Ratanchand Hirachand Doshi (1902–1981) 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 Doshi. Walchand Hirachand founded several companies, some of which were among the firsts in India in their field ...

, an industrialist, philanthropist, freedom fighter, and

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

social leader.

Biography

He was 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 co ...

, who was born from the first marriage of his father. He was born in Solapur in Maharashtra in a Jain family of Gujarati origin. His other brothers were Gulabchand Hirachand and

Lalchand Hirachand Lalchand Hirachand Doshi (24 October 1904 – 1993) was a scion of Walchand group, noted industrialist, philanthropist and Jain social leader.The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. The Scindia Steam Navigation Company, founded in 1919, is the second oldest shipping company of India. The first being the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company of VOC Pillai in today's Tamilnadu that was founded in 1906. History Foundation an ...

Walchandnagar Industries Walchandnagar Industries Limited (WIL) ( NSEWALCHANNAG BSE507410 is a heavy engineering products and EP&C services company, based in Mumbai, India. History Walchandnagar Industries was founded by Walchand Hirachand Doshi in 1908. WIL was sub ...

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bangalore, India. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the worl ...

, Ravalgaon Sugar, Hindustand Construstion, Premier Automobiles. In 1931, when Walchand floated Indian Hume Pipe, he made Ratanchand its Director-in-charge. Further, he headed Walchand group, Cooper Engineering for several years. He also served on various committees and planning commission in the 1940s. He published several books on the

religion of which the book titled ''The Religion of Ahimsa'' published in 1957 is noted one. He published in the Marathi, as well in

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, biographies on his father Seth Hirachand Nemchand and others like Dinanath Bapuji, Magudkar. He was trustee of various schools, colleges and hospitals run by Walchand group. He is survived by a son, Rajas Doshi, who is director in several Walchand group companies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirachand, Ratanchand 1902 births 1981 deaths Businesspeople from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian Jains Hindi-language writers Gujarati people Walchand family Indian independence activists from Maharashtra English-language writers from India Marathi-language writers People from Solapur Social leaders