Sir Seth Hukumchand Ji Jain (or Hukamchand) of

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...

Holkar State Indore State, also known as Holkar State, was a kingdom in India. Its rulers belonged to the Holkar dynasty. After 1857, Indore became a 19- gun salute Maratha princely state (a rare high rank) under the British Raj. Indore stat ...

(1874–1959) was an Indian industrialist and a prominent leader of the

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

community for about 50 years. His ancestor, Seth Pusaji, had settled in Indore in 1787 under the patronage of the

Holkar The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the Mar ...

rulers of Indore, then part of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of S ...

. His father, Seth Sarup Chand, was himself a successful businessman; however, Hukumchand transformed the few

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ...

s he inherited into a fortune of many crores. In his lifetime he donated various amounts amounting to about . He was initially associated with the firm Trilok Chand Hukam Chand, set up by his father and two uncles, while he was only 6 years old. By age 16, he had himself become a successful businessman. He was given the honor of wearing the ''Holkar-Shahi Pagdi'' (Boat Shaped Maratha styled Turban) and ''Angarkha'' (court dress), which were usually worn by the Maratha, Rajput and Brahmin nobility (

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been u ...

s, Jagirdars, Istamuradars and

Mankari Mankari (Mānkari or Maankari) is a hereditary title used by Maratha nobles and troops from the Indian subcontinent who held land grants, and cash allowances. They held an official position at the Darbar (court) and were entitled to certain cer ...

s) which were a part of the Indore state's

Durbar Durbar can refer to: * Conference of Rulers, a council of Malay monarchs * Durbar festival, a yearly festival in several towns of Nigeria * Durbar floor plate, a hot-rolled structural steel that has been designed to give excellent slip resistance ...

Industrial pioneer

Hukumchand became a leading business magnate of the country doing speculative and ready trade in commodities on a large scale. He was known as the "Cotton Prince of India" and had much credit even in some overseas countries. The New York Cotton exchange was closed for two day on his death. His offices were located in important cities of India. He established cotton mills (Hukam Chand Mill and Raj Kumar Mill at Indore), and a large jute mill and iron mill at Calcutta. He was a pioneer in Swadeshi industry. He was the first Indian businessman to set up a jute mill.

Social contributions

Hukumchand was a champion of the nationwide

Khadi Movement Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi as ''swadeshi'' (self-sufficiency) for the freedom struggle of the Indian subcontinent, and the term is used throughout India, Pakistan ...

initiated by

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

in 1920 and a leader of the Swadeshi Movement of 1931 in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

. He financially supported Hindi Sahitya Sammelan and was President of Madhya Bharat Hindi Sahitya Samiti. He had an unparalleled record of religious and social service. He protected Jain Tirthas, and constructed and repaired several Jain temples. He built the famous

Kach Ka Mandir Kanch Ka Mandir ( hi, काँच मंदिर), literally Temple of Glass, is a famous Jain temple in Indore, built by Sir Seth Hukumchand Jain. The construction began sometime around 1903. There are quite a few other temples in India kno ...

in Indore. He served as: * President of

Digambar Jain Mahasabha Digambar Jain Mahasabha or Shri Bharatvarshiya Digamber Jain Mahasabha is the oldest organisation of lay Jains in India. History The Digambar Jain Mahasabha was founded in 1894 in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. It is considered a traditionalist T ...

* Dig. Jain Trithakshetra Committee * Bombay Prantic Dig, Jain Sabha * Presided over numerous religious, social and political organizations With his influence he resolved major religious and social issues. He was a great devotee of

Jain muni Jain monasticism refers to the order of monks and nuns in the Jain community and can be divided into two major Religious denomination, denominations: the ''Digambara'' and the ''Śvētāmbara''. The monastic practices of the two major sects va ...

s and went on several pilgrimages. He was made Rai Bahadur in 1915 and honoured with the title of 'Sir' (

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

) in 1919.

Maharaja of Gwalior Gwalior state was a semi-autonomous Maratha state. It was centred in modern-day Madhya Pradesh, arising due to the rise of the Maratha Empire and fragmentation of the Mughal Empire. It was ruled by the House of Scindia (anglicized from Shinde ...

presented him Khilat and rulers of Indore honoured him with the titles of Rajya Bhushan, Rao Raja and Rajya Ratna. He established: * Sir Hukam Chand Eye Hospital * Kalyanmal Nursing Home * Raj Kumar Singh Ayurvedic * Kanchan Bai Maternity Home * Kanchan Bai Shravikashram * Tukoji Rao Cloth Market * Gaushala, Jain temple and boarding house in Banaras University On

's visit to

Indra Bhawan Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> In ...

, Hukumchand agreed to give him his of farmland for building the Kasturbagram village. He donated Rs. 400,000 for the construction of Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital at New Delhi. He donated Rs. 200,000 for the welfare of agriculturists. He provided enormous financial assistance during the famine of 1899 and the plague epidemics of 1903 and 1908.

Transformation

In his later life, Hukamchand gave up wearing expensive clothes and jewellery studded with precious gems, and switched to simple clothes. Sir Seth Sarupchand Hukamchand in his 'VAIRAGYA DASHA'
Accessed 24 January 2023.

References

External links

Profile: Sir Seth Hukumchand
Accessed 24 January 2023. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hukumchand, Seth 19th-century Indian Jains Businesspeople from Indore 1874 births 1959 deaths 19th-century Indian businesspeople Indian industrialists 20th-century Indian businesspeople 20th-century Indian Jains Indian businesspeople in textiles Indian knights Knights Bachelor

Industrial pioneer

Social contributions

Transformation

See Also

References

External links