The Heroes

Most Indian business families of today trace their history way back to the First World War period. At that point of time, merchants operated largely as communities based on their faith or origins like Parsis, Sindhis, Marwaris, Gujarati Banias, Jains et al. Having accumulated wealth during the turbulent period of the war, many of these merchants went on to set up enterprises that fl ourished under their successors to become mammoth business empires.

All these entrepreneurs faced arduous times – class oppression, high import duties and trade tariff s – but the freedom struggle kept them together to even assist their own competitors. The atmosphere was of united collaboration in the face of fierce oppression by the British Raj to stimulate the growth of Indian industry and Indian products. For these zealous entrepreneurs, it was clearly a trial by fire.

Gandhiji was equally disturbed by the poor plight of Indian industries owing to British oppression, and he started the Swadeshi (meaning self sufficiency) movement, where he promoted Indian products like khadi and boycotted British goods. He expressed his belief thus, “I should use only things that are produced by my immediate neighbours and serve those industries by making them efficient and complete where they might be found wanting.”

Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata is one of the most prominent business pioneers, memorable for the way he sought economic self-dependence under the British Raj, and negotiated for favourable policies for Indian businesses with the highly skeptical Lord Curzon. Ironically, his endeavours bore fruit only after he died, in particular Tata’s first steel plant in Jamshedpur. Others like Jamnalal Bajaj and Ghanshyam Das Birla also provided extensive support to Mahatma Gandhi and to the cause of Indian industries. Birla in fact did not agree with quite a few ideologies of Gandhiji, but still had immense respect for him. The relationships between these pioneers and the Indian National Congress were further nurtured by subsequent generations.

It was thanks largely to the endeavours of these pioneers that India had developed quite a few indigenous industries like steel, textiles, automobiles, aviation, sugar & paper by the time it freed itself from the yoke of the British. Without the contributions of these visionaries, India’s independence would have had no meaning.

Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata
For him, freedom meant economic development

The struggle for India’s independence from British Raj ended in 1947. Unfortunately though, our struggle for true economic independence continues till date. Was our Independence struggle really worth it then? Of course it was, but few people actually understood at that time how incomplete our Independence would be if a free India couldn’t provide even the basic standards of living and ensure sustainable development for the masses.

Jamshetji Nasserwanji Tata (1839-1904) had comprehended much earlier that India’s future was bleak without industrialisation. He once stated, “Freedom without the strength to support it and, if need be, defend it, would be a cruel delusion.” Starting out on his own at the age of 29, Jamshetji went as a cotton trader to England, where he personally visited the textile mills of that era. He decided to set up a mill in India and make the product globally competitive. The result was the Empress Mills in 1874, which employed the best technology and modern labour laws (as he was appalled by treatment of workers in England).

While others were fighting for India’s political independence, Jamshetji was negotiating for fair policies from the same stubborn, muleheaded British Raj to secure India’s economic & industrial future. Jamshetji identified three key areas for India – steel, electricity & scientific research. He did not live to see this vision bear fruition, but managed to lay the foundations of three large organisations – Tata Steel (formerly Tata Iron & Steel Company), The Indian Institute of Science and The Tata Power Company Limited. He also started the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai with Rs.42.1 million. The hotel was a gift to his countrymen as fellow Indians were not allowed to enter the Watson hotel in Mumbai during the British rule.

To recognise his services in the industrialisation of India, the Posts & Telegraphs Department issued a commemorative stamp on January 7, 1965. Late Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru aptly described him as, “one of the great founders of modern India”. To honour this great legend of modern India in 1919 Lord Chemsford named the city where the Tatas set up their steel plant ‘Jamshedpur’, and needless to add, the city is a fitting tribute to all that Jamshetji stood for.

Ghanshyam Das Birla – Industrialist, Visionary & An Idealist
The inspiring story of a man who helped give India her shape...

During the freedom movement, business and profit were largely considered taboo words. A large number of Indians emulated the beliefs of the Mahatma to the core. And in the midst of this environment arose Ghanshyam Das Birla – a man who thought the spirit of enterprise were necessary for the nation to prosper. His unflinching ability to see beyond his time made him immensely powerful and influential. More than a mere capitalist, as one might call him today, he was a visionary who worked tirelessly for the benefit of the society as a whole.

Born on April 10, 1894, Ghanshyam Das – or “G.D.” – Birla’s family hailed from Pilani, Rajasthan. With a dream of expanding the family’s cotton trading business to jute production, he set up a plant in Bengal. G. D. Birla had a firm resolve to shatter the monopoly that British businessmen held in India. Even with the British trying to gain control of Indian industries, he sought out measures to make his business a stronghold, and one that is immune to failures.

A confidante of Mahatma Gandhi, G. D. Birla helped him fight against the rising imperial capitalism in the country. His efforts to ensure protection to the Indian industry made him one of the most prominent personalities in shaping the future of India. In 1920-21, he advocated the cause of fiscal autonomy for Indian enterprises and for the interests of India, he did not hesitate to seek out a win-win relationship with the British. Although he did not always agree with Mahatma Gandhi, G. D. Birla obeyed every word that he said without a moment’s deliberation. In his book on Gandhi, In the Shadows of the Mahatma, Birla described his first meeting with Gandhi, “The hidden hand of destiny, which works in an inscrutable manner, should alone be credited with this fortunate occurrence in my life.”

With an investment of Rs.5 million in 1919, G. D. Birla set up the Birla Brothers Ltd. by setting up a mill in Gwalior. And with this, began the process of building a huge empire that encompassed almost all the sectors that independent India would need. In 1928, he purchased the Hindustan Times from Pandit Malviya for Rs.89,252 and took the newspaper to great heights. He had also set up a sugar & paper mill in the 1930s. And how can one forget the Hindustan Motors, the first Indian car company that was a venture of none other than G. D. Birla way back in 1942. Postindependence as well, he invested in tea and textiles through a series of acquisitions of erstwhile European companies. Not only this, he further expanded and diversified his family business into cement, chemicals, rayon and steel tubes. In 1947, Grasim’s operations commenced with a small rayon weaving unit in Gwalior. Hindalco was formed in 1958, with production of aluminium initiated in 1962. And the list simply goes on.

The founder member of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, G. D. Birla very well realised that intellectual property is invaluable to the success of the nation, and to encourage it, he founded the Birla Engineering College in Pilani, Rajasthan (famously known as BITS Pilani). And as a tribute to this Indian businessman, who is known to have built the second largest business empire in India, there is a memorial in Golders Green Crematorium, Hoop Lane, London. In his lifetime, he actually proved that profit is not a diabolism, provided it is earned responsibly and used for the good of society as a whole.