Dr. Jai Dev was born on April 1, 1926, and graduated in medicine from Gurukul Kangri, Haridwar. After a brief private practice, he founded Lakshmi Medical Hall (LMH), a retail outlet for medicines in Ambala. Over the years, LMH progressed from retail to distribution of medicines and became a well-known name in Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, and Himachal Pradesh. His pioneering efforts have resulted in Ambala becoming a center for pharmaceutical distribution.
He is an inspiration for all; starting from modest beginnings, he built a successful business and decided to give back to society. He always had a philanthropic bent and was a very compassionate human being. He has led various socially motivated organizations like Sangeetalok (an organization that promotes classical Indian music), the Gandhi Peace Foundation, the Rotary Club of Ambala, etc. For over 25 years, he had been on the executive board of various educational institutions in Ambala, including Arya Girls College, Janta Vidya Sabha, DAV Public School, and Rotary School for the Deaf (he had been the school’s secretary since its inception in 1985). He had also been on the Court (the highest governing body) of Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar. Dr. Jai Dev has been conferred with various district and state-level awards.
In 2002, he founded the Ambala College of Engineering and Applied Research. He was also the President of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (1995–97). He was awarded the “Service Above Self Award” by Rotary International, a rare honor bestowed upon only 150 Rotarians worldwide. His support had been instrumental in setting up the Rotary Ambala Cancer and General Hospital.
Dr. Jai Dev dreamed of ensuring excellent education reaches the masses of rural Ambala, with which the journey of Samanvit Siksha Kendra (SSK) was initiated. At SSK, to make sure that high-quality education is reaching the masses, we follow level-based learning over grade-based promotion to verify the continuous holistic development of the child. With Dr. Jai Dev’s uninterrupted support and presence, we made the dream of quality education for the rural masses come true.
Dr. Jai Dev was the founder of the Shri Ram Swarup Memorial Trust. With profound grief, our beloved modest leader and chairman left for his onward journey on November 15, 2023, at 6.50 a.m. He leaves behind a legacy of service above self for all of us to follow.