Roshanara Club has a long list of founding members who helped in establishing the Roshanara Club to the present capabilities and infrastructure.
RAI BAHADUR AMBA PRASRAD
Amba Prasad was born in Delhi in about 1860, in an eminent business family. His father Lala Gopal Rai, and grandfather, Lala Gulab Singh were respected and influential traders and bankers of Delhi. Little is known of his childhood and education, but it is believed his early education was at his family home in the Khari Baoli area of Delhi. He studied at the Anglo-Sanskrit Victoria Jubilee High School which had been founded by Lala Chunna Mal of Chandni Chowk.
As a young businessman he was successful and went into the chemical industry manufacturing and trading in dyes and chemicals. He started a trading company – Amba Prasad Jadavjee & Co. – in partnership with a Jadavjee. He was a pioneer in early advertising and introduced colorful and graphic labels for his products. He later sold the rights to these labels and trade marks to companies like Ciba and Bayer. In 1922, he was also one of the founder members of the elite Roshanara Club,which had the first cricket field in Delhi at Roshanara Bagh. He was one of the few non royals invited to attend the Delhi Durbar to celebrate the coronation of King George V in 1911. For the trading community he founded the Kirana Committee of Delhi, which is one of the oldest trader associations in India.
SARDAR SAHEB SOBHA SINGH
Sir Sobha Singh, OBE (1890-1978) was a civil contractor and a prominent builder of Lutyens’ Delhi and real estate owner of Delhi.He is the father of famous Indian writer Khushwant Singh. As a witness in the Assembly Bomb Case, Sobha Singh identified martyrs Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt after they threw bombs at the Delhi assembly in 1929.
RAI BAHADUR SULTAN SINGH
One of the most illustrious citizens of Delhi of his time, Shri Sultan Sigh was born at Kutana (Haryana). Senior leaders like Mahatma Gandhi , Pt. Moti Lal Nehru, Ravindra Nath Thakur, Sarojini Naidu and others used to stay with him. His residence at Kashmere Gate was the venue of Congress Working Committee meetings.
R.E. GRANT GOVAN ESQ.
E. Grant Govan, (also known as Raymond Grant Govan, unknown-1940) was a Delhi based British industrialist. He was the Managing Director of Govan Bros. Ltd., a leading business house of the time. The company was managing agents for a number of industrial enterprises. Grant Govan was a keen pilot and the founder of Indian National Airways Ltd, an aviation company formed in 1933 under Govan Bros Ltd. Apart from the airline, Govan Bros operated Delhi Flour Mills, set up Sugar Mills-Raza Buland at Rampura, and had a travel department, Govan Agencies (which was sold in 1947).
Other founder members
- LALA NANACKCHAND JHALANI
- P. MUKHERJEE ESQ.
- LT. NAWAB MOHD. JAMSHED ALIKHAN
- G.A.BALL ESQ.
- LALA RAM KISHORE
- CAPT.A.G.PUECH C.I.E.O.B.E.
- IMRE SCHWAICER ESQ.
- LT. JAS.R.R. SKINNER
- SARDAR JAIDEV SINGH
- H.M.MEHTA ESQ.
- SH. MOHD.FARIDUDDIN RAIS
- NAWAB MHD. MUKARRAMALIKHAN
- VIJAYA ANAND OF VIZIANAGRAM