G. D. Birla
Ghanshyam Das Birla | |
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Born | 10 April 1894 |
Died | 11 June 1983 | (aged 89)
Nationality | Indian |
Spouses |
|
Children | Lakshmi Nivas Birla Krishna Kumar Birla Basant Kumar Birla |
Parent |
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Relatives | see Birla family |
Ghanshyam Das Birla (10 April 1894 – 11 June 1983) was an Indian businessman and member of the
Birla family history
Ghanshyam Das Birla was born on 10 April 1894 at
Business of Birla family
G. D. Birla inherited the
With an investment of ₹5 million [citation needed] in 1919, the Birla Brothers Limited was formed. A mill was set up in Gwalior in the same year.
In 1926, he was elected to the
In the 1940s, he ventured into the territory of cars and established Hindustan Motors. After independence, Birla invested in tea and textiles through a series of acquisitions of erstwhile European companies. He also expanded and diversified into cement, chemicals, rayon and steel tubes. Ghanshyam Das Birla during the Quit India Movement of 1942, had conceived the idea of organising a commercial bank with Indian capital and management, and the United Commercial Bank Limited was incorporated to give shape to that idea. UCO Bank, formerly United Commercial Bank, established in 1943 in Kolkata, is one of the oldest and major commercial bank of India.
Philanthropy
Envisioning infrastructural development in his hometown, Birla founded the
In 1957, he was awarded India's second-highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India.
Birla was a vegetarian.[4] He died in London on 11 June 1983 at the age of 89. There is a memorial to him in Golders Green Crematorium, Hoop Lane, London. It comprises a large statue overlooking the gardens with an inscription.
Relationship with Mahatma Gandhi
Birla was a close associate and a steady supporter of Mahatma Gandhi, whom he met for the first time in 1916. Gandhi stayed at Birla's home in New Delhi during the last four months of his life.
Legacy
G. D. Birla had remarried after the death of his first wife. He had three sons, Lakshmi Nivas (son of his first wife Durga Devi),
Writings by Ghanshyam Das Birla
His writings are mainly collections of memoirs, letters, essays and lectures.
- डायरी के कुछ पन्ने (Diary Ke Kuch Panne or Some pages of diary), 1940
- रुपए की कहानी (Rupaye Ki Kahani or Story of Rupee), 1948
- बापू (Bapu), 1941
- कुछ देखा कुछ सुना (Kuch Dekha Kuch Suna or Saw Something Heard Something), 1966
- जमनालाल बजाज (Jamnalal Bajaj)
- ध्रुवोपाख्यान, 1960
- रूप और स्वरूप : चार विचार-प्रेरक निबंध, 1960
- Paths to Prosperity, 1950
- In the Shadow of the Mahatma: a personal memoir (Calcutta, 1953)
Further reading
- Jajni, R. N., G. D. Birla (New Delhi, 1985)
- Ross, A., The Emissary: G. D. Birla, Gandhi and Independence (1986)
References
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/52776. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Purie, Aroon; Dubashi, Jay (5 March 2014). "I am not a businessman". India Today. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-8386-7670-7.
- ISBN 978-0520076976
External links
- Rs 2.80 Billion BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus Foundation Laid
- AP CM Readies BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus
- Milestone for BITS Pilani Hyderabad
- Chief Minister AP Lays the BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus Foundation
- BITS Pilani Makes the Right Move at the Right Time
- People who shaped India
- In the Shadow of the Mahatma by Ghanshyam Das Birla