G. D. Birla

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Ghanshyam Das Birla (10 April 1894 – 11 June 1983) was a prominent Indian businessman from the Birla family. Born in Pilani in what was then the Rajputana Agency, he came from a Marwari trading community. His father, Baldeo Das Birla, started several trading firms in Bombay and Calcutta, and G. D. Birla later expanded the family business.

He moved to Calcutta to grow the jute trade and in 1918 started Birla Jute Mills, overcoming stiff competition from European merchants. In 1919 he formed Birla Brothers Limited and opened a mill in Gwalior. Birla also entered politics, being elected to the Central Legislative Assembly in 1926, and in 1932 he became the first president of Gandhi’s Harijan Sevak Sangh. In the 1940s he launched Hindustan Motors, bringing car manufacturing to India. After India gained independence, he diversified into tea, textiles, cement, chemicals, rayon and steel tubes, building a large industrial empire.

During the Quit India movement, Birla helped establish United Commercial Bank Limited in 1943, which later became UCO Bank. He founded several educational institutions, including Birla Engineering College in Pilani (which later became the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, or BIT, in 1964) and the Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences in Bhiwani, along with Birla Public School and other schools. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1957. Birla was a vegetarian and died in London at the age of 89; a memorial stands at Golders Green Crematorium in London. He was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, who stayed at Birla’s New Delhi home in the last months of Gandhi’s life.

Controversy: during the Bengal famine of 1943, some critics say Birla and other industrialists bought rice at inflated prices to feed Calcutta’s industry, which they argue worsened hunger in rural areas. The issue is debated.