Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi Profile and Other Information
Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi (M.S. Oberoi) was a renowned
Indian hotelier, also known as the father of the Indian hotel industry. Mohan Singh
Oberoi was among the first to recognize the potential of the tourism industry, its
ability to contribute to India’s economic growth and generate direct and indirect
employment. He worked tirelessly to put Indian hotel industry on global tourism
map.
M.S. Oberoi was born on August 15, 1898, in the undivided Punjab, now in Pakistan.
He did his early schooling in Rawalpindi and completed his graduation from Lahore.
In 1922, to escape the epidemic of Plague, he came to Shimla, and got a job of front
desk clerk, at The Cecil Hotel at a salary of Rs. 50 /- per month.
M.S. Oberoi was a quick learner and shouldered many additional responsibilities
along with the job of desk clerk. M. S. Oberoi’s diligence prompted Mr. Clarke to
request Mohan Singh Oberoi to assist him when he acquired Clarkes Hotel. At the
Clarkes Hotel, M.S. Oberoi gained firsthand experience in all aspects of hotel
operations.
In 1934, M.S. Oberoi acquired The Clarkes Hotel from his mentor, by mortgaging his
wife’s jewelry and all his assets. In 1938, he signed a lease to take over operations
of the five hundred rooms Grand Hotel in Calcutta, which was up for sale following
a cholera epidemic.
In 1943, Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi, acquired the controlling interest in the
Associated Hotels of India (AHI) which owned the Cecil, and Corstophans in Shimla,
the Maidens and the Imperial in Delhi, and a hotel each in Lahore, Murree, Rawalpindi
and Peshawar. He thus became the first Indian to run the largest and finest hotel
chain.
In 1959, The Oberoi Group became the first group to start flight catering operations
in India. In 1965, M.S. Oberoi opened the first modern, five star international
hotels in India, The Oberoi Intercontinental, in Delhi. In 1966 he established the
prestigious Oberoi School of Hotel Management, recognized by the International Hotel
Association in Paris. In 1973, The Oberoi Group opened the 35 storey Oberoi Sheraton
in Mumbai. Rai Bahadur M.S. Oberoi was the first to employ women in the hospitality
sector.
Today, The Oberoi Group is managing 37 luxury and first class international hotels
in seven countries.
M.S. Oberoi was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1962 and in 1972. He was also elected
to the Lok Sabha in 1968.
M.S. Oberoi was recipient of many awards and honours. In 1943, he was conferred
the title of Rai Bahadur by the British Government. Other honors include admission
to the Hall of Fame by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA); Man of The
World by the International Hotel Association (IHA) New York; named by Newsweek as
one of the "Elite Winners of 1978" and the PHDCCI Millennium award in 2000. M.S.
Oberoi was honored with Padma Bhushan in 2001.
M.S. Oberoi passed away on May 3, 2002 at the age of 103.
Courtesy: Incredible People
