BOMBAY : Srichand Parmanand Hinduja, (SP) Chairman of the $70 billion Hinduja Group, who considered himself the family patriarch as the eldest of the four Hinduja brothers, and a man whose life in India, Iran and the United Kingdom was dotted with successes and controversies. and tragedy, died on Wednesday in London after a long illness. He was 87 years old.
BOMBAY : Srichand Parmanand Hinduja, (SP) Chairman of the $70 billion Hinduja Group, who considered himself the family patriarch as the eldest of the four Hinduja brothers, and a man whose life in India, Iran and the United Kingdom was dotted with successes and controversies. and tragedy, died on Wednesday in London after a long illness. He was 87 years old.
“Gopichand, Prakash, Ashok and the entire Hinduja family, with heavy hearts, regret to announce the death of our family patriarch and chairman of the Hinduja Group, Mr. SP Hinduja today,” a family spokesperson said in a statement. “He was a visionary and mentor to the family, imparting the founding principles and values of our late father, PD Hinduja. He played a very important role alongside his siblings in building a strong relationship between their country d ‘host, the United Kingdom and his home. country, India.”
“Gopichand, Prakash, Ashok and the entire Hinduja family, with heavy hearts, regret to announce the death of our family patriarch and chairman of the Hinduja Group, Mr. SP Hinduja today,” a family spokesperson said in a statement. “He was a visionary and mentor to the family, imparting the founding principles and values of our late father, PD Hinduja. He played a very important role alongside his siblings in building a strong relationship between their country d ‘host, the United Kingdom and his home. country, India.”
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For the past few years, SP battled illness and was under nursing care. He had long been the face of the family, having built the group together with his brothers, known collectively for their formidable networking and business prowess. They grew their family business, which includes commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland and private bank IndusInd, into multiple companies in 38 countries, in sectors including oil lubricants, chemicals, energy and IT. The group employs more than 200,000 people.
The Hinduja family, founded by Parmanand Hinduja, had humble beginnings before SP and his brothers led the group to pursue bigger ambitions and become one of the first Indian billionaires to make money overseas.
The origins of the Hinduja family can be traced back to the Sindh region, home to many intrepid traders. They made a mark by trading spices, textiles and nuts with Iran.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, had ambitious plans to make Persia a modern nation. In response to the Shah’s desire to improve Iran’s electrical industry, the Hinduja family seized the opportunity to build metal pylons. After the Shah was deposed by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, the Hinduja family moved to London. Sixty years after Parmanand first established a business for his family in 1919, the family’s stay in Iran came to an end.
In those days, Bollywood movies were dubbed into Farsi for locals, which helped improve the social capital of Hindujas in Iran.
In 2022, the Sunday Times Rich List pegged Hinduja’s net worth at over £28 billion.
While he witnessed the fabulous growth of the family business and its wealth, his life was also beset by hardships and some personal tragedies.
He lost his son, Dharam, in a tragedy in 1992 after the conservative family resisted the young scion’s romance with a girl outside their community. His wife, Madhu, died in January.
He had to take on family responsibilities quite early in life. He was the second son of Parmanand Hinduja. Girdhar Hinduja was the eldest, and he died in 1963 at the age of 33, leaving SP, then 28, to help his father run the business.
Over the next half century, SP transformed the Hinduja Group into one of India’s major business conglomerates, taking over after Parmanand’s death in 1971. Along with fame, the brothers were also embroiled in many controversies. The largest of these cases was the allegation that the family acted as a conduit for bribes on behalf of the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors. The Bofors controversy, however, petered out and the courts acquitted them of any wrongdoing.
SP, however, abandoned the pursuit of wealth in recent times, having decided to devote himself to religion as his brothers took over the reins of the group.
The idea of a change in the mentality of the entrepreneur was seen quite early. In a 1999 interview, Srichand told journalist Pritish Nandy, “Dharma taught me to overcome my intense personal pain and transform it into a meaningful and relevant mantra. A mantra of hope. That’s what makes me keep going today.”
Throughout SP’s life, he struggled to build the Hinduja business house, running operations spanning continents from London, with India forming the fulcrum with two flagships: Ashok Leyland, the maker of trucks and IndusInd Bank, a private bank.
SP and his three brothers—Gopichand, 83; Prakash, 78; and Ashok, who is in his 70s, agreed to a pact in 2014 whereby all assets in any sibling’s name belonged to all of them. In 2015, Srichand sued his three brothers, claiming the agreement had no legal effect. He has two daughters: Vinoo and Shanu. Vinoo, who had been granted lasting power of attorney over his affairs, continued the dispute after Srichand developed dementia in recent years.
In a statement, the sisters mourned the death of their father. “SP will be remembered for his great contributions in bringing India and its culture to the global stage through his work and philanthropic endeavours. SP passed away peacefully this morning, cared for by his family members, and we rest easy knowing that he will be reunited with his beloved wife and son in the afterlife. We will continue to uphold SP’s legacy and values,” they said in a statement.
