Audacity - GD Birla

I was reading a Book which mentions about GD Birla, I was so impressed with some of the facts that I decided I should put it up here in my Blog as a free service to those who are going to read it :-). Its Quite important that we know our hitsory and those who made it worth reading it, and it need not be about freedom fighters all the time. Industrialists have played a vital role in India's Growth from the very beginning.One such group is Birlas who have contributed to India's wealth since pre-independence era.

It might be a dull post, I have tried to make it as short as possible, and have tried to strike a balance between the length of the post and the information it delivers, to make it as readable as possible.

My words in purple

Collected content in red

Quoted words in blue

GD Birla,

Born: April 10, 1894

Achievement: 

 Laid the foundations of the Birla Empire;

 founder of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) ( you guys knew this?). 

Upbringing :-

Ghanshyamdas Birla came from a small village called 'pilani' in Rajasthan. His grand father Shiv Narain Birla made huge fortunes selling cotton to British at the the time of American Civil war in late 19th century.

GD Birla's school in village has no books and classes were help in open air.At 9, he was sent to a school in Calcutta and a private tutor was engaged to improve his English.

At 14, he returned to pillani to get married, and a year later he had a son ( whaaattt?? ).

Rise of the industrialist :-

The Birlas specialised in Opium futures, they exported opium to China in return for silver. At 16, he set himself up as an independent Jute trader. With the coming of 1st world war, he made a handsome fortune and so did the others in his family. By the time war ended, their fortune quadrupled to $4 million (80 Years down the line, i wonder if i can earn that much in INR also).

Impressive Struggle :-

After the war, GD wanted to set up his Jute factory, with the wartime profits.It wasnt easy to break the stronghold of scottish monopoly in Jute industry. Everytime, GD brought some land to start the factory, the Scotts brought the land around it and denied him access to the road.He finally managed to quitely buy a land along the hoogly river, but transport charges, specially river traffic were raised in an attempt to stop Indian intrusion into what had been a British Preserve. Under the influence of Scotts,  Imperial bank charged him high interest rates for his loan for the machinery.

Next, the monopolists persuaded the machine makers in Britain to quote prohibitely high prices for machine, the cost of Jute factory balloned and the project became unviable.In despair he almost gave up. He agreed to sell the factory to Andrew Yule, his largest competitor. When GD walked into Yule's office, the Scottish manger chided himi for having the audacity to start a Jute mill. Stung, GD instantly withdrew his offer and decided to go ahead with the project (Thats the definition of 'confidence').

The rest is all history and he succeeded beyond everyone's expectations, Infact he brought over Andrew Yule's cotton (not jute though) mill 3 years down the line when Yule's mill desperately needed cash to pay its debts.

The second world war was another stimulus to the growth of Birlas and by the time the British decided to leave India, Birlas were worth $100 million (Phew!).

GD became the largest supporter of Congress freedom movement and a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi.They wrote to each other almost daily.  Their correspondence now runs into 4 volumes, each of approx 500 pages (Can you beat it? I wont write half of that much to my gfs put together in next 7 lifes).

Lord Wavell, viceroy in forties once wrote

"I think, Queen Mary would find GD Birla better company than J.R.D Tata if she wishes to invite one of them to lunch.Tata is a pleasant enough fellow to meet, but I have not found him communicative, and as a casual acquaintance he is much the same way as any other wealthy young man who has had a conventional type of education. Birla has plenty to say, and whatever one may think of Marwari Businessmen and their ways, he is well worth talking to. I think Queen Mary would have a very dull lunch with Tata and quite an intesrting one with Birla."

A letter to the Prime Minister's Office, dated April 20, 1953, reveals the frustrations he faced post-independence. 

"We have received proposals from Britain for manufacturing explosive substances and from Germany for starting a steel factory in collaboration. I am now 60 and am least interested in starting some new business merely for more money. My only interest is greater production in the country. I just want to know whether I can proceed in the matter. I want no commitment from the government but only want to know the policy of the government in such matters," 

GD wailed. There was no reply.

In the twilight of his life, when asked about his achievements, GD gave a profoundly simple answer. 

"A good guy, that's all I've tried to be all these years. Forget G.D. Birla," 

he said in his last interview. But he was an unforgettable man.

Contents are taken from the book 'India Unbound' and internet ofcourse!