Lawrence School Sanawar Alumni: Notable Names
For parents weighing The Lawrence School, Sanawar for their child, the alumni record shows what the school’s long history has produced. Founded on 15 April 1847 by Sir Henry Lawrence and his wife Honoria, near Kasauli in the Shimla Hills, it is the oldest co-educational boarding school in Asia. Its motto is “Never Give In.” Its former pupils include a Param Vir Chakra recipient, a Chief Election Commissioner, a Winter Olympian, a Bollywood star, the head of a global consulting firm and a queen consort. Wikipedia
Alumni are called Old Sanawarians (OS). The alumni association, the Old Sanawarian Society, was founded in 1914. penguin
Politics and Public Service
Amarinder Singh (born 1942) is a former Chief Minister of Punjab.
Omar Abdullah (born 1970) is Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. He has been one of the most visible faces of Kashmir politics for over two decades.
Sukhbir Singh Badal (born 1962) is a former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab and president of the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Navin Chawla (born 1945) is a former Chief Election Commissioner of India. The school’s own handbook names him among its notable alumni. sanawar
Maneka Gandhi (born 1956) is a Union Minister, environmentalist and animal welfare activist.
Rao Inderjit Singh (born 1951) is a politician who has served as Union Minister of State for Defence Production.
Dushyant Chautala and Chander Mohan are both former Deputy Chief Ministers of Haryana.
Jetsun Pema is the Queen consort of Bhutan. She is among the school’s most internationally recognised former students.
Armed Forces
2nd Lt. Arun Khetarpal, PVC (1950–1971) is the school’s most honoured alumnus. He was the youngest officer recipient of the Param Vir Chakra. He received it for his actions in the 1971 Indo-Pak War, and he is remembered for the Battle of Basantar. sanawarssbcrack
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat is a former Chief of the Naval Staff.
The handbook notes that alumni hold senior ranks in all three defence services and in the Police Force. Wikipedia adds that the share of school-leavers joining the forces has dropped sharply since 1990. sanawarWikipedia
Business and Industry
Punit Renjen is a former Global CEO of Deloitte.
Jehangir Wadia and Ness Wadia (born 1970) are from the Wadia family. Jehangir is managing director of GoAir and Bombay Dyeing, and Ness is managing director of the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation.
Pankaj M. Munjal is chairman and managing director of Hero Cycles.
Rakesh Mohan is with Mohan Meakin Limited.
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Nitin Khanna is founder and CEO of MergerTech.
Kiran Nadar is a philanthropist and the founder of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.
Sonny Mehta was publisher and editor-in-chief of Alfred A. Knopf, one of the most influential figures in international publishing.
Sport and Adventure
Shiva Keshavan is an Asian champion who represented India in luge at six Winter Olympics, from 1998 to 2018.
Manavjit Singh Sandhu is a trap shooter who competed at the 2012 Olympics and won a Commonwealth Games gold medal.
Ranjit Bhatia ran the marathon and the 5000 metres at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Ajeet Bajaj (born 1965) is the first Indian to ski to both the North Pole and the South Pole.
Lt Col Gautama Dutta is a national sailing champion who won an Asian Games bronze in 2003.
In May 2013, Sanawar became the first school in the world to send a team of seven students to climb Mount Everest. Wikipedia
Film, Television and Comedy
Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt and Vir Das are actors who went on to national and international careers. Vir Das is also a stand-up comedian.
Pooja Bedi, Rahul Roy, Iqbal Khan, Parikshit Sahni, Amar Talwar, Bikramjeet Kanwarpal and Varun Sharma are all actors.
Shaad Ali, Apoorva Lakhia and Tarun Mansukhani are film directors and writers.
Siddharth Kak is a film maker and television presenter.
Medicine and Art
Parveen Kumar is a former president of the British Medical Association. Iloosh Ahluwalia is an artist.
Why the Alumni Record Matters for Admissions
Three things stand out:
- Range. Sanawar alumni work in politics, the armed forces, boardrooms, sport and the arts. The school is not narrowly specialised.
- Co-education from day one. The school has admitted boys and girls together since its founding, and about a quarter of its boarders are the children of former pupils. Wikipedia
- Entry point. Admission is by competitive entrance exam in November, followed by an interview, with Class 5 (Lower III) as the preferred entry point. Wikipedia
Compare with The Doon School, Mayo College, Rishi Valley, Dhirubhai Ambani International School and Pathways World School.
