 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia.(August 2015) |
| Birla Family | |
|---|---|
| Current region | Operating out of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, India |
| Place of origin | Pilani, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, India |
| Members | |
The Birla family is a family connected with the industrial and social history of India. [1] [2] [3]
The Birla family's origins lie with the Maheshwari caste of Bania Vaishya traders, but they were outcast from their traditional community in 1922 when one of their members, Rameshwar Das Birla, was thought to have broken the caste marriage rules. [4] They are Marwari and by convention, merchants from Rajasthan are termed Marwari. The family originates from the town of Pilani in the Shekhawati region of North-east Rajasthan. They still maintain their residence in Pilani [5] and run several educational institutions there, including the BITS, Pilani.
In Pilani, during the early 19th century lived Seth Shobharam, grandson of Seth Bhudharmal, a local tradesman of modest means. [6] [7] It was his son, Seth Shiv Narayana (1840–1909), who first ventured outside Pilani. At this time, Ahmedabad was the railhead that served trade from a large region of northwest India. Goods (mainly cotton) would be brought from the hinterland to the city and sent from there by train to Bombay for export to England and other countries. Several cotton -inning units were also set up in Ahmedabad,to clean the cotton before shipment to England. Shiv Narayana Birla was one of the early Indian traders to participate in this cotton trade. Later, Britain vigorously fostered the trade of opium with China and developed the cultivation of poppy in India. The Ratlam-Mandsaur region (not far from Ahmedabad) became prime poppy cropland due to the suitable soil and climate. Shiv Narayan Birla and his adopted son, Baldeo Das Birla, made an enormous fortune by trading opium with China, and this formed the basis of the family's fortune. [7] With growing wealth and increasing confidence, Shiv Narayana Birla moved up the value chain and began chartering cargo ships in partnership with other Marwadi tradesmen to trade opium with China, thus by-passing British middlemen. To facilitate this, he moved to Bombay in 1863.
Shiv Narayan Birla had one overwhelming sorrow in his life: he had no children. By the early 1880s, Shiv Narayan (Narain) had passed on the baton of his business interests to his adopted son, Baldev Das Birla, established Shivnarayan Baldevdas, a trading house based in Bombay. His son, Baldev Das Birla moved to Calcutta set up Baldevdas Jugalkishor in 1887. Baldeo Das was succeeded by four sons [8] – Jugal Kishore, Rameshwar Das, Ghanshyam Das and Braj Mohan. [9] [10] [11]
Baldev Das was awarded the Raibahadur title in 1917. In 1920 he retired from business and started living in Banaras pursuing religious studies. In 1925 he was awarded the title of "Raja" by the government of Bihar and Orissa. [12] He was awarded D.Litt. by Banaras Hindu University.
Ghanshyamdas Birla laid the foundation of his industrial empire by establishing GM Birla Company, trading in jute, in 1911. The First World War began in 1914 greatly increasing the demand for gunny bags. During the war the Birla's worth is estimated to have risen from ₹20 Lakh to ₹80 Lakh. [13] In 1919, he became among the first group of Indian entrepreneurs to become owner of a Jute mill named Birla Jute. [14] In the next few years he acquired several cotton mills. He later started several sugar mills. The publication Hindustan Times was co-founded by GD Birla in 1924 and fully acquired by him in 1933. Hindustan Motors was started in 1942. After India's independence in 1947 he started Grasim (Gwalior Rayon Silk Manufacturing, 1948) and Hindalco (Hindustan Alum Company 1958) among others. He also generously led the grant on the request of Vallabhbhai Patel to lay the foundation of Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya in Anand, Gujarat.
Baldeo Das, as well as his sons, were among the key supporters of the Swaraj movement led by Mahatma Gandhi, in addition to being dedicated Hindu activists. They were active supporters of the Banaras Hindu University founded by Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya and were also financial supporters of activities initiated by Mahatma Gandhi. [15] The landmark Laxminarayan Temple in Delhi was built by Jugal Kishore Birla and was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi and as asked by Mahatma, all Hindus, including Harijans were welcomed in this temple.
In the few decades before India's independence, Indian merchants, including the Birlas, made successful attempts to enter and acquire industries in India which were once dominated by Scots from Britain. [16] This became a part of Mahatma Gandhi's Swadeshi movement.
The Birlas remained close to some of the leaders of India, like Sardar Patel after India's independence. [17] When E. M. S. Namboodiripad became the chief minister of Kerala (1957–59), as a result of the first elected Marxist government anywhere, the Birlas were invited to establish a pulp factory there. [18]
In the recent past, the Birlas, as well as several other Indian industrialists, have expanded overseas. [19]
A simplified family tree is given below. It does not include daughters [20] or children who are young (or who died young). Lakshmi Nivas Birla was technically adopted by his uncle Jugal Kishor Birla. As has been noted in the press, some of the branches have been more successful than others. [21] The GD-Basant Kumar-Aditya Vikarm-Kumar Mangalam Birla branch has performed the best, with a group turnover of ₹29,000 Crore in 2004. At the other end is Yashovardhan Birla, who has struggled. [22]
| Family of Birla family |
|---|
Birla philanthropy began in the 1880s, when the Birla family donated over 100,000 rupees for setting up goshalas (shelters for the protection of cows) in Kolkata. By early 1900, the Birla family began to support education, influenced by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. They supported educational charities in Kolkata and in Mumbai teaming up with Jamnalal Bajaj. In 1918, the family established the first high school in Pilani now name as Birla School, Pilani it is one of the oldest school in India. Currently they have 6 schools run by Birla Education Trust (BET), which evolved into BITS Pilani, which has branches in Hyderabad, Goa and Dubai. They also opened a Sanskrit library in Benares and a library in Kolkata. [23] It is well known for the financial support of Indian's freedom struggle and for building temples (see Birla Temple) in several major Indian cities.
The institutions founded by the Birlas include:
In a letter, Ghanshaym Das offered this advice to Aditya (his grandson) when he was studying at MIT:
GD Birla instructed his son Basant Kumar to 'never utilize wealth only for fun and frolic,' to 'spend the bare minimum on yourself,' and to deride 'worldly pleasures.' [14]
This advice symbolized the ethic of the rising Marwari community, with restraint and austerity its defining attributes. [28]
Although the Birlas are perceived as a single entity, the different branches of the family are now financially independent. [29] [30] However they have continued to maintain family relationships that go back to the times when "Birla Brothers" were an actual entity and Raja Baldevdas was still alive.
GD Birla's both wives died early because of tuberculosis (He remarried after the death of his first wife), a common affliction at that time. The families of his brothers Brij Mohan and Rameshwar Das Birla helped in raising his children. When Yash Birla's parents died in a plane crash, Priyamvada Birla, ("Badi Ma") helped take care of him. [31]
It is reported that Kumar Mangalam Birla had dipped into his own resources to help his beleaguered relative Yash with his financial issues with creditors in order to preserve the family name. [32]
For many decades the extreme wealth in India was associated with the Tatas and Birlas. The words Tata-Birla were often used together. [33] They were distantly followed by Dalmias (Dalmia-Sahu Jain group) for some time, [34] however Tatas and Birlas have been able to sustain themselves as among the most prominent industrialists in India (for 1939-1997 data see [35] ) while others have declined. [36] [37]
A plan for development of India was developed by a group of industrialists in 1944, which was termed the Tata-Birla plan or the Bombay Plan, [38] which is said to have served as a blueprint for India's first five-year plan.
Ghanshyam Das Birla was an Indian businessman and member of the Birla Family.
Birla Corporation Limited is an Indian-based company of the M.P Birla Group, founded by Ghanshyam Das Birla in the late 1910s and carried on by Madhav Prasad Birla.
The Aditya Birla Group (ABG) is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai. The group has a presence in 36 nations and a combined annual revenue of $75 billion, over 50% of which is derived from its overseas operations. The group's business interests include metals, cement, fashion and retail, financial services, renewables, fibre, textiles, chemicals, real estate, trading, mining, and entertainment.
Krishna Kumar Birla was an Indian industrialist of the Birla family.
Rameshwar Das Birla (1892–1973) was an Indian entrepreneur. He was second son of Baldeo Das Birla and the father of Madhav Prasad Birla and Gajanan Birla. He is known for founding hospitals & educational institutions in Mumbai, Kolkata and Pilani.
Baldeo Das Birla was an Indian entrepreneur. He contributed to the establishment of the Medical College Calcutta, and also built the Laxminarayan Temple, Delhi, also known as Birla Mandir, which was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1939.
Kumar Mangalam Birla is an Indian billionaire industrialist, philanthropist, and the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest conglomerates in India. He is the chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani and ex-chairman of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. According to Forbes, he has an estimated net worth of US$19.6 billion, as of March 2024 making him the 7th richest person in India.
Ganeriwala family are a Marwari family, connected with the financial, social and cultural history of Rajasthan. Through the 19th and early 20th century, members of the family were financiers and money lenders in the princely state, and they served as treasurers for the royal families of the state. A common trait among the traditional banking families of Rajasthan, members of the Ganeriwala family have been credited for the construction of various Hindu temples and haveli’s in Rajasthan.
Birla School Pilani, also known as BSP & BHS in Pilani, Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan is a boarding school in India. Earlier it was known as Birla Senior Secondary School. The school is considered to be a royal school along with a few other schools in India, due to its long patroness history and has educated some well known royal families of India during British Raj. It also has a prominent alumni network in India due to its rich old history.
Basant Kumar Birla 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 institutes.
Aditya Vikram Birla was an Indian industrialist. Born into one of the largest business families of India, he oversaw the diversification of his group into textiles, petrochemicals and telecommunications. He was one of the first Indian industrialists to expand abroad, setting up plants in Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Egypt. His net worth was estimated at £250 million by 1995. His death at the age of 51 left his young son Kumar Mangalam Birla in charge of his group of companies.
Bania is a mercantile caste mainly from the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, with strong diasporic communities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and other northern states. Traditionally, the main occupations of the community are merchants, bankers, money-lenders, and owners of commercial enterprises.
Gita Piramal is an Indian writer and business historian.
Sheth Jugal Kishore Birla was a scion of the Birla family and the eldest son of Baldeo Das Birla. He was a noted industrialist, philanthropist and vocal supporter of Hindu philosophy.
Rajashree Birla is an Indian philanthropist. She is the wife of the late Aditya Birla. After her husband's death in 1995, Rajashree began working in CSR and charity sectors, developing a large philanthropic organization funded by her family. In 2011, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, for her services to society.
Ganga Prasad Birla, born in Benares was an Indian industrialist. Ganga Prasad Birla belonged to Maheshwari Marwari Community from Rajasthan.
Sarala Birla was an Indian Businesswoman prominent member of the Birla family of Indian industrialists. She took interest in public education and, along with her husband, is credited with having co-founded about 45 educational institutions supported by her family's conglomerate.
Rai Bahadur Sir Badridas GoenkaCIE was an Indian industrialist and business tycoon who served as the Chairman of the Imperial Bank of India from 1933 to 1955 and the first Chairman of the State Bank of India upon its formation in 1955.
Tarachand Ghanshyamdas was a famous Marwari trading firm that flourished from 1791 to 1957. It is believed to have been responsible to introducing many of now famous Marwari clans from Shekhawati to national and international business field. The grandfathers of both G.D. Birla and Lakshmi Mittal worked for great Tarachand Ghanshyamdas while grandfather of Raja Baldeo Das Birla worked at the great Ganeriwala Firm
Brij Mohan Birla was one of the scions of Birla family and an industrialist and philanthropist. He was the youngest and 4th son of Baldeo Das Birla. He was chairman of Hindustan Motors, Ruby General Insurance, India Exchange Ltd, NBC Bearing and was on board of several other Birla companies. He founded Hindustan Motors in 1942 and NBC Bearings in 1946. CK Birla Group is successor to his branch of Birla family. He was president of Indian Chamber of Commerce in 1936 and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry for year 1954.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)