Premchand Roychand was a 19th-century Indian

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 ...

businessman known as the "Cotton King" and "Bullion King" from

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- ...

Life

Premchand Raichand was born in 1832 in a Porwal

family. He was the son of Roychand Dipchand, a merchant from

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

. The Roychand family moved to

when Premchand was a young boy. He was educated at

Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1823, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the ed ...

. Recorded as the first Indian broker able to speak, read and write English, he entered the lists as a stock broker in 1849. Apart from the capital markets, Premchand Roychand had significant business interests in the cotton and bullion trades along with the stock market. He was a founding member of ''The Native Share & Stock Brokers Association'' which is now

Bombay Stock Exchange BSE Limited, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is an Indian stock exchange. It is located on Dalal Street in Mumbai. Established in 1875 by cotton merchant Premchand Roychand, a Jain businessman, it is the oldest stock exchange in ...

, the second largest stock exchange of India. He earned significant profits from the cotton boom which was triggered by the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

in April 1861 which stayed till 1865. He lost the majority of his fortune in the Backbay reclamation scheme, and other such ventures. He subsequently earned a portion of it back and turned to philanthropic ventures. The

Rajabai Clock Tower The Rajabai Tower is a clock tower in South Mumbai India. It is in the confines of the Fort campus of the University of Mumbai. It stands at a height of 85 m (280 ft or 25 storeys). The tower is part of The Victorian and Art Deco Ense ...

in the

University of Bombay The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

was named for his mother and was built from a donation of in 1878. He was director of the Bank of Bombay, the largest in the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

. He also invested in other schools, including many for girls such as

J.B. Petit High School for Girls J.B. Petit High School is a private all-girls school in the Fort (Mumbai precinct), Fort neighbourhood of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India established in 1865. The school currently offers the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education, ICSE board. ...

; he also established the "Premchand Roychand Award" for outstanding art students with the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

. He also donated to the

Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

. He died in 1906. His bungalow in

Byculla Byculla (ISO: Bhāykhaḷā; pronunciation: ʱaːjkʰəɭaː is an area of South Mumbai. Location Byculla is neighboured by Nagpada and Mumbai Central and Mahalaxmi on the west; Agripada, Jacob Circle on the north-west: Chinchpokli to the nor ...

that he named Premodayan became Regina Pacis Convent, an orphanage and school for destitute girls.

Legacy

Premchand Roychand Scholarship award was started by Premchand Roychand in 1866. It is very old and prestigious scholarship award. Each year this competition and award is organized by

References

External links

Premchand Roychand & Sons (Business Group's Official Website)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roychand, Premchand Gujarati people Businesspeople from Gujarat People from Surat 1831 births 1906 deaths 19th-century Indian Jains

Life

Legacy

Further reading

References

External links