Sir Lala Padampat Singhania (3 February 1905 – 18 December 1979) was an Indian industrialist and member of the Indian

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

. He had been one time, youngest

FICCI The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla a ...

president during 1935-36.

Biography

He was born in

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

into a prominent

Marwari Marwari may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the Marwar region of Rajasthan, India, largely in the Thar Desert ** Marwari people, an Indian ethnic group originating in the Marwar region ** Marwari language, the language of the Marwari ...

family, the oldest grandson of Lala Juggilal and son of Lala Kamlapat Singhania. His brothers were Kailashpat (who owned Raymonds) and Lakshmipat Singhania. He was survived by four sons namely Gopal Krishna, Gaur Hari, Govind Hari and Shyam Hari. He was chairman of the JK Mills, part of the J. K. Organisation. He was knighted in the 1943 New Year Honours list, and invested with his knighthood by the Viceroy of India, the Marquess of Linlithgow, at Viceroy's House (now

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrapati Bhavana''; ; formerly Viceroy's House (1931–1947) and Government House (1947–1950)) is the official residence of the President of the Republic of India at the western end of Rajpath, Rai ...

) in New Delhi on 23 February. After independence in 1947, he became a member of the Indian Constituent Assembly and was one of the signatories of the Indian constitution, but chose not to enter politics.

Philanthropy

Singhania established

Juhari Devi Girls' P.G. College Juhari Devi Girls' P.G. College is a college for girls in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is government aided and affiliated to Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJM University; formerly, Kanpur University). History This college was e ...

in 1963 in memory of his maternal grandmother, Juhari Devi.

Additional reading

* Sir Padampat Singhania: A Man of All Seasons, Niyogi Books, 2011,

References

1905 births 1979 deaths People from Kanpur Indian industrialists Indian Knights Bachelor Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Indian businesspeople in textiles Indian businesspeople in cement Indian sugar industry businesspeople {{India-business-bio-stub