of the house of Dayaram Surajmal
From a village in Rajasthan to the heart of the Nizam's Deccan; a century and a half of enterprise, philanthropy, and devotion to Hyderabad.
The Lahotis trace their roots to Gullar, a village in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan. From there the family first came to Gulbarga; then a Kannada-speaking district of the Nizam's Hyderabad State; some 170 to 180 years ago, making the Deccan their Janma Bhoomi, the land of their birth, and Karma Bhoomi, the land of their work.
A Maheshwari trading family by origin, they were part of the wider movement of Marwari merchants who settled across the Nizam's dominion and helped build its commercial life. From that first foothold in Gulbarga, the family put down roots in Hyderabad and Secunderabad and in Latur, while their trade reached the headquarters of the Nizam's state and beyond; and their enterprise and generosity spread across all three regions of the old state: Hyderabad-Karnataka-Marathwada and Telangana.
The family's commercial life was anchored in its ancestral firm, M/s Dayaram Surajmal; indigenous bankers, cotton merchants, oil mills and commission agents whose dealings ran across the internal borders of the Nizam's dominion, financing agriculture and industry from the Karnataka districts through to Hyderabad.
It was this enterprise that carried the family from trade into industry. The firm served as managing agents of the Mahboob Shahi Kulbarga (MSK) Mills at Gulbarga; among the largest and earliest integrated textile mills in the Nizam's dominion, employing thousands and anchoring the cotton economy of the region. It is why the family's deepest institutional roots remain in Gulbarga to this day.
Where the family first settled, and the industrial anchor of the firm at the MSK Mills.
The family made the Nizam's capital their home, with a branch of the line in Secunderabad.
A second home in Marathwada, and a centre of the family's educational philanthropy.
Among the headquarters of the Nizam's state where the firm carried on its business.
The family's commerce reached the great western port city.
In recognition of his public works and his standing as a merchant, Rai Saheb Pannalal Hiralal Lahoti was honoured by the administration of the day with the titles of Rai Saheb and Rai Bahadur. His legacy, however, rests less on the honours he received than on what he chose to do with what the family had built.
Through his charitable trust, he set aside a quarter of the family's estate, in perpetuity, for schools and for hospitals.
The thread from a 19th-century trading house to a 21st-century foundation
That single decision, made generations ago, still guides the family's giving today, and the trust remains active in education and medical philanthropy across the region.
A generation on, the family's public life moved from the Deccan's princely durbars into the Republic's first Parliament. Seth Puranmal Lahoti of Latur represented the erstwhile Hyderabad State in the first Rajya Sabha; carrying the family's name from commerce and philanthropy into national public service, and a patron of technical education in his own right.
In 2012, Prshant K. Lahoti was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France; a distinguished French ministerial order recognising significant contributions to arts, literature and cultural development. The honour marked his contribution to the arts and his efforts to strengthen cultural relations between France and India, the same devotion to culture that would go on to shape the Franco-Indian Education Trust and the family's enduring bridge between the two nations.
The family comes from Gullar, in Nagaur district of Rajasthan, to Gulbarga — adopting the Deccan as home.
The ancestral firm grows into a house of bankers, cotton merchants and commission agents across the Nizam's dominion.
As managing agents of the Mahboob Shahi Kulbarga Mills, the family anchors Gulbarga's industry; Pannalal Hiralal Lahoti is honoured Rai Saheb and Rai Bahadur.
Puranmal S. Lahoti of Latur represents the erstwhile Hyderabad State in the first Rajya Sabha of the Republic.
A quarter of the family estate is pledged, in perpetuity, to schools and hospitals.
Prshant K. Lahoti is appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France, in recognition of his contribution to the arts and to Indo-French cultural relations.
The same devotion continues through Kalakriti India, its archives, and the Krishnakriti Foundation.
The family came to Gulbarga and from there settled in Hyderabad and Latur, with the line branching across the towns of the Nizam's state. Set out here in the order it grew.
The forebear from whom the house of Dayaram Surajmal takes its name; the root of the family's presence in the Deccan.
Of M/s Dayaram Surajmal, the banking and trading house from which the family's name and fortunes flow.
Of the founding generation of the house of Dayaram Surajmal.
Of the founding generation of the house of Dayaram Surajmal.
Father of Rai Saheb Pannalal Hiralal Lahoti.
Remembered in the Shri Bankatlal Lahoti English Medium School, Latur.
Represented the erstwhile Hyderabad State in the first Rajya Sabha; patron of technical education and namesake of the Puranmal Lahoti Government Polytechnic.
The region's oldest law college carries his name.
Of the family's Gulbarga line, where its industrial roots run deepest.
Honoured Rai Saheb; founder of the family's charitable trust and its enduring pledge to schools and hospitals.
Rai Sahab Pannalal Hiralal Lahoti, Managing Director of Mahboob Shahi Kulbarga Mills, was a forward-looking and progressive industrialist who played an important role in the growth of modern textile industry in the former Hyderabad State.
His vision extended beyond commerce to education, healthcare and institution-building.
Of the family's Secunderabad and Hyderabad line.
Seth Badrilal Lahoti, a graduate of Aligarh Muslim University in the 1930s, spent six months in Japan studying edible-oil refining technology.
On his return, he helped introduce this knowledge into the family business and establish what family records identify as the first modern edible-oil refinery in southern India.
The Gulbarga industrialist and principal benefactor behind the Seth Shankarlal Lahoti Law College.
Carried the family's charitable trust into its modern medical philanthropy, including the Lahoti Eye Centre at the L. V. Prasad Eye Institute.
A guiding force in the Dayanand Education Society and namesake of the Raja Narayanlal Lahoti English School.
Raja Narayanlal Lahoti, together with Manikrao Sonavane, Chandrashekhar Bajpai, Madanlal Biyani and other public-spirited citizens, helped establish the Society to make higher education accessible within Latur itself.
President of the Dayanand Education Society, Latur.
Laxminarayan Lahoti carried forward the legacy of Raja Narayanlal Lahoti and became a prominent educationist in the Marathwada region, contributing to the growth of several educational institutions.
Managing trustee of the family trust and the Krishnakriti Foundation; carrying the family's devotion to art culture and heritage into a new century.
The visionary, founder and guiding force behind Kalakriti Archives.
Rather than direct them from afar, the Lahotis endowed land and funds to local bodies, so that each institution would belong to the community it served. Many still carry the family name.
The oldest law college in the Hyderabad–Karnataka region, established by Ramesh Chandra Lahoti in memory of his father. Its foundation stone was laid by V. V. Giri, later President of India.
One of Gulbarga's foremost institutions of higher learning, founded in the nationalist spirit under the Nizam's regime and supported by the family's philanthropy.
The family's long association and major donations helped bring modern legal and higher education to the region. Now known as the Kalyana Karnataka Education Society, it was established in 1958. Among its earliest and most important institutions were the PDA College of Engineering and the Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College. The Society played a pioneering role in developing engineering and medical education in the historically underserved Hyderabad–Karnataka region.
An early-childhood and education institution established by the family in Gulbarga, carrying the name of Rampyaribai Lahoti.
A prominent technical institution in Latur offering diploma and engineering education, giving the region its first generations of professional engineers.
A longstanding school in Latur established to provide accessible and value-based education to the local community.
Founded under the Shri Marwadi Rajasthan Shikshan Sanstha; today among Latur's most established schools.
Founded under the same society, and named for the educationist Raja Narayanlal Lahoti.
An educational institution in Latur dedicated to promoting quality education and empowerment for girls.
An early-learning institution in Latur focused on nurturing creativity, curiosity and the overall development of young children.
The Lahoti family’s contribution to higher education in Latur is closely associated with the Dayanand Education Society.
Recognising this need, Raja Narayanlal Lahoti, together with other public-spirited citizens, helped establish the Society to make higher education accessible within Latur itself.
The Society commenced with the faculties of Arts, Commerce and Science functioning together.
Today, the Dayanand Education Society administers eight educational institutions:
Dayanand Science College · Dayanand College of Arts ·
Dayanand College of Commerce ·
Dayanand College of Law
·Dayanand College of Pharmacy
·Dayanand Institute of Pharmacy
·Dayanand College of Architecture
·Dayanand College of Interior Design
The Society celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2013, with the concluding ceremony attended by the then President of India, Pranab Mukherjee.
The Lahoti family’s association has continued across generations. Raja Narayanlal Lahoti was among the founding figures, while later members of the family have remained involved in the Society’s administration and institutional development.
Founded by Swami Ramanand Teerth and Babasaheb Paranjape to bring education to rural Marathwada. Grew into a full group of institutions — including Yogeshwari Mahavidyalaya (1956) and Shri Yogeshwari Polytechnic — still central to education across Ambajogai and Beed district.
A leading higher-education institution offering undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma and doctoral programmes across Arts, Commerce, Business Administration and Law.
Built so students from surrounding villages had a place to stay and study in town — quiet, community-rooted philanthropy that bore no nameplate.
The family’s commitment to healthcare finds enduring expression through the Lahoti Eye Centre of the L V Prasad Eye Institute, established with the support of the Raisaheb Pannalalji Hiralalji Lahoti Trust. Spanning approximately 30,000 square feet, the expanded centre at Kondapur represents a significant investment in accessible, specialised and high-quality eye care for the people of Hyderabad.
The centre provides comprehensive outpatient and diagnostic services across cataract, cornea, glaucoma, retina, paediatric eye care, oculoplasty and contact-lens services, while remaining connected to LVPEI’s advanced clinical and surgical network.
The family’s cultural legacy today finds expression through Kalakriti Archives, one of the most significant private repositories devoted to the history and visual culture of the Indian subcontinent. The archive holds an extensive collection of rare maps, early photographs, prints, illustrated books, albums and related historical material documenting India and the wider territories once connected to the subcontinent.
Through exhibitions, publications, research collaborations and institutional loans, Kalakriti Archives has become an important resource for scholars, curators, museums and cultural organisations in India and abroad.
The only South Indian institution offering degree programmes through the medium of Hindi, across Arts, Science, Commerce and Management.
Marking 100 years in 2026, a longstanding Secunderabad institution supporting Hindi-medium education across five generations.
A family contribution toward the building of the city's landmark memorial hall.
Contributions toward wards, equipment and free treatment at the King Edward Memorial (Gandhi) and Osmania hospitals for those who could not afford care.
Among the alumni of the Seth Shankarlal Lahoti Law College is Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, who studied law there before a lifetime in national public life.Seth Shankarlal Lahoti Law College · Gulbarga
From a Rajasthani trading house to the textile mills of Gulbarga — the family built before it gave.
A quarter of the estate, pledged in perpetuity to public welfare — a promise kept across generations.
Schools, colleges and a polytechnic across Marathwada and Hyderabad–Karnataka, rooted in their communities.
From Gandhi and Osmania hospitals to the Lahoti Eye Centre — care for those who could not afford it.
The maps, photographs and palaces of the Deccan, preserved for the generations to come.
For over a century and a half, the Deccan has been both Janma Bhoomi and Karma Bhoomi.
From a charitable will written in 1956 to a living bridge between India and France — the family's giving has grown across three generations of institutions, each building on the one before.
The foundation stone. Rai Saheb Pannalal Hiralal Lahoti directed that one-fourth of his estate be set aside, in perpetuity, for hospitals and educational institutions across the former Hyderabad State.
Founded in memory of Krishnachandra B. Lahoti, widening the family’s philanthropy from education and medicine into the world of art and culture — supporting 50+ students each year.
A joint initiative with the Embassy of France, unveiled during President Macron’s 2018 state visit — a bilateral platform for educational mobility across every discipline.
Hyderabad's oldest and most distinctive annual festival of art, culture, and heritage — held every January since 2004, free and open to all.
Founded by Prshant Lahoti in memory of his late father, Shri Krishnachandra B. Lahoti, the festival brings together artists, scholars, performers, and the public for four to five days of art, conversation, and celebration. Over twenty years it has become one of India's distinctive cultural platforms — each edition built around a curatorial theme, with 20 to 30 events placing Hyderabad's culture and history at its heart.
Established and emerging artists alongside the Kalakriti Archives — historic maps, vintage photographs, and rare prints in conversation with contemporary practice.
Hindustani classical music, theatre and poetry, with scholars such as William Dalrymple, Alka Pande and Ranjit Hoskote.
Heritage walks through the old city, hands-on workshops and residencies, film screenings and open photo competitions.