Lalchand Hirachand Doshi (24 October 1904 – 1993) was a scion of

Walchand group Walchand group is a business organization that came into existence in the 20th century, founded by industrialist Walchand Hirachand Doshi. Walchand Hirachand founded several companies, some of which were among the firsts in India in their field ...

, noted industrialist,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

and

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 ...

social leader.Lalchand Hirachand
He was the youngest son of Hirachand Doshi from his second marriage and was step-brother of

Walchand Hirachand Walchand Hirachand Doshi (23 November 1882 – 8 April 1953) was an Indian industrialist and the founder of the Walchand group. He established India's first modern shipyard, first aircraft factory and first car factory; he also established co ...

, who was born from first marriage of his father. He was born in

Solapur Solapur () is a city located in the south-western region of the Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, with a branch lin ...

in Maharashtra in a Jain family of Gujarati origin.Progressive Jains of India – Satish Kumar Jain – Google Books
/ref> Name of his other brothers were Gulabchand Hirachand and

Ratanchand Hirachand Ratanchand Hirachand Doshi (1902–1981) was a scion of Walchand group, an industrialist, philanthropist, freedom fighter, and Jain social leader. Biography He was son of Hirachand Doshi from his second marriage and was half-brother of Walchand H ...

. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree from Deccan College, Pune. He was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in London on 12 November 1926, but withdrew without being Called to the Bar on 8 November 1928. He married Lalitabai in June 1931, with whom he had three sons and a daughter. When he grew up he joined his brother, Walchand and served its various group companies like The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd., Walchandnagar Industries,

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bangalore, India. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the worl ...

, Ravalgaon Sugar,

Hindustan Construction Company Hindustan Construction Company Limited (HCC) is an Indian Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Project Management companies. It is headquartered in Mumbai. HCC was founded by Industrialist Seth Walchand Hirachand in 1926. HCC has exe ...

Premier Automobiles Premier Ltd. (formerly known as The Premier Automobiles Limited) was an Indian automotive manufacturer company, based in Mumbai, India. The company is owned by the Walchand Group. Walchand Hirachand established the Premier Automobiles Ltd.(PA ...

, etc. He later served also as president of the

Indian Merchants' Chamber Indian Merchants' Chamber, established on 7 September 1907 in Mumbai, is an organization of India, representing interests of Indian trade, commerce, and industry. It was organized originally during the days of the British Raj to promote trade, co ...

and various other merchant bodies. He also served as president of All India Digamber Jain Tirthakshetra Committee from 1972 to 1983, and was connected to a number of charitable institutions. He is also the author an acclaimed book on

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...

named as ''The Indian epic – Ramayana''.Jain Samaj – Seth Lalchand Hirachand
/ref> He was elected as an independent candidate as member of the

Bombay Legislative Council Bombay Legislative Council was the legislature of the Bombay Province and later the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Bombay Province in British India and the Indian state of Bombay. History The Indian Councils Act 1861 set up the ...

, in 1939. After independence, he also became a member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, wikisource:Constitution of India/Part V#Article 80, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legisl ...

from 1952 to 1958. He was elected as the president of the Mechanical Engineers Association (India), Bombay for 1964–65 Session. A sports aficionado, he was a member of the

Cricket Club of India Cricket Club of India (CCI) is a cricket club in India. It is located on Dinsha Wacha Road, in Churchgate of Mumbai, India. It was conceived as India's counterpart to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It is considered one of the most prestigiou ...

, the Willingdon Sports Club and various similar institutions. In addition, he was an avid golfer. He won the Dunlop Trophy for Golf and enjoyed playing tennis, badminton and bridge. He held a commercial pilot's license. He died in October, 1993. Walchandnagar Industries is now run his sons Vinod Doshi, Chakor L. Doshi and others, whereas other companies went to sons of Gulabchand Hirachand, after family division of businesses, as the founder of the group Walchand Hirachand died without any male heirs. He was trustee of various schools, colleges and hospitals run by Walchand group.HND Pune » About Us
He was awarded with Padmashree award by Government of India in 1992 for his contributions to trade and industry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirachand, Lalchand 1904 births 1993 deaths Businesspeople from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian Jains Hindi-language writers Gujarati people Recipients of the Padma Shri in trade and industry Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian writers Walchand family People from Solapur Social leaders