Sumati Morarjee (13 March 1909-27 June 1998), also known as the first woman of Indian shipping, is credited to have become the first woman in the world to head an organisation of ship owners - ''Indian National Steamship Owners Association'' (later renamed ''Indian National Shipowners Association'') which has been traditionally a male bastion. She has been awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honor of India in 1971 for her civil services.

Early life

She was born to wealthy family of Mathuradas Goculdas and his wife, Premabai, in

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- ...

. Sumati was named Jamuna, after the sacred river associated with Krishna in Vrindavan. According to then contemporary customs in India, while still a young girl she was married to Shanti Kumar Narottam Morarjee, the only son of Narottam Morarjee, the founder of Scindia Steam Navigation Company, which later grew to be India's largest shipping firm.

Scindia Steam Navigation Company

She was included in the managing agency of the company in 1923 at age 14. Sumati built the company from humble beginnings parlaying a few vessels in the company and gradually developing it, till she assumed full charge of the company by 1946, managing over six thousand people. She was already on the board of directors, and her expertise in the shipping trade, developed over many years. Due to her amazing feat, she was also elected the president of ''Indian National Steamship Owners' Association'' in 1956 and next two years and again in 1965. It was under her supervision that the company rose to fleet of 43 shipping vessels totalling 552,000 tonnes of dead weight. From 1979 to 1987, she was chairperson of the company, until the government took over the debt-ridden Scindia Steam Navigation. She was later appointed as the chairperson emeritus of the company till 1992.

Influence of Mahatma Gandhi

Sumati remained in regular touch with

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and both met on several occasions. Their exchange was documented in newspaper reports. He counted her among his closest friends. Between 1942 and 1946, she was involved in the underground movement for

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

with him.

Accomplishments

* She was also the founder of the Sumati Vidya Kendra School in Juhu, Mumbai. * She provided one way passage to

Swami Prabhupada Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami (; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava guru who founded ISKCON, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement". Members of ISKCON view Bhaktivedanta Swami as a repr ...

, Founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), in 1965. * She was elected as vice-president of the World Shipping Federation,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, in 1970. * She served as the chairperson of the Narottam Morarjee Institute of Shipping. * She was instrumental in bringing the

Sindhis Sindhis ( sd, سنڌي Perso-Arabic: सिन्धी Devanagari; ) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who speak the Sindhi language and are native to the province of Sindh in Pakistan. After the partition of British Indian empire in 1947, man ...

from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

during

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

. * She helped to establish a model for modern Indian Shipping companies and offered to world not only business values but also helped propagate ideas of

Indian culture Indian culture is the heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse India. The term al ...

and heritage.

Death

She died due to

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

on 27 June 1998 at the age of 89.

References

External links

Prabhupada letters to Morarjee
* The Straits Times Newspaper - Digitized newspapers Archive a

"Padma Awards Directory (1954-2007)"

Ministry of Home Affairs (India) The Ministry of Home Affairs (IAST: ''Gṛha Maṃtrālaya''), or simply the Home Ministry, is a ministry of the Government of India. As an interior ministry of India, it is mainly responsible for the maintenance of internal security and dome ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morarjee, Sumati 1909 births 1998 deaths Businesspeople from Mumbai Indian businesspeople in shipping Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in civil service Businesswomen from Maharashtra Indian independence activists from Maharashtra Gujarati people Gandhians 20th-century Indian businesspeople 20th-century Indian businesswomen