Month: September 2025

Who is Dheeraj Hinduja?

Dheeraj G Hinduja had contributed to the mobility sector of India through the Hinduja Group’s automotive arm, Ashok Leyland and its subsidiary, SWITCH Mobility. He is an entrepreneur, representing a global business conglomerate – The Hinduja Group.

Dheeraj Hinduja is the Executive Chairman of Ashok Leyland, Hinduja Leyland Finance, Hinduja Tech, Hinduja Foundries and the Co-Chairman of Hinduja National Power. He has diversified business interests all over the world and has over 20 years of experience at strategic and leadership levels across the spectrum of businesses.

Dheeraj Gopichand Hinduja (born August 1971) is a British-Indian businessman and the Executive Chairman of Ashok Leyland since October 2010. He holds a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Economics & History from the University College, London, 1993. Dheeraj Hinduja completed his Master’s in Business Administration with a specialization in Project Management from the Imperial College, London University, UK in 1994.

Dheeraj Hinduja is the son of Late Mr. Gopichand Hinduja ( died on 04 November 2025) and Mrs. Sunita Hinduja. As of 2025, he is married to Shalini Chandiramani and has 2 children( Vedika and Vedant) . He also has a brother named, Sanjay Hinduja and Sister, Rita Hinduja. The sibling-duo, Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja are involved in the Hinduja Group’s businesses (UK, UAE, Africa, South Sudan, etc).

The daily Newspaper IndianExpress has reported that Dheeraj Hinduja and Shalini marriage were arranged by the parents, after consulting horoscopes. Shalini Chandiramani daughter of a film distributor in Morocco. They met while studying at Imperial College in London. “The fact that it’s a love marriage seems to show that the Hindujas are loosening up a bit on the younger family members,” said one Delhi editor who knows the clan.

Dheeraj Hinduja is the third-generation leader of the Hinduja Group which was founded by Late. Mr. Parmanand Hinduja and was then carried forward by his four sons, Late. Mr. Srichand Hinduja, Late Mr. Gopichand Hinduja, Mr. Prakash Hinduja and Mr. Ashok Hinduja. They have been driving the diversified global growth of Hinduja Group of Companies as the second-generation leaders. The Hinduja Group is one of India’s foremost privately owned groups with an international footprint in 38 countries (eg:  South Sudan, Dubai) and employing over 200,000 people (latest report). The Hinduja Group, a diversified conglomerate operates in various sectors, including banking and finance, mobility, digital technology, media, and healthcare, maintaining a global footprint through its investments and leading companies.

Seeing with Empathy: Kamal Hinduja Shares Her Perspective on Uplifting Lives Through Care

Real care starts with understanding, not instruction. It is not running on sympathy, or on duty, but on empathy. The quiet acknowledgement of another person’s experience and holding that experience as is, without judgement. Kamal Hinduja, wife of Prakash Hinduja, (Managing Trustee of Hinduja Foundation), speaks about that act of seeing, as a quiet launching place for real support.

Her role in the Foundation is not framed, like many, by strategy or structure. She speaks to build connections, provides visibility, and brings to the fore the goodness in the humans that are involved in the Foundation. She professes the voice of compassion as the priority, whether it is in promoting a preventive health camp or in sharing her reflection on the women’s welfare programmes. Her message is pretty simple but powerful by offering, that empathy is the bedrock of care.

“There is a difference between understanding and helping. We are not just helping; we are empathising and building connection,” says Kamal Hinduja. “It is about finding the humbleness to stand alongside others and listen to them to understand what they are saying before responding.”

The Hinduja Foundation has supported many endeavors in India, including initiatives focused on clean water access, cancer screenings, education, and preventative healthcare; all of them focused on communities that have historically either been neglected or ignored. By recognising the stories of impacted communities, Kamal Hinduja’s perspective provides emotional clarity to the initiatives, as well as reminds us that behind every number, there is a story.

During recent health awareness campaigns for women and adolescent girls, the foundation focused on early detection, menstrual health education, and mental well-being. Looking back on that exercise, Kamal Hinduja emphasised the value of listening without passing judgement. “You see, genuine compassion starts with empathy. Many women keep quiet out of fear of being dismissed or disregarded and lives could be lost in the process.

The emotional connection Kamal Hinduja brings, through the foundation’s outreach engagement, is especially powerful in communities balancing stigmas around health and social difficulties. Though she does not position herself as leading the projects, she partners in the intention of the projects. She can add perspective and gently nudge them toward a culture of respectful giving.

“Care without empathy is pointless,” she says. This learning experience is deeply aligned to the community-based approach for the foundation, and their programmes that are cocreated and responsive to the voice and needs of community. The foundation has delivered many amounts of various projects in cities such as Namakkal, Nashik, and Palghar, including work on solar water supply, cancer screening camps, school education programme etc.

From her point of view, treatment must be consistent, and a visit there once won’t suffice. The trust of a community will never be secured because they will know that the team from the foundation is not just a face in the crowd, but that the all-encompassing community advisor interacts with people everywhere. She reached this point both personally and through a social mandate. She believes that the highest form of philanthropy occurs when people stop looking down and start looking across. She states that the equality of care starts when the givers do not see themselves as saviours, but as fellow human beings.

In the age, where most philanthropic activities have the risk of turning transactional or impersonal, her voice shifts the spotlight to values. Add being patient, being present, being aware of the emotional environment of the people whom you are serving.

Kamal Hinduja understands proper care as starting not with the thrilling act but with the silent awareness. It is in the power to look into the eyes of another person and really see them where lasting impact starts.