve heard stories of how my great grandparents used to have a lot of land in their name and had “made it” but lost it all. That trauma seems to have played a role in creating the ambition I’ve seen in many west Delhi folks,” said another.
