Rijal (surname)

Rijal (Rizal) (Nepali: रिजाल) is a surname in Nepal. They are believed to be migrated from the Riju valley of Jumla. Though there are many Rijal families in western Nepal, there are not many Rijal families in eastern Nepal. Most of the Rijal families are Brahmins while some are Kshatriyas. Dhananjaya is the gotra associated with this surname. Rijal is considered to be one of the bravest Khas groups in western Nepal. The late Shah king Surendra praised the Rijal communities in the eastern hills of Pantchthar by awarding them a huge grassland, popularly called Rijal Kharkas.

Notable people with the surname Rijal include:

• Conrad Rizal, (Nepalese, नेपाली, Devanagari : देवनागरी : छबिलाल रिजाल)), is a Nepalese-Canadian Research Scientist [1] and Entrepreneur,[2] contributing to the new sciences: magnetooptics, magnetics, and magnetoplamonics.
• Abhishek Rijal, Nepalese Football Player
• Bhola Rijal, Nepalese gynecologist and poet
• Govinda Rijal (Rizal), Ph.D. Scientist, Author of A Pardesi in Paradise, बेजोडबन्ध।
• Lochan Rijal, Musician Ph.D. ethnomusicology
• Minendra Rijal, Ph.D. Former Minister, Nepali politician and current member of the house of representatives
• Nagendra Prasad Rijal, former Nepalese Prime Minister
• Priti Rijal, a Nepalese tennis player
• Raju Rijal, Nepalese cricketer
• Som Prasad Rijal, Indian politician
• Tek Nath Rizal, Bhutanese politician of Nepalese descent

Rizals live in Nepal, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, the USA, the UK, Australia in significant numbers and few families live in more than 100 countries. Dr. Jose Rizal is the national hero in the Philippines. Rizals of Nepal, India, Bhutan are mostly Hindus and a few are Buddhists. Rizals of Malaysia and Indonesia are Muslims and the Rizals of the Philippines are Christians.