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Srichand Hinduja, 87, dies in London

May 18, 2023 12:50 AM IST

The Hinduja group which has businesses across sectors like infrastructure, power, real estate, health care, Information Technology and entertainment, was touted as the face of the Hindu Undivided Family for decades, with Srichand acting as its guiding force

London: The patriarch of the £28 billion-worth Hinduja group, Srichand Hinduja, died in London on Wednesday at the age of 87. The Hinduja group which has businesses across sectors like infrastructure, power, real estate, health care, Information Technology and entertainment, was touted as the face of the Hindu Undivided Family for decades, with Srichand acting as its guiding force.

**EDS: FILE PHOTO** New Delhi: In this Sunday, April 21, 2013, file photo Hinduja Group chairman Srichand Parmanand Hinduja. SP Hinduja, as he was known, died in London on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 after a prolonged illness at the age of 87. (PTI Photo)(PTI05_17_2023_000175B) (PTI)
**EDS: FILE PHOTO** New Delhi: In this Sunday, April 21, 2013, file photo Hinduja Group chairman Srichand Parmanand Hinduja. SP Hinduja, as he was known, died in London on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 after a prolonged illness at the age of 87. (PTI Photo)(PTI05_17_2023_000175B) (PTI)

The family, originally from Shikarpur in Sindh, first settled in Bombay where SP’s father Parmanand Hinduja worked as a small trader. Subsequently they moved to Tehran, then a key trading destination, before Parmanand’s four sons branched out to different parts of the world. Two of them, Srichand (SP) and Gopichand (GP), moved to London in 1977, just before the revolution in Iran changed the world’s geopolitics. Prakash Hinduja (PP) moved to Europe and the youngest Ashok Hinduja (AP) to Mumbai. Over the years the family wined and dined with the global elite and international power brokers and became a fixture on the Sunday Times’ Rich List in the UK.

“Gopi was the brain, but SP had the ultimate say. If SP ever said no to something, that would be the end of the matter. The Hindujas are a remarkable family, and the brothers were exceptionally close,” said solicitor Sarosh Zaiwalla. As a trainee solicitor, Zaiwalla held an evening job with the Hinduja brothers in the late 1970s. “They were my first clients but our relationship developed into close friendship over the years. We had our ups and downs but they are very loyal friends,” said Zaiwalla.

A lesser known aspect of SP’s life is the pioneering role he and his brothers played in financing and popularising Hindu films in the overseas market. Their main London-based operating company is called Sangam, in fact, a name taken from Raj Kapoor’s 1964 blockbuster.

“Srichand Hinduja’s death is a huge loss to the community and business fraternity. The family has invested heavily in the UK, and they did much to bring India and UK closer,” said Lord Rami Ranger, a Conservative peer.

Srichand Hinduja had been ailing with dementia for the last few years and had stopped making public appearances. His last few years were troubled on account of the deepening schisms in the once undivided-family. In 2015, SP took his brothers to court in London over the control and management of family assets. His three younger brothers maintained that SP’s daughters, Shanu and Vinoo, were barring access to him and not letting them meet him. In 2022, it emerged during court hearings that SP was on the verge of being admitted to a government-run care home as the family was unable to agree on an arrangement which led to an unnecessarily extended stay in a London hospital for him.

This became especially controversial as the Hindujas live in a 67,000 sq ft mansion at Carlton House Terrace which oversees the Mall, the ceremonial route leading to the Buckingham Palace. The Hinduja family had also bought the iconic Old War Office building in Whitehall recently which will open as a marquee hotel this year.

Soon after his death, Shanu and Vinoo Hinduja issued a joint statement that said, “SP journeyed through life with deep humility and dignity, always seeking to bring people together in common interest…SP will be remembered for his great contributions in bringing India and its culture to the global stage through his work and philanthropic efforts.”

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