Pranlal Devkaran Nanjee (11 June 1894 – 27 July 1956) was a noted Indian banker, businessman and philanthropist from Bombay, India.

Birth & family life

He was born on 11 June 1894 at

Porbandar Porbandar is a city in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It is the administrative center of the Porbandar District and it was the former capi ...

, the second son of Seth Devkaran Nanjee. He was married to Jayavati in 1911. She too was an active participant in the family's business. She was Fellow of the Indian Institute of Bankers and a member of Its Council ; Trustee of the Indian Merchants' Chamber she was the only daughter of the late Govindji Jhaverchand, a Munsiff and Magistrate of

Jamnagar State Nawanagar was an Indian princely state in the historical Halar region, located on the southern shores of the Gulf of Kutch. It was ruled by the Jadeja Rajput dynasty and became the part of newly formed India. The city is now known as Jamnagar. ...

. She too was made Justice of Peace and Honorary Presidency Magistrate for Bombay.The Times of India Directory & Yearbook, Including Who's who,Sir Stanley Reed, Times of India, Bombay -1955 pg 1062

Career

Pranlal Devkarn Nanjee was a founder of Devkaran Nanjee Banking Company (later renamed Dena Bank), Devkaran Nanjee Insurance Company and Devkaran Nanjee Investment Company based at

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- ...

. He was inspired by his late father Shri Devkaran Nanjee's dream to start a bank.RBI
/ref> His elder brother,

Choonilal Devkaran Nanjee Choonilal Devkaran Nanjee (1890–1948), also known as C. D. Desai, was a twentieth-century Indian commodity trader, financier, and philatelist. Financial career Desai was a senior partner in the firm of Messrs. Devkaran Nanjee and Sons, ...

and other family members, too, were partners in the firm. Dena Bank was founded on 26 May 1938 by the family of Devkaran Nanjee under the name Devkaran Nanjee Banking Company. It adopted its new name, Dena Bank (Devkaran Nanjee), when it incorporated as a public company in December 1939. The

Indian Banks' Association Indian Banks' Association (IBA), formed on (26 September 1946) as a representative body of management of banking in India operating in India - an association of Indian banks and financial institutions based in Mumbai. With an initial membership re ...

was founded by his vision and leadership in 1946. The idea was mooted by him way back in 1944, when as a President of

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 ...

, he argued that an association of Indian owned banks was needed and accordingly the meeting of some prominent Indian banks was held. With other leaders, like Sir Homi Mody, Pranlal Devkaran Nanjee played a crucial role in the formation of the Indian Banks' Association, which came into existence on 26 September 1946. He served as the President of the

for the years 1944-45 and 1952-53.

Other faculty

He was an avid photographer and served as president of the Photographic Society of India for the years 1941 – 1942. He was appointed a minister ( Rajamantri) of Porbander State and was also honored with the Rajbhooshan title by the Porbandar State. Further, the

Princely State of Baroda Baroda State was a state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India in 1949. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its c ...

also honored him with a Silver Medal. He was also made the

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and Honorary Presidency Magistrate for the City of

by British Indian Government. He was founded Swadeshi League Trust, which held exhibition for local goods and embolden swadeshi movement. He was the co founder of

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by Dr K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent instit ...

's educational institutions.

Death

He died in Bombay on 25 July 1956, aged 66.

Memorials

The

's The Bhavan's College of Communication and Management at Bombay was renamed as "Bhavan's Pranlal Devkaran Nanjee College of Mass Communication in year 1977 after the philanthropic trust founded by him donated a large amount of money for development of college. Also an award, Pranlal Devkaran Nanjee Award - For Excellence in Harmonious Behaviour was instituted in his memory."Bhavan
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devkaran Nanjee, Pranlal 1894 births 1956 deaths Indian bankers Founders of Indian schools and colleges Businesspeople from Mumbai People from Porbandar Indian businesspeople in insurance Gujarati people Businesspeople from Gujarat Indian justices of the peace Administrators in the princely states of India 20th-century Indian philanthropists