Lalbhai Dalpatbhai

Lalbhai Dalpatbhai

Lalbhai Dalpatbhai (1863-1912)[1] was an industrialist and one of the first generation textile mill owners from Ahmedabad, who laid the foundation of the present-day Lalbhai group[2] of Industries.

Life

Lalbhai was born in 1863 at Ahmedabad to Dalpatbhai Bhagubhai in a Gujarati Jain family of nagarsheths and jewellers and was a direct descendant of the 16th-century merchant, Shantidas Jhaveri.[3] He was the great grandson of Vakhatchand's second son, Motibhai.[4]

After growing up, he carried on the traditional business of precious gems of his family. His father Dalpatbhai Bhagubhai was also in cotton trading business since the 1870s[5] As an expansion of his cotton trading business, he decided to start his own cotton mill and in 1896 he floated the Saraspur Mills flowed by Raipur Mills in 1897.[6][3] These two mills laid the foundation of present-day Lalbhai group.[5] The group was later expanded by his sons and noted nationalist and philanthropist, Kasturbhai Lalbhai, Narottambhai Lalbhai, Chimanbhai Lalbhai and grandsons like Shrenik Kasturbhai Lalbhai, Arvind Narottambhai Lalbhai and Chinubhai Chimanbhai. The group now consists of mills like Arvind Mills, Atul Limited among others.[7]

He died in 1912.[1][5]

Memorials

References

  1. ^ a b Business World -1987 - Volume 7 - Page 44
  2. ^ "Lalbhai group poised for major expansion and diversification spree". India Today. 15 May 1988. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b Leadbeater, Simon Robert Brough (1993). The politics of textiles: the Indian cotton-mill industry and the legacy of Swadeshi, 1900-1985. SAGE. p. 69. ISBN 978-8-17036-296-8.
  4. ^ Tripathi, Dwijendra; Mehta, Makrand (1990). Business Houses in Western India: A Study in Entrepreneurial Response, 1850-1956. South Asia Publications. p. 89.
  5. ^ a b c Piramal, Gita. Business Legends. p. 309.
  6. ^ Education and the Disprivileged: Nineteenth and Twentieth ...by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya - 2002
  7. ^ "Lalbhai Family". Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2014.