India's 'Masala' King No More; MDH Owner Passes Away At 97 Dharampal Gulati, owner of the household spices company MDH, died of cardiac arrest

By Debarghya Sil

You're reading BIZ Experiences India, an international franchise of BIZ Experiences Media.

BIZ Experiences India
Dharampal Gulati, owner of the household spices company MDH, died of cardiac arrest

Dharampal Gulati, owner of the household spices company Mahashian Di Hatti—also known as MDH—died of cardiac arrest aged 97. Several media reports suggest that he was undergoing treatment at a hospital in the national capital and breathed his last at 5:30 AM on Thursday morning.

Called "dalaji' and "Mahashayji' Gulati successfully delivered its spices to every household in the country. The Padma Bhushan awardee expanded its spices kingdom overseas as well.

Early Life

Gulati was born on March 27, 1923 in Sialkot (Pakistan) to Mahashay Chunnilal and mother Mata Chanan Devi who were philanthropic, religious and followers of Arya Samaj. A drop out of class 5, with the help of his father, he set up a small business of looking mirrors and thereafter soap business and carpentry job, cloth merchant, hardware business and rice trading. However, these businesses didn't last for long and he joined his parental business i.e. spices under the name of "Mahashian Di Hatti' popularly known as "Deggi Mirch Wale" people.

After the partition, he came to Indian and reached Delhi with INR 1,500 cash and bought a tonga for INR 650 and drove it from New Delhi Railway Station to Qutab Road and Karol Bagh to Bara Hindu Rao at two "annas' sawari for a few days.

Later, he bought a small wooden khokha at Ajmal Khan Road, Karol Bagh and started his family business of ground spices and again raised the banner of Mahashian Di Hatti of Sialkot "Deggi Mirch Wale".

Since then, there has been no looking back for Gulati. As Indians started loving his spices, his spice empire grew exponentially.

Contribution

His name is associated with multiple educational institutions such as MDH International School, Mahashay Chunnilal Saraswati Shishu Mandir, and Mata Leela Wati Kanya Vidhayala to just name a few.

He is known to have established more than 20 schools for the benefits of the society and the poor people at large.

He has also established a 300-bed multi speciality hospital which specialises in MRI, CT scan, heart wing, neurosciences, IVF, etc., on a 5-acre land in West Delhi.

Soon after the news of his demise broke, Indians poured their condolences over Twitter. India's defence minister Rajnath Singh expressed his condolences through a tweet.

Delhi's chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "Dharm Pal ji was a very inspiring personality. He dedicated his life for society. God bless his soul."

Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia called him the most inspiring BIZ Experiences and prayed for his soul to rest in peace.

Debarghya Sil

BIZ Experiences Staff

Former Correspondent

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for BIZ Experiencess to pursue in 2025.

Starting a Business

How to Develop the Mindset for a Billion-Dollar Success, According to Raising Cane's Founder

Todd Graves was turned down by every bank in town when he started. Here, he sits down to share his mentality on success, leadership and building a billion-dollar brand.

News and Trends

Reliance Retail Launches FMCG Brand 'Independence' In Gujarat

Independence includes diverse categories such as staples, processed foods, beverages, among other daily essentials

Business News

Here Are the 10 Jobs AI Is Most Likely to Automate, According to a Microsoft Study

These careers are most likely to be affected by generative AI, based on data from 200,000 conversations with Microsoft's Copilot chatbot.

Starting a Business

3 Things I Wish I Knew When I Founded a Company 20 Years Ago

If I could sit down with a new B2B founder today, these are the three conversations I'd make sure we had — the same ones I wish someone had with me early on.