List of Doon School alumni
Old boys of The Doon School are popularly known as Doscos, although the more correct term is ex-Doscos since within Doon itself current pupils are known as Doscos, and alumni are referred to as ex-Doscos or, more simply, as Old Boys. The term Dosco is a contraction of Doon and School.
Although the total number of Doscos is relatively small (estimated at 5,000 since the school was founded in 1935), they include some of India's most prominent politicians, writers, government officials and business leaders.
Armed forces
Air Force
India
Pakistan
- Asghar Khan, former Commander-in-Chief of the PAF, and notable Pakistani politician.
Army
India
Pakistan
Navy
India
Politics
India
Prime Ministers
Cabinet Ministers
- Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Union Cabinet Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Minister of Panchayati Raj, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Development of Northeastern Region
- Kamal Nath, Minister for Surface Transport and Highways, Indian National Congress from Madhya Pradesh
- Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Indian National Congress from Uttar Pradesh
- Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Indian National Congress from Madhya Pradesh
- Arun Singh, former Minister of State Defense
- CPN Singh, former Minister of State Defense
- Dinesh Singh, former Foreign Minister & Commerce Minister
- Karan Singh, former Minister for Tourism, Health, Education
- RPN Singh, Minister of State for Surface Transport and Highways, Indian National Congress from Uttar Pradesh
Members of Parliament
- Akbar Ahmed, former MP
- Udayanraje Bhonsle, Nationalist Congress Party from Maharashtra, former Maharashtra Revenue Minister
- Kalikesh Singh Deo, Biju Janata Dal from Orissa
- Rahul Gandhi, Indian National Congress from Uttar Pradesh
- Sanjay Gandhi, former MP
- Piloo Mody, former MP
- Bhanvar Ranjeet Singh, former MP, founding member of Swatantra Party
- Dushyant Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party from Rajasthan
- Vishvjit Singh, Indian National Congress from Punjab
Chief Ministers
Members of State Legislative Assemblies
- Manpreet Singh Badal, Punjab former Cabinet Minister for Finance
- Shivram Sawant Bhonsle, former Maharashtra MLA
- Adesh Kanwarjit Singh (Sunny) Brar, Punjab
- Ananga Udaya Singh Deo, Orissa Minister for Steel & Tourism
- Kalikesh Singh Deo, Orissa
- Manpreet Singh Dhillon, Punjab
- Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon, Punjab Cabinet Minister for Food and Civil Supplies; former Minister for Excise and Taxation
- Uday Pratap Singh, former Uttar Pradesh MLA
- Murtaza Ali Khan, former Uttar Pradesh MLA
- Raghav Lakhan Pal, Uttar Pradesh
- Kunwar Gajendra Singh, former Rajasthan Minister of Power
- Jagat Singh, Rajasthan
- Saurabh Narain Singh, Jharkhand
Revolutionaries
Pakistan
Public Service
India
- Uma Shankar Bajpai, Foreign Secretary
- Maheshwar Dayal, Secretary of Energy
- Ashok B. Gokhale, Foreign Secretary
- Vinod Kumar Grover, Foreign Secretary
- Wajahat Habibullah, Chief Information Commissioner
- Inder Pal Khosla, Foreign Secretary
- Dalip Mehta, Foreign Secretary
- KP Sankara Menon, Foreign Secretary
- Vinay Mittal, Chairman Railway Board
- Nagendra Nath Jha, Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Ramachandra D Sathe, Foreign Secretary
- Noel Swaranjit Sen, Director-General of Police, Andhra Pradesh
- PP Sharma, Chief Secretary, Jharkhand
- Arvind Virmani, Chief Economic Adviser
Pakistan
- Masud Hasan, Federal Secretary of Defense
Diplomacy
India
- K Shankar Bajpai, Ambassador to the United States
- Uma Shankar Bajpai, Ambassador to Canada
- Sushil Dubey, Ambassador to Peru, Bolivia, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia
- Kaikhosrou K. Framji, Ambassador to Ghana
- Ashok B Gokhale, Ambassador to Thailand, Iran
- Vinod Kumar Grover, Ambassador to the Netherlands
- A. N. D. Haksar, Ambassador to Kenya, Portugal, Yugoslavia
- Nagendra Nath Jha, Ambassador to Ireland, Turkey, Kuwait, Yugoslavia, Sri Lanka
- Inder Pal Khosla, Ambassador to Afghanistan
- Dalip Mehta, Ambassador to Bhutan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
- KP Sankara Menon, Ambassador to Hungary, Bangladesh, Egypt, Japan, China
- Rajeet Mitter, Ambassador to Bangladesh, Philippines, Botswana
- Gautam Mukhopadhaya, Ambassador to Syria
- Ramachandra D Sathe, Ambassador to China
- Aftab Seth, Ambassador to Japan, Vietnam, Micronesia
- Ranjit Sethi, Ambassador to France
- Bhawani Singh, Ambassador to Brunei
- Karan Singh, Ambassador to the United States
- Maninder Singh Sawhney, Ambassador to Eritrea
- Siddharth Singh, Ambassador to Japan
Pakistan
- Syed Mustafa Anwar Hussein, Ambassador to Indonesia
- Jamsheed Marker, Ambassador to nineteen countries
United Kingdom
Nepal
- Rukma Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, Ambassador to India
Commerce and Finance
Aerospace and Airlines
Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals
- Vittal Mallya, Chairman United Breweries Limited, Hoechst AG Chemicals and other companies
- Jamsheed Rezaur Rahim, Chairman ICI Group Pakistan
- Malvinder Mohan Singh, former CEO & MD, Ranbaxy Group
- Shivinder Mohan Singh, MD, Fortis Healthcare Limited & Escorts. Heart Institute & Research Centre
- Analjit Singh, Chairman, Max India Limited, Max New York Life Insurance Co Ltd
Consulting, Finance and Banking
Manufacturing
- Arun Bharat Ram, Chairman (SRF Limited)
- Ashish Bharat Ram, MD (SRF Limited)
- Vivek Bharat Ram, Chairman DCM Bennetton
- Vikram Lal, Chairman Eicher Group
- SC Malhotra, Chairman Empire Industries
- Sunil Kant Munjal, Hero MotoCorp, former President Confederation of Indian Industry
- MA Murugappan, Chairman Coromandel Engineering
- Rajan Nanda, Chairman Escorts
- Nikhil Nanda, Escorts
- Pran Prasad, Chairman Heilgers
- Habibur Rahman, Chairman Unilever Pakistan
- Vasant Rajadhyaksha, Chairman Hindustan Lever
- Lt. Gen. AM Sethna, Chairman I.T.D.C
- Siddharth Shriram, Chairman Siel Ltd
- CK Sinha, Chairman Balmer Lawrie
- L. M. Thapar, Chairman Ballarpur Industries Limited
- Gautam Thapar, Chairman Avantha Group
- A. Vellayan, Chairman, Murugappa Group
Petroleum
Tea
- Narendar Nath Atal, Chairman Makum Tea
- SK Mehera, President Tata Tea
Technology
Tobacco
Media
- Swaminathan Aiyar, former Editor of Financial Express
- Inderjit Bhadwar, former Editor of India Today
- Vikramaditya Chandra, CEO NDTV Networks
- Suman Dubey, former Editor of India Today
- Prem Shankar Jha, Editor of Hindustan Times, The Economic Times and The Financial Express
- Rahul Khushwant Singh, Editor of Reader's Digest
- Aroon Purie, founder of India Today
- Bhaskar Menon, President EMI, President Capitol industries
- Peter Mukherji, CEO STAR TV, India
- Prannoy Roy, CEO NDTV
- Karan Thapar, CNBC & CNN-IBN
- B G Verghese, Editor of the Times of India, Magsaysay Award winner
Literature
Non-Fiction
- Aamir Ali (Conflict, Via Geneva etc.)
- Mani Shankar Aiyar
- Swaminathan Aiyar
- Kanti Bajpai
- Shyam Bhatia (Goodbye Shahzadi, Brighter than the Bagdadh Sun, Contemporary Afghanistan)
- Ashok Chakravarti (Aid, Institutions and Development)
- Pushpinder Singh Chopra (Touching the Sky etc.)
- PM Das (Storms and Sunsets in the Himalaya)
- Prasenjit Duara (Culture, Power And The State)
- Jagjit Singh Dulat (Partners in Victory)
- Siddharth Dube (In the Land of Poverty; Sex, Lies and Aids)
- Mahmood Farooqui (Besieged: Voices From Delhi 1857)
- Ramchandra Guha
- Pranay Gupte (Vengeance: India After the Assassination of Indira Gandhi)
- A. N. D. Haksar (numerous translations of Sanskrit classics)
- Rohit Kumar Handa (Policy for India's Defense; Comrade Sahib)
- Prem Shankar Jha
- Aditya Kumar (Goods and Service Tax - New Face of Indirect Taxes in India)
- Sandeep Kumar (On Edge: The Afghan Passage)
- Deepak Lal
- Jamsheed Marker
- Piloo Mody
- Shomit Mitter, Class of 1976 (Systems of Rehearsal)
- Lt Gen T.B Nanda (A Life Of Passion: Story Of A Sapper )
- Sudhakar Pandit, Class of 1958 (From Making to Music)
- Naveen Patnaik
- Padmanabh Vijay Pillai (Perspectives on Power: India & China, Where Nothing Happens)
- Vijay Prashad
- Aroon Purie
- Saurabh Saklani (What Teens Need but Can't Quite Say)
- Arun Kumar Sarwal (Handbook of Financial Instruments & Transactions)
- Dhananajaya Singh (The House of Marwar, Marwar-Jodhpur: Gateway to the Thar)
- Pushpinder Singh (The Indian Air Force and its Aircraft)
- B G Verghese, (Agenda for India etc.)
- Shiv Kunal Verma (Ocean to Sky: India from the Air, Military World Games, The Northeast Palette, The Long Road to Siachen: The Question Why)
- Gautam Vohra (The Central Himalayas, Tribals, Development and Environment, Diary of an Organic Farmer)
Fiction, Poetry and Drama
- Inderjit Bhadwar, (Sniffing Papa, The Chamber of Perfumes etc.)
- Vimal Bhagat (Stage Whispers)
- Vikramaditya Chandra (The Srinagar Conspiracy)
- Amitav Ghosh
- Aminuddin Khan (A Shift in the Wind, A Right Royal Bastard)
- Samit Sawhny (All the World's a Spittoon)
- Aftab Seth (Pillars of a Landscape)
- Vikram Seth
- Vishvjit Singh (Kuch Shabd Kuch Lakeerein)
- Ardashir Vakil
Education
Secondary
- Gulab Ramchandani, former Headmaster of The Doon School
- Shomie Das, former Headmaster of The Doon School; Mayo College; Lawrence School, Sanawar
- Surinder K. Khandari, former Principal of Welham Boys School
- Sumer Singh, former Principal, Lawrence School, Sanawar; Daly College
- Vivek Ramchandani, Founder Principal, The Shri Ram School
- Kanti Bajpai, former Headmaster of The Doon School
Graduate and Post-graduate
- Suman Bery, former Director-General, National Council of Applied Economic Research, member of Economic Advisory Council
- Wajahat Habibullah, Director of the National Academy of Administration
- Nazir Jairazbhoy, Musicologist at UCLA
- Deepak Lal, economist at UCLA
- Ravi Mathai, Director of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
- Dalip Mehta, Dean of Foreign Service Institute
- Vijay Prashad, Professor at Trinity College (USA)
- Padamvir Singh, Director, National Academy of Administration
Arts
Fine Arts
Design
Films
- Mahmood Farooqui (co-director, Peepli Live)
- Ali Fazal (3 Idiots)[1]
- Asheesh Kapur (Kurbaan)
- Ashvin Kumar, Filmmaker
- Shiv Pandit, Actor
- Rajiv Rai, Filmmaker
- Ashwin Mushran, Actor
- Roshan Seth, Actor
- Imaad Shah, Actor
- Vivaan Shah, Actor
- Himani Shivpuri, Actress
- Chandrachur Singh, Actor
- Shiv Kunal Verma, Documentaries
Music
Sports
- Abhinav Bindra, Beijing Olympics 2008 Gold Medalist (Air Rifle)
- Kamaljit Chaudhari, National Squash Champion
- Nandu Jayal, Mountaineer
- Vishal Raj Kapoor, National Squash Champion
- Bunker Roy, National Squash Champion
- Nikhilesh Senapati, National Squash Champion
- Kunwar Gajendra Singh, junior National Squash Champion
Others
References
- ^ Ali Fazal's the first actor in his family, Times of India[1]
Sources
This list of notable alumni is sourced principally from the following:
- The Dosco Record is a book of short biographies, similar to what may be found in a Who's Who, which was first produced by J.A.K. Martyn who deliberately modeled it on the Harrow Record. (Martyn had been a schoolmaster at Harrow School before helping A.E. Foot start The Doon School.) As a consequence, alumni are listed in the year in which they joined Doon, rather than the year in which they graduated; Martyn believed that this would make it easier for Doscos to look up their friends. The book is updated every 8 years or so, and is published by the The Doon School Old Boys Society ("DSOBS") and distributed only to alumni. It includes biographical information about every Dosco (even people like Sanjay Gandhi who was expelled before completing his studies); it also highlights family connections between Doscos such as whether a particular Dosco was the son of another Dosco, or married the sister or daughter of another Dosco.
- The Rose Bowl is a periodic newsletter that contains alumni news, obituaries, reminiscences, etc. It is produced by the DSOBS and distributed by post to all alumni; a PDF version is also sent by email to alumni.
- The Doon School Register is published, every few years, by the DSOBS. It includes the contact details of every Dosco; deceased alumni are noted as such. Also included are the small number of "Associate Members" (honorary members) of The Doon School Old Boys: for the most part these include former teachers; also included are people such as Salim Ali who had been frequent visitors to Doon and were considered to be part of the Dosco fraternity.
- Doon, The Story of a School, edited by Sumer Singh, published by the Indian Public Schools Society 1985. This (somewhat slim) book was distributed to alumni and contains essays, reminiscences, and stories about the founding of the Doon School.
- The Doon School -- Sixty Years On, edited by Pushpinder Singh Chopra, published by the DSOBS in October 1996. This book is similar in many respects to Doon The Story of a School, but much larger.
Additional sources: