HISTORY OF THE CLUB
Club President : Rtn Anupama Chopra
The Rotary Club of Delhi was initially chartered in 1929 as part of the efforts of James Wheeler Davidson, often referred to as the Marco Polo of Rotary in Rotary Folklore. On April 6th the same year, the first meeting of the provisional Rotary Club of Delhi was arranged under the presidentship of Mr. R.T.H. Makenzie, then Manager of Burma Shell Oil Company at Delhi However, the Club unfortunately stopped functioning and it had to be Chartered again on January 18, 1939. The Delhi Club was admitted to Rotary International on 18-1-1939 and the charter was presented by Sir Fredric, District Governor in a glittering ceremony held at Maiden’s Hotel.
The Club held its first meeting in Western Court and regular meetings started in right earnest at the Maiden’s Hotel, which was then the hub of activity in Delhi. These meetings were held on the first and third Thursday in each month. Rotary rules provided for fortnightly meetings then. These rules were changed later laying down weekly meetings but the day of the week i.e., Thursday on which these meetings are held, has remained unaltered to the present day.
The Club used to hold its weekly meetings from 1941 up to 1944 in The Maiden’s Hotel. Thereafter it was shifted to the prestigious Imperial Hotel till 1990. For a brief period in between from 1968 to 1970 the Club held its meetings in the Hotel Janpath. Since 1990 the Club has been hosting its meetings in Hotel Ashok and recently also in Hotel Lalit.
The Club also has had the privilege of having past prime ministers amongst its members including Late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Late Shri I K Gujral. Shri I K Gujral also served as the President of the Rotary club of Delhi. Under the Presidentship of Rtn Sultan Singh Backliwal, our club also had the unique privilege to bid for and later Host the prestigious Rotary South East Asia regional Conference where over 10,000 Rotarians attended.
The club has given more than a dozen District Governors to Rotary. Rtn. Krishna Prasada of the club was elected Director of RI in 1951, the year in which Rotary Convention was held for the first time in Asia at Tokyo. Thereafter, Rtn. Sudarshan Agarwal of our club, who was the Secretary General of Rajya Sabha and later the Governor of Uttarakhand & Sikkim, served as RI Director in the year 1987-89. Rtn Suresh Bhasin served as the last District Governor from our Club in the year 2019-20. Another feather in the cap of the Club is Mrs Minna Kapur who became the First International Inner Wheel President from our Rotary Family. We are also the home club of DG Rtn Jeetender Gupta (2023-24).
Our club has seen Rotarians of more than 50 years in service including Rtn PP SS Backliwal, Rtn PP HR Gupta, Rtn Mohinder Kapur.
Our Club has been instrumental in various projects including the Rotary Blood Bank and the AIIMS Cancer Centre. Continuing in this direction the Club in 2021-22 set up the Rotary Club of Delhi’s Free PHYSIOTHERAPY CENTRE at Amar Colony with a District Grant which is serving innumerable patients and providing much needed health care to seniors.
The Club is carrying forward its commitment to service and fellowship under the current leadership of President Sandeep Chopra.