14 January, 2025 (Yes Punjab News)
It’s with great sadness that we report the passing of Dr. Amarjit Singh Marwah, respected philanthropist and community leader, on January 7. He was 98 years old, just one month shy of turning 99. Dr. Marwah was a successful professional, committed citizen, and a dedicated Sikh who made enormous contributions to the lives of many.
Dr. Marwah came from a family of physicians, grew up in Kotkapura in Punjab and went to dental college in Lahore, graduating in 1947. In 1953, after working as a dentist in Punjab for 4 years, he was offered a Fulbright scholarship to do postgraduate work in the Guggenheim Dental Foundation in New York.
One year later, he was awarded a scholarship to complete his Master of Science in dentistry at the University of Illinois Dental College in Chicago.
In 1956, Dr. Marwah went to complete his Doctorate of Dental Surgery at Howard University in Washington D.C. and he ultimately settled in Malibu, CA, where he counted numerous Hollywood celebrities as his clients (such as Elizabeth Taylor, Gregory Peck, and Sidney Poitier) and where he also served low-income clients at USC’s Dental Clinic.
In addition to his lucrative professional career, Dr. Marwah was active in politics and invested deeply in his community both in the US as well as back home in India.
In the US, he supported Dalip Singh Saund’s campaign to become the first Asian congressperson in the US. In 1969, during the 500th Anniversary of Guru Nanak, he donated the building and property required to build the Hollywood Sikh Temple, funding also the initial construction and later renovation of the gurdwara in Los Angeles.
He funded scholarships for over 100 Indian-American students and supported institutions like his alma mater Howard University College of Dentistry, where he contributed $300,000 to establish The Marwah Comprehensive Care Clinic and the University of Illinois College of Dentistry, where he contributed $250,000 to create the Dr. Amarjit S. Marwah & Mrs. Kuljit K. Marwah Faculty Endowment Fund.
In India, he was a co-founder of the Bank of Punjab, along with Dr. Inderjit Singh of Punjab and Sindh Bank. He also invested Rs. 12 crore on many humanitarian and educational causes in Punjab. He started KK Marwah Girls College (named after his wife, Kuljit Kaur Marwah) in Faridkot, Punjab. In Mahindra College, Patiala, he helped build an auditorium (named after his mother in law, Kartar Kaur Sodhi).
In 2023, filmmaker Mridu Chandra filmed an interview with Dr. Marwah for an upcoming documentary in development about how Dalip Singh Saund became America’s first Asian, Indian, and Sikh congressperson in history.
