The Birla family is an Indian business family connected with the industrial and social history of India.
31-575: The Birla family belongs to the Maheshwari community of Bania Vaishya traders. They are Marwari since by convention, merchants from Rajasthan are termed Marwari. The family originates from the town of Pilani in the Shekhawati region of North-east Rajasthan. They still maintain their ancestral residence termed Birla Haweli in Pilani and run several educational institutions there, including
62-417: A large garden with Hindu and Nationalistic sculptures, and also houses Geeta Bhawan for discourses. The temple is one of the major attractions of Delhi and attracts thousands of devotees on the festivals of Janmashtami and Diwali . The construction of the temple dedicated to Laxmi Narayana started in 1933, built by industrialist and philanthropist, Baldeo Das Birla and his son Jugal Kishore Birla of
93-553: A lower social position than that which they believe themselves to hold. The Maheshwaris claim a Rajput ancestry. K. K. Birla , an industrialist whose family has its origins in the Maheshwari caste, recounted a traditional story of origin for the community. This states that 72 groups from the Kshatriya varna in what is now Rajasthan decided in the 8th century to abandon their traditional role in favour of being members of
124-657: A plane crash, Priyamvada Birla, ("Badi Ma") helped take care of him. It is reported that Kumar Mangalam Birla had dipped into his own resources to help his beleaguered relative Yash with his financial issues with creditors in order to preserve the family name. For many decades the extreme wealth in India was associated with the Tatas and Birlas. The words Tata-Birla were often used together. They were distantly followed by Dalmias (Dalmia-Sahu Jain group) for some time, however Tatas and Birlas have been able to sustain themselves as among
155-654: A series of temples built by the Birlas in many cities of India, which are also often called Birla Temple . Its architect was Sris Chandra Chatterjee, a leading proponent of the "Modern Indian Architecture Movement." The architecture was influenced heavily by the principles of the Swadeshi movement of the early twentieth century and the canonical texts used. The movement did not reject the incorporation of new construction ideas and technologies. Chatterjee extensively used modern materials in his buildings. The three-storied temple
186-574: Is Yashovardhan Birla, who has struggled. Birla philanthropy began in the 1880s, when the Birla family donated over 100,000 rupees for setting up goshalas (shelters for the protection of cows) in Kolkata. By early 1900, the Birla family began to support education, influenced by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. They supported educational charities in Kolkata and in Mumbai teaming up with Jamnalal Bajaj . In 1918,
217-457: Is a variant myth of origin, recorded by Sivkaran Ramratan Darak in 1923 and subsequently referred to by modern scholars such as Lawrence Babb. In this version, a prince was supported by 72 Rajputs in disrupting a sacrifice being made by some sages, who retaliated by cursing them such that they were turned to stone. It was Shiva who freed them from the curse, restoring them to life and thus inspiring their devotion. The arrival of colonial trade with
248-421: Is built in the northern or Nagara style of temple architecture . The entire temple is adorned with carvings depicting the scenes from golden yuga of the present universe cycle. More than a hundred skilled artisans from Benares , headed by Acharya Vishvanath Shastri, carved the icons of the temple. The highest shikhara of the temple above the sanctum sanctorum is about 49 m (160 feet) high. The temple faces
279-412: Is given below. It does not include daughters or children who are young (or who died young). Lakshmi Nivas Birla was technically adopted by his uncle Jugal Kishor Birla. As has been noted in the press, some of the branches have been more successful than others. The GD-Basant Kumar-Aditya Vikarm-Kumar Mangalam Birla branch has performed the best, with a group turnover of ₹29,000 Crore in 2004. At the other end
310-492: Is now the state of Rajasthan . Their traditional occupation is that of commerce and as such they form part of the wider Bania occupation-based community that also includes castes such as the Khandelwals , Oswals and Agrawals , Gahois . The Banias of Rajasthan are often known as Marwaris , and are also known as Mahajans , a term which community members prefer because Bania can have negative connotations and imply
341-659: The BITS, Pilani . In Pilani, during the early 19th century lived Seth Shobharam, grandson of Seth Bhudharmal, a local tradesman of modest means. It was his son, Seth Shiv Narayana (1840–1909), who first ventured outside Pilani. At this time, Ahmedabad was the railhead that served trade from a large region of northwest India. Goods (mainly cotton) would be brought from the hinterland to the city and sent from there by train to Bombay for export to England and other countries. Several cotton -inning units were also set up in Ahmedabad, to clean
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#1732790450806372-452: The Birla family , thus, the temple is also known as Birla Temple . The foundation stone of the temple was laid by Jat Maharaj Udaybhanu Singh . The temple was built under guidance of Pandit Vishwanath Shastri. The concluding ceremony and Yagna were performed by Swami Keshavanandji. Gandhi inaugurated the temple and ensured that it allows members of all castes. This is the first of
403-665: The British encouraged Marwari people of Rajasthan to expand their business interests and geographical influence. Maheshwaris were among the Marwari merchants who moved to the Deccan Plateau in the early 19th century, where the opium trade was prominent; they were present as bankers in Hyderabad State by 1850; and in the last quarter of the century emerged as a significant group in the cotton trade of Bombay . In
434-502: The Vaishya varna. Inspired to do this by their devotion to Shiva , another name for whom is Mahesh , they adopted the name Maheshwari and thus established the 72 distinct family lines that exist within the small, tight-knit Maheshwari community to this day. Those lines, known as khaps , traditionally practice khap exogamy while maintaining caste endogamy in marriage, and mostly follow Vaishnavism in religion. Some surnames in
465-603: The 20th century, some Maheshwari, Tharu families, such as the Birlas , used the accumulated wealth from their traditional occupations to become prominent industrialists. Laxminarayan Temple The Laxminarayan Mandir is a Hindu temple located in New Delhi , India . The presiding deity in the temple is Laxminarayan i.e., Vishnu along with his consort Lakshmi . The temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi . Gandhi ensured that members of all castes would be allowed in
496-557: The Birlas are perceived as a single entity, the different branches of the family are now financially independent. However they have continued to maintain family relationships that go back to the times when "Birla Brothers" were an actual entity and Raja Baldeo Das was still alive. GD Birla's both wives died early because of tuberculosis (He remarried after the death of his first wife), a common affliction at that time. The families of his brothers Brij Mohan and Rameshwar Das Birla helped in raising his children . When Yash Birla's parents died in
527-426: The Birlas include: In a letter, Ghanshaym Das offered this advice to Aditya (his grandson) when he was studying at MIT: GD Birla instructed his son Basant Kumar to 'never utilize wealth only for fun and frolic,' to 'spend the bare minimum on yourself,' and to deride 'worldly pleasures.' This advice symbolized the ethic of the rising Marwari community, with restraint and austerity its defining attributes. Although
558-758: The Maheshwari community are Agiwal, Aagsud, Ajmera, Asawa, Attal, Baheti, Bajaj, Baladi, Baldwa, Bangad, Bhandari, Bhansali, Bhattad, Bhuradya, Bhutda, Bidada, Birla, Biyani, Boob, Bung, Chandak, Chaparwal, Chitlangya, Chechani, Chokhda, Daad, Daga, Damani, Darak, Dargad, Devpura, Dhoopad, Dhoot, Gadaiya, Gagrani, Gaggar, Gattani, Gilda, Heda, Hurkat, Inani, Jaju, Jakhotiya, Jhanwar, Kabra, Kacholya, Kahalya, Kalani, Kalantri, Kaliya, Kakani, Karwa, Kasat, Khatwar, Ladda, Lahoti, Lakhotiya, Lohia, Malpani, Malu, Mandhanya, Mandvora, Maniyar, Mantri, Modani, Mundhra, Nawal, Nawandhar, Nolakha, Nyati, Pallod, Partani,Periwal,Porwal, Randhad, Rathi, Saboo, Sarda, Sikchi, Sodhani, Somani, Soni, Tapdia, Tawri, Toshniwal, Totla and many more. There
589-451: The basis of the family's fortune. With growing wealth and increasing confidence, Shiv Narayana Birla moved up the value chain and began chartering cargo ships in partnership with other Marwadi tradesmen to trade opium with China, thus by-passing British middlemen. To facilitate this, he moved to Bombay in 1863. Shiv Narayan Birla had one overwhelming sorrow in his life: he had no children. By the early 1880s, Shiv Narayan (Narain) had passed on
620-654: The baton of his business interests to his adopted son, Baldeo Das Birla, established Shivnarayan Baldeodas, a trading house based in Bombay. His son, Baldeo Das Birla moved to Calcutta set up Baldeodas Jugalkishor in 1887. Baldeo Das was succeeded by four sons – Jugal Kishore, Rameshwar Das, Ghanshyam Das and Braj Mohan. Baldeo Das was awarded the Raibahadur title in 1917. In 1920 he retired from business and started living in Banaras pursuing religious studies. In 1925 he
651-409: The beauty of the temple. The main temple houses statues of Narayan and Lakshmi . There are other small shrines dedicated to Shiva , Ganesha and Hanuman . There is also a shrine dedicated to Buddha . The left side temple shikhar (dome) houses Devi Durga , the goddess of Shakti , the power. The temple is spread over an area of 30,000 square metres (7.5 acres) approximately and the built up area
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#1732790450806682-495: The cotton before shipment to England. Shiv Narayana Birla was one of the early Indian traders to participate in this cotton trade. Later, Britain vigorously fostered the trade of opium with China and developed the cultivation of poppy in India. The Ratlam - Mandsaur region (not far from Ahmedabad) became prime poppy cropland due to the suitable soil and climate. Shiv Narayan Birla and his adopted son, Baldeo Das Birla, made an enormous fortune by trading opium with China, and this formed
713-409: The east and is situated on a high plinth. The shrine is adorned with fresco paintings depicting Shastri's life and work. The icons of the temple are in marble brought from Jaipur. Kota stone from Makarana, Agra, Kota, and Jaisalmer was used in the construction of the temple premises. The Geeta Bhawan to the north of the temple is dedicated to Krishna . Artificial landscape and cascading waterfalls add to
744-641: The family established the first high school in Pilani now name as Birla School, Pilani it is one of the oldest school in India. Currently they have 6 schools run by Birla Education Trust (BET), which evolved into BITS Pilani , which has branches in Hyderabad, Goa and Dubai. They also opened a Sanskrit library in Benares and a library in Kolkata. It is well known for the financial support of Indian's freedom struggle and for building temples (see Birla Temple ) in several major Indian cities. The institutions founded by
775-506: The first group of Indian entrepreneurs to become owner of a jute mill named Birla Jute . In the next few years he acquired several cotton mills. He later started several sugar mills. The publication Hindustan Times was co-founded by GD Birla in 1924 and fully acquired by him in 1933. Hindustan Motors was started in 1942. After India's independence in 1947 he started Grasim (Gwalior Rayon Silk Manufacturing, 1948) and Hindalco (Hindustan Alum Company 1958) among others. He also generously led
806-743: The grant on the request of Vallabhbhai Patel to lay the foundation of Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya in Anand , Gujarat . Baldeo Das, as well as his sons, were among the key supporters of the Swaraj movement led by Mahatma Gandhi, in addition to being dedicated Hindu activists. They were active supporters of the Banaras Hindu University founded by Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya and were also financial supporters of activities initiated by Mahatma Gandhi. The landmark Laxminarayan Temple in Delhi
837-400: The leaders of India, like Sardar Patel after India's independence. When E. M. S. Namboodiripad became the chief minister of Kerala (1957–59), as a result of the first elected Marxist government anywhere, the Birlas were invited to establish a pulp factory there. In the recent past, the Birlas, as well as several other Indian industrialists, have expanded overseas. A simplified family tree
868-555: The most prominent industrialists in India (for 1939-1997 data see) while others have declined. A plan for development of India was developed by a group of industrialists in 1944, which was termed the Tata-Birla plan or the Bombay Plan , which is said to have served as a blueprint for India's first five-year plan . Maheshwari Maheshwari , also spelled Maheshvari , is a Hindu caste of India, originally from what
899-399: The temple. It was built by Jugal Kishore Birla from 1933 and 1939. There are also small shrines on the sides dedicated to Shiva , Ganesha , Hanuman and Buddha . It was the first large Hindu temple built in Delhi and is often called Birla Mandir due to being constructed by the Birla family . The temple is spread over 3 hectares (7.5 acres), adorned with many shrines, fountains, and
930-612: Was awarded the title of "Raja" by the government of Bihar and Orissa. He was awarded D.Litt. by Banaras Hindu University. Ghanshyamdas Birla laid the foundation of his industrial empire by establishing GM Birla Company, trading in jute , in 1911. The First World War began in 1914 greatly increasing the demand for gunny bags . During the war, the Birla's worth is estimated to have risen from ₹ 2 million (equivalent to ₹ 540 million or US$ 6.4 million in 2023) to ₹ 8 million (equivalent to ₹ 1.4 billion or US$ 17 million in 2023). In 1919, he became among
961-464: Was built by Jugal Kishore Birla and was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi and as asked by Mahatma, all Hindus, including Harijans were welcomed in this temple. In the few decades before India's independence, Indian merchants, including the Birlas, made successful attempts to enter and acquire industries in India which were once dominated by Scots from Britain. This became a part of Mahatma Gandhi's Swadeshi movement. The Birlas remained close to some of