Ghanshyam Das Birla (10 April 1894 – 11 June 1983) was an Indian businessman and member of the Birla Family.

Birla family history

Ghanshyam Das Birla was born on 10 April 1894 at

Pilani Pilani is a small city situated in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, India. Administratively, it forms a part of Jhunjhunu district. The place became popular since the establishment of BITS Pilani.The city is also the home to some of the old ...

town in Jhunjhunu district, in the region known as Rajputana, as a member of the Marwari

Maheshwari Maheshwari, also spelled Maheshvari, is a Hindu caste of India, originally from what is now the state of Rajasthan. Their traditional occupation is that of commerce and as such they form part of the wider Bania occupation-based community that ...

community. His father was Raja Baldevdas Birla. In 1884 A.D. Baldeo Das Birla went to

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 second-m ...

in search of new avenues of trade. He established his firm Shiv Narian Baldeo Das in Bombay in 1884 and Baldeo Das Jugal Kishore in 1897 in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. The firms started business in silver, cotton, grain and other commodities. He was succeeded by 4 sons, Jugal Kishore, Rameshwar Das, Ghanshyam Das and Braj Mohan. Ghanshyam Das was the most successful of the four brothers.

Business of Birla family

GD Birla inherited the

family business A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood or marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willingn ...

and moved to further diversify them into other areas. Of these, at least three contemporary family business groups existing in India today can trace their ancestry to him. Of these businesses, he wanted to turn the moneylending business into manufacturing. So he left for

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

, the world's largest jute producing region. There, he began " dependently as a jute broker". In 1918, he established Birla Jute Mills, much to the consternation of established European merchants, whom the biased policies of the British government favoured other than the local

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

merchants. He had to scale a number of obstacles as the British and Scottish merchants tried to shut his business by unethical and monopolistic methods, but he was able to persevere. When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

resulted in supply problems throughout the British Empire, Birla's business skyrocketed.

With an investment of 5 million in 1919, the Birla Brothers Limited was formed. A mill was set up in

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

in the same year. In 1926, he was elected to the

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometim ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He became the founding president of

Harijan Sevak Sangh Harijan Sevak Sangh is a non-profit organisation founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932 to eradicate untouchability in India, working for Harijan or Dalit people and upliftment of Depressed Class of India. It is headquartered at Kingsway Camp in De ...

founded by

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

in Delhi in 1932 . In the 1940s, he ventured into the territory of cars and established

Hindustan Motors Hindustan Motors is an Indian automotive manufacturer based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is a part of the Birla Technical Services conglomerate. The company was the largest car manufacturer in India before the rise of Maruti Udyog. Hind ...

. After independence, Birla invested in tea and textiles through a series of acquisitions of erstwhile European companies. He also expanded and diversified into cement, chemicals, rayon and steel tubes. Ghanshyam Das Birla during the Quit India Movement of 1942, had conceived the idea of organising a commercial bank with Indian capital and management, and the United Commercial Bank Limited was incorporated to give shape to that idea.

UCO Bank UCO Bank, formerly United Commercial Bank, is an Indian public sector bank, established in 1943 in Kolkata. During FY 2020–21, its total business was 3.24 lakh crore. Based on 2020 data, it is ranked 80 on the Fortune India 500 list. UCO B ...

, formerly United Commercial Bank, established in 1943 in Kolkata, is one of the oldest and major commercial bank of India.

Philanthropy

Statue of Ghanshyam Das Birla (Golders Green Crematorium)

Envisioning infrastructural development in his hometown, Birla founded the Birla Engineering College (rechristened as

Birla Institute of Technology and Science Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) is a Deemed university in Pilani, Jhunjhunu, India. It focuses primarily on higher education and research in engineering and sciences. After expansion to a campus in Dubai, it has b ...

in 1964) in

and the

Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences The Technological Institute of Textile and Sciences (TITS) is an Indian technical college. It offers engineering and postgraduate programs. It is one of the oldest colleges in India. The institute provides lectures by in-house and visiting fa ...

in Bhiwani among other educational institutions in 1943. Both colleges have evolved over the years to develop into one of India's best engineering schools. Now Pilani also houses Birla Public School, a famous residential public school named after Birla's family and a number of polytechnic colleges. The town of

and the local population enjoy a highly symbiotic relationship with these institutions, thereby stepping towards realising Birla's dream. TIT&S also evolved as the Center of Excellence in Textile based education and training. Moreover, G.D. Birla Memorial School,

Ranikhet Ranikhet ( Kumaoni: ) is a hill station and cantonment town, nearby Almora Town in Almora district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the home for the Military Hospital, Kumaon Regiment (KRC) and Naga Regiment and is maintained by the In ...

, a premier residential school has also been established in his honour by his son B.K. Birla and is today one of the best residential schools in the country and The Birla School in

Kalyan Kalyan (Pronunciation: əljaːɳ is a city on the banks of Ulhas River in Thane district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Kalyan is a subdivision (Taluka) of Thane district ...

, India was founded by his efforts with the collaboration of Kalyan Citizens' Education Society (KCES). In 1957, he was awarded

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

's second-highest civilian honour, the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

. Ghanshyam Das Birla died in London on 11 June 1983 at the age of 89. There is a memorial to him in

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

, Hoop Lane,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It comprises a large statue overlooking the gardens with an inscription.

Relationship with Mahatma Gandhi

Birla was a close associate and a steady supporter of

, whom he met for the first time in 1916. Gandhi stayed at Birla's home in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

during the last four months of his life.

Legacy

G. D. Birla had remarried after the death of his first wife. He had three sons, Lakshmi Nivas (son of his first wife Durga Devi), Krishna Kumar and Basant Kumar, (both sons of his second wife Mahadevi Birla).

Kumar Mangalam Birla Kumar Mangalam Birla (born 14 June 1967) is an Indian billionaire industrialist, philanthropist, Chartered Accountant and the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest global conglomerates in India. He is also the chancellor of t ...

is his great grandson. Lakshmi Nivas was technically adapted by his older brother Jugal Kishor.

Writings by Ghanshyam Das Birla

His writings are mainly collections of memoirs, letters, essays and lectures. * डायरी के कुछ पन्ने (Diary Ke Kuch Panne or Some pages of diary), 1940 * रुपए की कहानी (Rupaye Ki Kahani or Story of Rupee), 1948 * बापू (Bapu), 1941 * कुछ देखा कुछ सुना (Kuch Dekha Kuch Suna or Saw Something Heard Something), 1966 * जमनालाल बजाज (

Jamnalal Bajaj Jamnalal Kaniram Bajaj (4 November 1889 – 11 February 1942) was an Indian industrialist. He founded the Bajaj Group of companies in the 1920s, and the group now has 24 companies, including six that are listed on the bourses. He was also a c ...

) * ध्रुवोपाख्यान, 1960 * रूप और स्वरूप : चार विचार-प्रेरक निबंध, 1960 * Paths to Prosperity, 1950 * In the Shadow of the Mahatma: a personal memoir (Calcutta, 1953)

References

External links

Rs 2.80 Billion BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus Foundation LaidMilestone for BITS Pilani Hyderabad
* ttp://www.openpr.com/news/19598/BITS-Pilani-Makes-the-Right-Move-at-the-Right-Time.html BITS Pilani Makes the Right Move at the Right Timebr>People who shaped IndiaIn the Shadow of the Mahatma
by Ghanshyam Das Birla {{DEFAULTSORT:Birla, G D 1894 births 1983 deaths Rajasthani people Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in trade & industry G.D. Founders of Indian schools and colleges Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India Indian philanthropists Businesspeople from Rajasthan Businesspeople from Kolkata Businesspeople from Delhi People from Jhunjhunu district Indian independence activists from Rajasthan Gandhians Indian businesspeople in textiles Indian businesspeople in cement Indian bankers Indian industrialists Hindi-language writers English-language writers from India Indian founders of automobile manufacturers