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

Birla Family The Birla family is a family connected with the industrial and social history of India. Foundations The Birla family origins lie with the Maheshwari caste of Bania Vaishya traders but they were outcast from their traditional community in 1922 ...

Birla family history

Ghanshyam Das Birla was born on 10 April 1894 at Pilani town in Jhunjhunu district, in the region known as

Rajputana Rājputana, meaning "Land of the Rajputs", was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, as well as parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and some adjoining areas of Sindh in modern-day ...

, as a member of the Marwari Maheshwari community. His father was Raja Baldevdas Birla. In 1884 A.D. Baldeo Das Birla went to Bombay 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. 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 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 Calcutta in Bengal Presidency, the world's largest

jute Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...

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 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 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 in the same year. In 1926, he was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly of British India. He became the founding president of Harijan Sevak Sangh founded by Mahatma Gandhi in Delhi in 1932 . In the 1940s, he ventured into the territory of cars and established Hindustan Motors. 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 The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

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, 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 Pilani 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 ...

Bhiwani Bhiwani is a city and a municipal council in Bhiwani district in the state of Haryana, Bhiwani was also known as "Gate of Rajputana". Besides being a seat of spiritual learning, the city is at the centre of regional politics and hometown of t ...

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 Pilani 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, a premier residential school has also been established in his honour by his son

B.K. Birla Basant Kumar Birla (12 January 1921 – 3 July 2019) was an Indian businessman of the Birla family. He was chairman of the Krishnarpan Charity Trust, BK Birla Institute of Engineering & Technology (BKBIET) and various educational trusts and ...

and is today one of the best residential schools in the country and The Birla School in Kalyan, India was founded by his efforts with the collaboration of Kalyan Citizens' Education Society (KCES). In 1957, he was awarded India's second-highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India. 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, Hoop Lane, London. 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 Mahatma Gandhi, whom he met for the first time in 1916. Gandhi stayed at Birla's home in New Delhi 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 Basant may refer to: * Basant (season), the spring season * Basant (festival), a historic kite festival in the region of Punjab * Basant (raga) Basant or Vasant is a Hindustani classical music, Hindustani classical raga. Raga Every raga has ...

, (both sons of his second wife Mahadevi Birla). Kumar Mangalam Birla 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) * 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