Lala Harkishen Lal (1864/66 – 13 February 1937) was an Indian industrialist, entrepreneur and politician. He was a co-founder of

Punjab National Bank Punjab National Bank (abbreviated as PNB) is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Delhi. The bank was founded in May 1894 and is the second largest government-owned bank in India, both in terms of its business volumes and its network ...

, and founder of factories and

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

s Punjab Cotton Press Company Ltd., the People's Bank of India Ltd., Amritsar Bank Ltd.; the Kanpur Flour Mills Ltd. in pre-independent India. He was also instrumental in the establishment of Indian Associated Chamber of Commerce, the precursor, of the formation of the

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla and ...

. As politician, he served as the Minister of Agriculture of the government of Punjab Province between 1920 and 1923.

Early life

Born in the town of

Layyah Layyah ( Saraiki and ur, ), previously spelled as Leiah, is a city in the Pakistan.Dera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan (), abbreviated as D.G. Khan, is a city in the southwestern part of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 19th largest city of Pakistan by population. Lying west of the Indus River, it is the headquarters of Dera Ghazi Khan District and ...

in the Punjab Province, of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(now in

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

) into a

Punjabi Hindu Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. While Punjabi Hindus are mostly found in the Indian state of Punjab today, many have ancestry from the greater Punjab region ...

Arora Arora is a community of Punjab, comprising both Hindus and Sikhs. The name is derived from their native place Aror. Historically, the Arora section of the Khatri community had been principally found in West Punjab, in the districts to the sou ...

family. Harkishen Lal was educated at the Government College in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. He later went to the

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

on a scholarship and secured a distinction in

Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos examined at the University. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was a ...

there. Upon returning to India, he worked as a Mathematics lecturer.

Career

On the advice of banker

Dyal Singh Majithia Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia (1848–1898) was an Indian banker and activist in progressive and social reform measures in Punjab. He established ''The Tribune'' newspaper in Lahore in 1881, and later remained founder chairman of the Punjab Nati ...

, to pursue "money" to do what one 'likes', Harkishen Lal started his career in business by becoming the Honorary Secretary of the

. The following year, he founded the Bharat Insurance Company in Lahore and subsequently was one of the trustees during the launch of the newspaper ''

The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers: United States Daily California *''Oakland Tribune'' * ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo) *'' San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' Indiana *''Kokomo Tribune'' *'' Peru Tribune'' * ''The Trib ...

''. By 1899, he quit the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

and involved himself in industrial and commercial organizations. He was recognized by Lieutenant Governor

Louis Dane Sir Louis William Dane (21 March 1856 – 22 February 1946) was an administrator during the time of the British Raj. Early life He was born on 21 March 1856 at Chichester, Sussex, the fifth son of Richard Martin Dane, an army staff surgeon, an ...

for establishing the

Lahore Electric Supply Company Lahore Electric Supply Company ( ur, ) (LESCO) is an electric distribution company that supplies electricity to the districts of Lahore, Okara, Sheikhupura, Nankana and Kasur in Pakistan. It is owned by the Government of Pakistan. See also * ...

which built the initial electricity infrastructure of Lahore in 1913. Following this commercial success, Harkishen Lal encountered difficulties from religious extremists and the British colonial government. He was targeted by members of

Arya Samaj Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the sanny ...

, who reportedly created disturbance and panic among his banking clientele. In April 1919, he was arrested on charges of conspiracy and "waging war against the King." He served a brief sentence and returned to business dealings. Later he faced charges related to the People's Bank and died before the case closed. His son, lawyer and writer K. L. Gauba, retaliated against the Chief Justice with a book titled ''Sir Douglas Young’s Magna Carta'', and served a jail sentence in contempt.

References

{{reflist 1937 deaths People from Layyah District Indian bankers Punjabi Hindus Businesspeople from Lahore Year of birth uncertain