Piloo Mody

Piloo Mody (14 de noviembre de 1926 – 29 de enero de 1983) fue un arquitecto y político indio, y uno de los miembros fundadores del Partido Swatantra . Elegido para la 4.ª y 5.ª Lok Sabha , sirvió en la Rajya Sabha desde 1978 hasta su muerte.

Piloo Mody , miembro de la comunidad parsi, fue uno de los hijos de Sir Homi Mody . Estudió en The Doon School , Dehradun . ^{[ 1 ] [ 2 ]} Después de la escuela, asistió al Sir JJ College of Architecture y a la Universidad de California, Berkeley , donde se graduó con una maestría en arquitectura . Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , quien llegó a ser Primer Ministro de Pakistán en la década de 1970, fue su compañero de habitación en la universidad y ambos eran amigos cercanos. ^{[ 3 ] [ 4 ]} Se casó con una estadounidense, Lavina Colgan Mody, quien también era estudiante de arquitectura en Berkeley, el 3 de enero de 1953. ^{[ 5 ] [ 6 ]} Tuvo dos hermanos, Kali H. Mody, pionero de las operaciones con tarjetas de crédito en la India, y Russi Mody , expresidente de la compañía Tata Iron and Steel Limited. ^{[ 7 ]}

After his stint at Berkeley he returned to India. He worked for two years spent on the Chandigarh Capital Project. He also designed the Chennai headquarters of Engineering Construction Corporation, a former subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Ltd. It won the Federation Internationale de la Precontrainte prize for excellence in pre-stressed concrete from India.^[4] Piloo and Vina set up an architecture firm Mody and Colgan in 1953 at Stadium House, Churchgate.Their first project was a residential apartment at Marine Lines for senior officials of TISCO. They also designed the front casing of one model of Voltas Air conditioner. Piloo's other projects include residential project Olympus, three TELCO offices, the headquarters of Bharat Bijlee, Mukand Iron and Steel, Sandoz, Voltas and Diners Club and Business Service centres.^[4]

In political life Mody was an advocate of liberalism and freedom. He was associated with Swatantra Party at its founding. According to his wife Vina,

Piloo found designing pretty buildings unsatisfying with the country going to the dogs via the socialistic road.

^[4]

So he became a founding member of Swatantra Party. At the 1967 general election he was elected to the 4th Lok Sabha, representing the Godhra constituency in Gujarat. In 1971 he was re-elected and served in the 5th Lok Sabha until March 1977. In 1972 he was instrumental in promoting the Architects' Act. In 1975, at the time of the Emergency in India, Mody was arrested on the orders of the Indira Gandhi government, using the controversial powers granted by the Maintenance of Internal Security Act.^[8]

After an absence of a year from parliament, on 10 April 1978 Mody joined the Rajya Sabha and served there until his death in 1983.

The Piloo Mody College of Architecture, at Cuttack, Orissa, and a FIDE chess tournament are named in his honour.^[9]

• Zulfi, My Friend (1973)
• Democracy Means Bread and Freedom (1979)