Birla family

The Birla family is a family connected with the industrial and social history of India.[1][2][3]

"Birlas" redirects here. For other uses, see Birlas (disambiguation).

Birla Family
Current region	Operating out of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, India
Place of origin	Pilani, Rajasthan, India
Members	Baldeo Das Birla Jugal Kishore Birla Rameshwar Das Birla Ghanshyam Das Birla Madhav Prasad Birla Krishna Kumar Birla Basant Kumar Birla Ganga Prasad Birla Aditya Vikram Birla Chandra Kant Birla Kumar Mangalam Birla Yashovardhan Birla Aryaman Birla Ananya Birla
Traditions	Hindu

Foundations

The Birla family origins lie with the Maheshwari caste of Vaishya traders but they were outcast from their traditional community in 1922 when one of their member, 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 in North-east Rajasthan. They still maintain their residence in Pilani [5] and run several educational institutions there, including the BITS, Pilani.

Shiv Narayan Birla

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 which serviced 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 ginning 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 Ahemdabad) became prime poppy cropland due to 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.

Baldev Das Birla

Shiv Narain 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, Baldeo 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 Banares 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

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 2 million rupees to 8 million.[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.

Baldeo Das, as well 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.

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, Birlas were invited to establish a pulp factory there.[18]

In recent past, the Birlas, as well as several other Indian industrialists have expanded overseas. [19]

Family Tree of Male Members

[20]

Family of Birla family
Shiv Narain Birla Baldeo Das Birla Jugal Kishore Birla Rameshwar Das Birla Ghanshyam Das Birla Braj Mohan Gajanan Madhav Prasad Birla Lakshmi Niwas Krishna Kumar Birla Basant Kumar Birla Ganga Prasad Birla Ashok Sudarshan Aditya Vikram Birla CK Birla Yashovardhan Birla Siddharth Kumar Mangalam Birla

Philanthropy

Gandhi inaugurating the Laxminarayan Temple, Delhi, 1938, with the Birla family (Jugalkishor, Rameshwardas, Ghanshyamdas in black caps, Baldevdas in turban

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 the one of the oldest school in India. Now they have 6 schools run by birla education trust (BET), which evolved into BITS Pilani, which now has branches in Hyderabad, Goa and Dubai. They also opened a Sanskrit library in Benares and a library in Kolkata.[21] 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:

• Birla High School, Kolkata
• Birla Planetariums
• Guru Hanuman Akhara
• Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital
• Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
• Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida[22]
• Birla Global University Bhubaneswar, Odisha[23]
• Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra
• Birla Vishwakarma Mahavidyalaya
• Birla Education Trust, Pilani
• Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences, Bhiwani
• M. P. Birla Institute of Fundamental Research
• Rukmani Birla Modern High School, Jaipur
• BK Birla Group institutions, Aditya Birla Group Institutions
• K. K. Birla Foundation, established in 1991 by Krishna Kumar Birla, gives the annual awards like Saraswati Samman, Vyas Samman and G.D. Birla Award for Scientific Research.[24]

Birla Brothers' of Pilani, who established 'BITS, Pilani' also got constructed a Dam in the year 1944 or Vikrami Samvat 2000 on 'Dhosi Hill' to store rainy water for bathing of 'Pilgrims'

Traditions

In a letter, Ghanshaym Das offered this advice to Aditya (his grandson) when he was studying at MIT:

“eat only vegetarian food, never drink alcohol or smoke, keep early hours, marry young, switch-off lights when leaving the room, cultivate regular habits, go for a walk everyday, keep in touch with the family, and above all, don’t be extravagant.”[25]

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.[26]

Family ties

Although the Birlas are perceived as a single entity, the different branches of the family are now financially independent.[27][28] 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.

Both of GD Birla's 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.[29]

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 and from Razia Sulthana in order to preserve the family name.[30]

"Tata-Birla" word pair

For many decades the extreme wealth in India was associated with the Tatas and Birlas. The words Tata-Birla were often used together.[31] They were distantly followed by Dalmias (Dalmia-Sahu Jain group) for some time,[32] however Tatas and Birlas have been able to sustain themselves as among the most prominent industrialists in India (for 1939-1997 data see[33]) while others have declined.[34][35]

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,[36] which is said to have served as a blueprint for India's first five-year plan.

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-11-29. Retrieved 2011-11-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "CK Birla Group - Birla Companies - Family - US$1.6 billion diversified conglomerate that has a history of enduring relationships with renowned global companies". www.ckbirlagroup.com. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
3. D'souza, Dev Chatterjee & Sharleen (17 February 2014). "Yash Birla's business comes under stress". Retrieved 9 July 2017 – via Business Standard.
4. Weinberger-Thomas, Catherine (1999) [1996]. Ashes of Immortality: Widow-Burning in India (Translated ed.). University of Chicago Press. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-22688-568-1.
5. House of history The Birla haveli in Pilani offers a glimpse into the beginnings of India's premier business family, Prakash Bhandari Business Standard, February 27, 2016
6. Maheshwari Jati Ka Itihas, Maheshwari History Office, Bhanpura, Birla, June 1940, p. 183–190
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15. Business Legends, Gita Piramal, Penguin UK, Dec 1, 2010
16. Matthews, Herbert L. (2 January 1943). "British Investors See Peril in India – Managing Agents Fear Loss of Immense Profits on Half of Country's Industries – Natives Seek Business – Huge Sterling Credits Already Available to Buy Out the Foreign Companies". New York Times. p. 5. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
17. Debajyoti Burman, Mystery of Birla House, Jugabani Hahitya Chakara, 3rd reprint 1951, P. 111
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19. Piramal, Gita (October 1999). "A crisis of leadership". Family Business, a symposium on the role of the family in Indian business. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
20. This follows the common conventions. KK Birla’s daughters Nandini Nopany, Jyotsna Poddar and Sobhana Bhartia, and BK Birla has two daughters, Manjushree Khaitan and Jayashree Mohta have inherited roles in some of their fathers' businesses or charities."In a First, a Daughter's Son Rises at Birla Abode". epaper.timesofindia.com. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
21. Birla, Rajashree (3 October 2014). "Rajashree Birla - Giving is in fact living". Retrieved 9 July 2017.
22. http://bimtech.ac.in/about/the-legacy-the-birla-group/
23. "Birla Global University - Top University in BBSR, Odisha". www.bgu.ac.in. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
24. "Govind Mishra gets Saraswati Samman 2013 for novel 'Dhool Paudhon Par'". Daily News & Analysis. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
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27. cakml. "The Hindu Business Line : `Mahatma was witness to Birla clan partition'". www.thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
28. "After months of tension, Birlas part ways amicably". Retrieved 9 July 2017.
29. "Yash gets candid". Retrieved 9 July 2017.
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35. 9811747788, Website Developed by Ranjit Singh, Planman Media Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, India. "The Rise, Fall & Rise Of Indian Business Families". www.businessandeconomy.org. Retrieved 9 July 2017.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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