Mohan Singh Oberoi

Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi (15 August 1898 – 3 May 2002) was an Indian businessman and politician. Oberoi was the founder and chairman of Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, India's second-largest hotel company, with 31 hotels in India, Egypt, Indonesia, UAE, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. Oberoi was also active in politics and was a member of both houses of the Parliament of India during his political career.

In his obituary, the Times of India said that he was acknowledged for putting the Indian hotel industry on the global map by successfully establishing hotel brands like Oberoi and Trident worldwide.

Early life

Oberoi was born in a Punjabi Khatri Sikh family in Bhaun, a minor village of Jhelum District (now Chakwal District), Punjab, British India. When he was six months old, his father, a contractor in Peshawar, died, leaving his mother with few resources.

After attending schools in his village and nearby Rawalpindi, he passed the Intermediate College Examination in Lahore, but was unable to continue attending classes because of lack of finances. During his time studying in Lahore Law College, Oberoi lived with his uncle, a devout Sikh, who asked him to leave when Oberoi shaved hair on his chin.

Business career Early in his business career, Oberoi nearly faced financial ruin as he used his then-current properties as collateral to acquire The Grand Hotel's lease, in Kolkata, and later discovered the hotel had contaminated water issues. In 1943, he managed to gain a controlling stake in AHI.

He managed to fund his acquisition of AHI and avoid financial ruin from his earlier The Grand Hotel acquisition through strategically offering the British quartermaster general, during World War II, affordable rates to accommodate troops passing through Calcutta on their way to the Burma front.

Oberoi Group The Oberoi Group, founded in 1934, employed about 12,000 people worldwide and owned and managed about thirty hotels and five luxury cruisers . Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, ranks amongst the top ten hotel spas Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East of the Travel + Leisure magazine, and ranked third in Best Hotels in Asia in 2007. Other activities include airline catering, management of restaurants and airport bars, travel and tour services, car rental, project management and corporate air charters. The Group has a number of hotels worldwide, latest hotel additions being in Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Egypt and Africa.

Oberoi was the first to employ women in the hospitality sector. In 1966, he also established The Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development, which is now regarded as one of Asia's top institutions for hospitality education.

Honours and awards Throughout his later life Oberoi received numerous honours and awards from the Indian government and other organizations. Oberoi was presented with the title Rai Bahadur (pater familiae) by the British Raj government in 1943.

Centenarian Almost all publications indicated Oberoi's year of birth as 1898 and his age at death as 103. In his own autobiographical sketch – How M S Oberoi became India's greatest hotelier, however, he gave 1900 as his official birth year, a fact attesting to his having lived to 101. However, The New York Times obituary, the date is given as 1898 and the following was written: "He was 103, although for years he said he was born in 1900 because he did not want to be seen as dating from the 19th century."

Personal life and family Oberoi married Ishran Devi in 1920, the daughter of Shri Ushnak Rai belonging to his village. They had two sons, Tilak Raj and Prithvi Raj Singh, and 3 daughters, Swaraj, Rajrani and Prem. Oberoi died on 3 May 2002, at the age of 103. Tilak Raj died in 1984 and Prithvi Raj Singh succeeded Oberoi as the Chairman of EHI in 2002 after Oberoi died.

Oberoi's nephew Brij Raj Oberoi, nicknamed "Diamond Oberoi" by Oberoi, also ventured into the hospitality industry, operating several Heritage hotels in the Himalayas.