Although the group has been in news recently for its links with the Bofor controversy, the Hindujas will always be remembered for their significant contributions in education, health, culture, sports and other areas of social welfare. Philanthropy began early for the now UK-based corporate group Hindujas. According to Wing Commander O D Sharma, senior vice-president, Hinduja Foundation: ``It all started with the P D Hinduja Trust being established in 1944.'' The trust was named after the founder of the group Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja. And now his sons -- Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok -- carry on the legacy.

The origin of the P D Hinduja Trust is quite interesting. The group patriarch P D Hinduja thought ifthe Tatas could have a trust, why not him. And since education was the thrust of the day, the P D Hinduja Trust was set up primarily with the objective of promoting education. Quite in line with his thinking and the need of the day, P D Hinduja took the first step in corporate philanthropy by setting up a charitable school in Mumbai. The school was subsequently upgraded to Hinduja College of Commerce and Hinduja Law College in the same city.

Hinduja believed that education and good health were the right of every individual. From that belief emerged his next step in social development. Says Sharma: ``In 1951, P D Hinduja set up the National Health Society to run a dispensary in Mumbai. The dispensary was later converted into a 100-bed hospital, which is now a 300-bed hospital -- P D Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre.'' The Rs 30-crore hospital remains the only centrally air-conditioned hospital in the country till date. Even as free treatment is limited to only 20 per cent of itspatients, another 20 per cent get subsidised treatment, depending on the paying capacity of the patients.

Gradually, the group's philanthropic activities grew from just education and health. As a result, four trusts came into being for activities in four distinct areas-education (including sports), health, social welfare, art and culture. But in 1968, all four trusts were brought under a single umbrella - the Hinduja Foundation. That was a landmark development in the Indian corporate history. Subsequently in the 1970s, the Hinduja Foundation was set up in Europe and the US also, says Sharma.

With an annual budget of around Rs 12 crore, apart from a substantial foreign exchange commitment, the Hinduja Foundation is on a sound footing to realise P D Hinduja's dreams of social development. The Foundation's achievements have been many already. In the field of education, apart from a school in Mumbai which was upgraded to Hinduja College of Commerce and Hinduja Law College, the group established the P DHinduja Sindhi Model Senior Secondary School in Chennai. Hindujas also donated the entire equipment to Pratap Rudra Planetarium in Warangal in 1982.

Scholarships, a significant area under Hinduja Foundation education schemes, have undergone some changes over the years. Till 1982, the Foundation sponsored Indian students for higher studies abroad, including in the United World Colleges in Britain. But the scheme was discontinued after 1982.

1982 onwards, 14 scholarships were established for under-graduate, graduate, post-graduate and doctoral studies, says Sharma. These scholarships come under the fold of Hinduja Cambridge Trust. There are scholarships at the high school level also - three for each state. This is the Dharam Hinduja merit-cum-means scholarship. Plus, five scholarships are reserved for students who pass out of P D Hinduja Senior Secondary School, Chennai.

Sports is another area covered extensively under education. P D Hinduja firmly believed in the philosophy of sound mind in a sound body.Initially, he used to promote sports in an unorganised manner, but in early 1986, his sons established the Hinduja Sports Foundation. The Foundation has adopted and groomed several sportspeople including Malleswari, Beenamol, Lekha Thomas, Vinita Tripathi and Shilpa Sequeria.

In the area of social welfare, the biggest contribution of the Foundation, says Sharma, is expansion of Har-ki-pauri in Haridwar, and construction of ladies' ghat in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh government. The focus, explains Sharma, is not religion alone. Rather, the Foundation's effort was to prevent stampede at the time of Kumbh Mela.

Also, the Foundation has spent over Rs 5 crore in building the Hinduja Vedic Centre, complete with the only animetronic centre in India, museum and multi-media centre at the ISKCON temple in Delhi. In health, the 300-bed air-conditioned hospital - P D Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Mumbai - is the biggest contribution. Also significant is the cooperation of theHinduja Foundation with Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (largest hospital in the world). The tie-up works like this: Hinduja Foundation has established a $2-million endowment at MGH Hospital. And the interest from this endowment is used for exchange of doctors between the two hospitals.

Besides, the Hinduja Foundation shares the running cost of the P D Hinduja Sindhi Hospital, Bangalore. It has also donated a block to the Ramakrishna Mission Hospital in Haridwar.

Art and culture is another prominent goal of the Hinduja Foundation. Several Spicmacay conventions have been co-sponsored by the Foundation over the years, keeping in mind the interest of the group in promoting the cultural traditions of the country.