Embracing Cultural Roots,

Ascending to Visionary Heights

History and legacy

From Jodhpur

Originating from the princely town of Jodhpur, the capital of Marwar, the Sanghi family had a very humble beginning. A young gentleman, Motilal Sanghi, started a general merchandise shop after taking a loan of five thousand rupees and soon became the largest retailer in the State of Jodhpur. Passionate for cars, he decided to step into a territory, no one else in India had dreamt of, and laid the foundations for one of the first and largest automobile dealership empire in the sub-continent. During the British days in India, the only buyers of cars were the Maharajas and the Princes of the Royal States.

Motilal Sanghi

Motilal not only established strong personal relations with these potential buyers, but also obtained dealerships from General Motors, USA (1929 to 1954) and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, England. He also began to sell a new car produced by Sir Herbert Austin in England called the Austin Seven. By the 1940’s, Seth Motilal Sanghi, as he had come to be known by then, had established a vast network for the sales, service and spare parts of cars. His network was spread over Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur, Kota, Ajmer, Bikaner, Mt. Abu, Indore and Delhi.

Legacy

Seth Motilal Sanghi diversified into the then nascent cinema business and profitably operated over ten movie theatres in North India. The legacy of Seth Motilal Sanghi was nurtured by his eldest son, Narendra Kumar Sanghi, who remained an active member of the Indian Parliament for over nine years (Lok Sabha member from Jodhpur in 1967 and from Jalore in 1971). Some of the oldest businesses like cinemas and petrol pumps are still run by the family in Rajasthan.

N K Sanghi

Shri Narendra Kumar Sanghi was the eldest son of Seth Motilal Sanghi of Jodhpur. Since childhood he was well aware of the responsibility of the vast business empire he would be heir to and took that with utmost sincerity. From being an obedient son to being a disciplined businessman, from handling his business associates with firmness and fairness to being a lovable social leader, Narendra always played his different roles with the full perfection.

His passion in cinemas helped the automobile group also become a leading exhibitor in the country. At one point of time, Narendra was heading the biggest cinema chain and automobile business in the country with branches in Delhi, Mumbai and Rajasthan.

Legacy

He was married to Smt Uma Sanghi,

the grand-daughter of

Sir Ganga Ram of Lahore.

N K Sanghi was the chairman of the Film Federation of India in the year 1971 and 1974.

Legacy

Shri N K Sanghi, after establishing his business empire, got actively engaged in politics. He won the lok sabha elections in 1967 from jodhpur and in 1971 from Jalore. His social impact is till date remembered fondly by the people of his constituency.

Shri N K Sanghi Charitable Trust, an NGO run by his family members, continues to serve these areas as per his vision.

He pursued hobbies of photography and polo. He was the captain of the Jodhpur Polo team. He was also a pilot and flew his own Tiger Moth.

Firms

Books, Movies, Cinemas, Leasing, Shopping, Food and fuel..

Rajasthan Theatres

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