Ramkrishna Bajaj (1923―1994) was an Indian businessman and freedom fighter who was a close associate of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

. He used to describe himself as 'Mahatma Gandhi's coolie'. He spent four years in jail from 1942 to 1946 for participating in the Quit India Movement. He was the head of the Bajaj Group of Industries and served as the chairman of the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation and Jamnalal Bajaj Seva Trust.

Biography

He was born on 22 September 1923 in Wardha,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. He studied at the Navabharat Vidyalaya,

Wardha Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The administrative headquarter of Wardha district is situated here. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows on the northern, western ...

, after spending a few years in

Sabarmati Ashram Sabarmati Ashram is located in the Sabarmati suburb of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, adjoining the Ashram Road, on the banks of the River Sabarmati, from the town hall. This was one of the many residences of Mahatma Gandhi who lived at Sabarmati (Gujar ...

. Bajaj left his studies to take part in the freedom struggle. At 18, he participated in an Individual Satyagraha along with

. Ramkrishna Bajaj spent four years in prison from 1942 to 1946. He learned

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

from

Vinoba Bhave Vinayak Narahar Bhave, also known as Vinoba Bhave (; 11 September 1895 – 15 November 1982), was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. Often called ''Acharya'' (Teacher in Sanskrit), he is best known for the Bhoodan Movement. He ...

when he was in Nagpur jail. In 1946, he founded the All India Student Congress (AISC) and the National Union of Student in 1948. He led the Youth Congress delegation to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1958 and Indian Youth Delegation to the US in 1959. Ramkrishna Bajaj was elected as the chairman of the World Assembly for Youth (India) in 1961. He also served as the Managing Trustee of the Indian Youth Centres Trust, which established the Vishwa Yuvak Kendra in 1968, a youth development organisation. Bajaj was among the founders of the Council for Fair Business Practices and the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). On behalf of the family, he set up Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation, a charitable trust in which he was involved during his lifetime. Bajaj also held the position of president of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Indian Merchants' Chamber (IMC), and Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce (MCC).

Business

In 1952, Bajaj joined his family business as a director. He served as MD of

Bajaj Electricals Bajaj Electricals Ltd. is an Indian consumer electrical equipment manufacturing company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Bajaj Group. It has diversified with interests in lighting, luminaries, appliances, fans, LPG based gene ...

from 1970 to 1980. In 1991, he was appointed chairman of

Bajaj Group Bajaj Group is an Indian multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded by Jamnalal Bajaj in Mumbai in 1926. The group comprises 40 companies and its flagship company Bajaj Auto is ranked as the world's fourth largest two- and three- ...

and held the position till his death in 1994.

Works

* ''Japan Ki Sair'' (1957) * '' Atlantik Ke Us Paar'' * ''Roosi Yuvakon Ke Beech'' (1962) * ''Bapu - Smaran'' (1963) * ''The Young Russia'' (1960) * ''Vinoba Ke Patra'' (1962) * ''Indian Economy: Emerging Perspectives'' (1986)

Death

On 21 September 1994, at the age of 71, he died of cancer at a Bombay hospital. He was survived by his wife and two sons.

Legacy

In 1996, the Indian Merchants' Chamber instituted the Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award, which is an Indian equivalent of the

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the highest formal recognition of the performance excellen ...

(MBNQA). The award was named after Ramkrishna Bajaj. An Indian journalist, M. V. Kamath, has authored a biography on Bajaj, named ''Gandhi's Coolie: Life & Times of Ramkrishna Bajaj'' in 1995. Many education institutes named after Ramkrishna Bajaj, such as Ramkrishna Bajaj College Of Agriculture in

and Ramakrishna Bajaj Sanskrit Bhavan in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bajaj, Ramkrishna 1923 births 1994 deaths Indian industrialists Rajasthani people Indian independence activists from Rajasthan 20th-century Indian philanthropists Bajaj Group Gandhians Indian National Congress politicians Businesspeople from Rajasthan Ramkrishna 20th-century industrialists