A Legacy Across Generations
A story of enduring public service, educational stewardship, and a family's unwavering commitment to nation-building.
The Faces Behind the Legacy
A Family of Public Servants
The family's story begins in the late 1700s, in a village called Payal, nestled between Ludhiana and Patiala. Over generations they moved to Lahore, and later to Delhi after Partition. Along the way, names like Lala Karam Chand, Diwan Rattan Chand, Diwan Bhagwan Das and Diwan Bahadur Diwan Krishan Kishore built a lasting legacy in governance and public service.
The Foundation of an Enduring Institution
That legacy found new purpose in 1916, when Diwan Bahadur Dewan Krishan Kishore helped found the Sanatan Dharma College Society — dedicated to preserving India's cultural and intellectual heritage through education. Inspired by leaders like Madan Mohan Malaviya and Bhai Vir Singh, generations of public service became a movement for learning.
Rebuilding Beyond Partition
Partition uprooted the institution from Lahore, but never its purpose. Under the Diwan family's leadership, the Sanatan Dharma College rose again in Ambala, its foundation stone laid by Dr Rajendra Prasad, independent India's first President.
Diwan Harkishen Das, son of Diwan Kishan Kishore, carried the mission further, founding the Dewan Bahadur Dewan Kishan Kishore Sanskrit College — later honoured as an Adarsh Mahavidyalaya, one of only 22 such institutions in India. In 1985, his son Diwan Raghunath Sahai founded The S.D. Vidya School in Ambala Cantt.
The S.D. Vidya School, Ambala Cantt then carried this legacy into K-12 education, guided by Sh Brij Kishore Soni, son of Diwan Raghunath Sahai.
The Mission Continues
Sh Brij Kishore Soni carried the story to a new city, founding The S.D. Vidya School, Noida under the S.D. College Society, Lahore (New Delhi) — bringing a century-old vision of education to the National Capital Region.
The Legacy Continues
Today, Rishab Soni, son of Sh Brij Kishore Soni, leads the institution his family built — over a hundred years of educational service, still growing to meet the needs of today's students.