Pioneers Revisited

Ghanashyam Das Birla, Walchand Hirachand Doshi, Kasturbhai Lalbhai and Jeha-ngir Ratan Dadabhoy Tata were the four pioneers who came to head India's industrial surge of 1951-62 because of their nationalism and vision. Gita Piramal, India's leading chronicler of business history, has delved deep into the background of four of the oldest corporate groups to find out why they are legends.

The period right before independence and after was not an easy one for India Ltd. But opportunities hung heavy in the air. Thanks to wartime controls and also to the fact that the country produced few of the goods that it needed and imported most, businessmen could dig their empty fists in the dust and bring them out full of gold. And if one had a few of the industrial licenses, one could print money on their back.

But there were problems too. The pioneers had competition both from unrestricted imports and foreign firms operating in the country. They also had the first taste of bringing in technology. And there was a government that did little to level the playing field—not only the remnants of the Raj, but even some Indian business houses were seen to be more equal than others. Last but not the least, it was the time of the greatest political upheaval, where camp loyalties decided and unwound futures.

In fact, all these businessmen had to ultimately cede, much to their reluctance, a part of their empire to an expanding government. JRD gave up his dearest Tata Airlines, Walchand lost his Hindustan Aircraft Company. GD even gave up his house, following many bitter exchanges with Nehru, to be converted into a memorial after Gandhi fell to his assassin's bullet there.

Piramal's biggest success lies in bringing to life a bygone era where real-life heroes lived as ordinary mortals, pennypinching and chasing small profits, even as politicians pursued their petty ideologies. Her Jeffrey Archere-sque style makes for compelling reading—with every turning page, nostalgia wafts out of priceless documents jealously guarded in red cloth potlas. Her prose is lucid, very occasionally suffering from Indianese. Highly recommended reading for all those who are interested in the fate and foibles, and lots more, of those men that are now part of India's corporatelore.