Uberoi was born in
Lahore in 1934. His father was
Mohan Singh Diwana, a noted scholar of
Punjabi literature and culture. In 1966, Uberoi married the sociologist Patricia Uberoi (
née Robyn Hughes). They had three children, Safina, Prem, and Zoe. In the wake of the
1984 anti-Sikh riots in
Delhi, Uberoi transformed from being an atheist to a turban-wearing, practicing Sikh. He and Patricia remained married until his death on 3 January 2024. He completed his Ph.D. in 1964 in the Department of Anthropology at the
Australian National University. For his doctoral research, he conducted ethnographic research among the
Tajiks of
Afghanistan, and subsequently wrote and defended a Ph.D. thesis entitled
Social Organisation of the Tajiks of Andarab Valley, Afghanistan. In 1968, Uberoi returned to India on the invitation of
M.N. Srinivas and joined the department of sociology at the Delhi School of Economics,
Delhi University. After serving a few months as Reader, he was appointed as Professor of Sociology at this department in 1969. He was 34 years old at the time. He went on to teach and research in this capacity till his retirement in 1999. Uberoi headed the department of sociology at the Delhi School of Economics from 1977 to 1979. He was also the proctor of Delhi University from 1971 to 1973.
Awards and recognition • In 1958, Uberoi was awarded the Hocart Prize by the
Royal Anthropological Institute for an essay which was published as Chapter 2 in his book
Politics of the Kula Ring. • In 2011, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the
Indian Sociological Society. • In July 2019, the
India International Centre in Delhi held an evening event in his honour. ==Books==