Lalit Suri
| Mr. Lalit Suri | |
|---|---|
| Born |
19 November 1946 Rawalpindi, Pakistan |
| Died | 10 October 2006 (aged 59) London, UK |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Member of the Rajya Sabha in Uttar Pradesh |
| Spouse(s) | Dr. Jyotsna Suri |
| Children | Keshav Suri (son), Deeksha Murti (d), Divya Singh (d) and Shradha Marwah (d), given in adoption to his brother |
Lalit Suri (19 November 1946 – 10 October 2006) was an Indian hotelier and a member of the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of India's Parliament).
Lalit Suri was born in Rawalpindi, a town now lying in Pakistan, into a trader family of the Khatri caste. He was only a few months old when the partition of India took place, and his family were compelled to move as refugees to Delhi in India. In Delhi, the Suri family were allotted the management of a petrol pump (gas station) under the refugee settlement scheme. To this, they first added a car-repair set-up and then an auto-parts dealership, and named the company "Delhi Automobile Ltd." Slowly the business grew, as a joint family business run by Suri's father and uncles. However, it remained a small family-run business and had nothing to do with hospitality before Suri took over.
Suri initially attended St. Columba's School in Delhi. At around ten years of age, he was sent away to Doon School, an elite boarding school in the hills. It was his profound good fortune that he went to that school at the same time as Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi, the grandsons of Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. Indeed, his friendship with the two brothers was the making of his fortune. In particular, Suri bonded with Rajiv Gandhi in Doon School. The two were not just classmates but also shared a room together for several years. After finishing school, Suri attended Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi, and took a bachelor's degree in Commerce. He then worked at a large corporate in Delhi for about two years.
In 1971, Suri joined the family business, Delhi Automobile Ltd. In 1982, just as his best friend Rajiv Gandhi was emerging into political prominence as his mother's heir, Suri persuaded his family to make a foray into the hospitality business. They agreed, and Suri became joint managing director of the new hospitality venture, The LaLiT Hotels, Palaces and Resorts.
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