Alfred Ford (1950 - ), also known as Ambarish Das, is an American businessman. He is a great grandson of legendary businessman Henry Ford. He is married to Dr. Sharmila Ford and has two daughters named Amrita & Anisha.[citation needed]
Alfred Ford joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (the Hare Krishnas) in 1975 and that same year he made his first trip to India with A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He assisted in the establishment of the first Hindu temple in Hawaii and also donated $500,000 to help establish the Bhaktivedanta Cultural Center in Detroit[1] which was completed in 1983. Alfred has made many significant donations to ISKCON over the years which have assisted ongoing projects to build the Pushpa Samadhi Mandir of Srila Prabhupada. He founded the Iskcon Foundation, and is also campaign chairman of the Sri Mayapur Temple of Vedic Planetarium. [2]
Ford is also reported to have lobbied to have a Vedic cultural centre made in Moscow at an estimated cost of $10 million.[3]. He also bought a $600,000 mansion to house Hare Krishna temple and learning centre in Honolulu.[4]
Ford has adopted a Spiritual name, Ambarish Das.[citation needed]
Himalayan Ski Village
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Ford plans to construct a ski village by the name of Himalayan Ski Village in Himachal Pradesh in India with an investment of $400 million.[citation needed]
The project is proposed to have more than 600 five-star hotel rooms, 150 villas, 150 condos, and luxurious spa and restaurant facilities.[5]
The project however ran into trouble in early 2006, when people declared that the project was environmentally unsound.[citation needed]
The oracle of Jamlu devta, the most important deity of Kullu, advised against the project. Upon his insistence, Maheshwar Singh, king of Kullu state and now a BJP leader called a formal Badi Jagati Puch (grand convention) of persons claiming to represent 175 local deities. The convention ruled that the proposed ski village would be detrimental to the local populace and rejected the ski village.[6][7]
The fracas was dubbed by the media as a politically motivated one between the ruling Congress and the BJP.[8]
The project, as of August 2006, is in the process of getting approvals from the government. Commentators have observed that the driving feature of the project is the prospect for breaching the restrictive land ownership rules of article 118 of the Himachal Land Act which restricts outside ownership of Himalayan land. Speculators hope to make profits from land sales whilst a market distortion such as article 118 prevents locals from selling outside their state whilst developers can market to the entire world.[citation needed]
The social and practical problems of "Big Bang" development proposals have yet to be experienced in the Himalaya. Project promoters claim that the management capacities of large development companies can address all the negative issues which have been raised. None of the project promoters have any previous experience in the Himalayas.[citation needed]
Sharmila Ford, Jayesh Popat, Alfred Ford, Kabir Kumar & Nadeem Ahmad
Dr. Sharmila Bhattacharya Ford (born in Jaipur, India) is a member of the Board of Governors of the Oxford Center for Hindu Studies.[1]. She is also a board member of The Vrinda Trust and Bhaktivedanta Cultural Center at Devasadana Mandir in Detroit, USA. Sharmila and her husband have generously supported numerous projects around the world dedicated to preserving and promoting understanding and appreciation of Indian history and culture. They have been given several awards in recognition of their service to Indian culture throughout the world.[citation needed]
Professional Life
Dr. Ford received her doctorate from the University of New South Wales, Australia. She has published papers in the Journal of Lipid Research, Arteriosclerosis, and Biochemistry, and presented work at several of the International Conference on Arteriosclerosis.[citation needed]
Personal life
Sharmila is a practicing Vaishnava, philanthropist, mother of two, and wife of Alfred Ford, great grandson of automobile pioneer, Henry Ford. She has two daughters: Amrita and Anisha.[citation needed]
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