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, Walchand Hirachand Doshi. Walchand Hirachand founded several companies, some of which were among the firsts in I ...

, noted industrialist,

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

and Jain social leader.Lalchand Hirachand
He was the youngest son of Hirachand Doshi from his second marriage and was half-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 con ...

, 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 States and Territories of India, Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

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 ...

. 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 entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in London on 12 November 1926, but withdrew without being

Called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

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 including The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd., Walchandnagar Industries,

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian public sector aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bengaluru. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world. H ...

, Ravalgaon Sugar, Hindustan Construction Company, and Premier Automobiles Limited. He later served also as president of the Indian Merchants' Chamber 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 ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

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, in 1939. After

India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement t ...

, he also became a member of the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

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 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 prestigious clubs in the na ...

, 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 the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

award by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

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