G. D. Birla

Ghanshyam Das Birla
Birla in September 1980
Born	10 April 1894
Died	11 June 1983(1983-06-11) (aged 89)
Nationality	Indian
Spouses	Durga Devi Mahadevi Birla
Children	Lakshmi Nivas Birla Krishna Kumar Birla Basant Kumar Birla
Parent	Baldeo Das Birla (father)
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

. The firms started business in silver, cotton, grain and other commodities. He was succeeded by 4 sons, Jugal Kishore, Rameshwar Das, Ghanshyam Das and Braj Mohan. Ghanshyam Das was the most successful of the four brothers.

Business of Birla family

GD Birla inherited the

resulted in supply problems throughout the British Empire, Birla's business skyrocketed.

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

, India was founded by his efforts with the collaboration of Kalyan Citizens' Education Society (KCES).

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),

is his great grandson. Lakshmi Nivas was technically adopted by his older brother Jugal Kishor.

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

External links

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