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i .p ' , v i ■■‘MaIfn W N A VISION OF

KARMAYOGI GUJAR MAL MODIDr. PPS. CHAUHAN

A Visionof

Karmayogi Gujarmal Modi

A V is io n o f K arm ayogi Gujarmal M odi

First P ublished: August 1 9 7 7

Publishers :Allied P ublic ity Bureau M odinagar-201104

Printers:Delhi P ress, Jhandew ala Estate^ Rani Jh an si Road, New D elhi-110055

A u g u s t 19 77 Price Rs. 5/-

RAI BAHADUR GUJAR MAL MODI

( 1902— 1976)

DEDICATEDTO

HIS DEVOTED WIFE SMT. DAY A WAT I M O D I

Contents

Preface v—vi

Introduction 1—4

ChapterOne

Family, boyhood and early education 5 - 1 1

ChapterTwo

The first step 12—28

ChapterThree

The Quest 29—33

ChapterFour

Early struggles 34—39

ChapterFive

Fresh Laurels at home 4 0 -4 3

ChapterSix

An industrial town is born 44—53

ChapterSeven

Further Trials and achievements 54—73

ChapterEight

On the heights 74—80

ChapterNine

The last days 8I— 85

ChapterTen

Retrospect 86— 93

Preface

We have few biographies of Indian businessmen because their routine lives have little to attract an author. Yet it is these very men who by slow and patient efforts first perceive their goal and then by steady and powerful strides, march forward till

it is achieved, It is indeed fascinating to see how many o fthem s ta rted from hum ble beginnings an d grew in to big in ­

dustrial giants, to watch the step-by-step emergence and growth of their sharp minds and to see them emerge as distinguished men. Often it is a story not merely of how an industry is built but of how the profits are spent for constructive and creative schemes.

Rai Bahadur Gujarmal Modi was a man who knew how to not only make a fortune but also how to spend it fruitfully. He had all the qualities which make a successful man of busi­ness and honesty, resoluteness, circumspection and, what is more important, a powerful imagination and exemplary courage which made his most ambitious schemes successful. He was an industrialist, a patriot and a philanthropist whose service to the country was as great as his love for humanity was profound.

This book is more a chronicle of Mr. M odi’s life than a biography. The author had the good fortune of coming into close personal contact with him and was, therefore, privileged to

know him and his family at close quarters. Mr. Modi often talked to him about his past life in a reminiscent mood. The author also had the benefit of getting information about

Mr. Modi from the members of his family. It was only after 1972, when Mr. Modi began to keep indifferent health, that the author could not meet him regularly, and so the narrative since that date is sketchy, even disjointed. An attempt is however made to give an adequate account of Mr. Modi's life and a balanced estimate of his character and achievements. If a more knowledgeable reader finds any factual errors or lacunae in this account, the fault lies with the author.

Professer’s Lodge,Modinagar9 .8.1977

P. P. S. C h a u h a n

INTRODUCTION

THE MOVING SPIRIT BEHIND MODINAGAR AND MODIPURAM

On the main State Highway No. 45 as you pass by the spraw­ling yard of the Government Ordnance factory at M uradnagar, you will see on your right an old and friendly signboard ex­tending a warm welcome to Modinagar. This is the entrance to the industrial town of Modinagar, a centre of intense indus­trial activity. Modinagar, the source of employment to several thousand families, lies about 50 kilometres north of Delhi. In every respect, it is a model town situated in an agriculturally fertile and climatically salubrious temperate zone. It is a self- contained city with a variety of educational institutions for boys and girls, workers, clubs, subsidised canteens, dharamshalas (public inns), guest houses, hospitals, libraries, hostels and spacious parks and play grounds.

Until the year 1932, this was a sleepy village known by the name of Begumabad comprising a few huts, a small post office and a police post. Nearby there was the small railway station of Begumabad. The arterial road and the railway station were the only signs of industrialisation in this part of the country where life otherwise was leisurely and undisturbed. Few tra­vellers along the state highway took to the winding path leading to the village and only an occasional hey-ho of the cart drivers disturbed the sylvan calm of the area. During the day, peasants tended their growing crops in the fields, but in the evening as night descended, the quiet village was transformed into a place infested with antisocial elements, dacoits, sansis and

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marias. The last were members of criminal tribes often rounded up by the hand of law and put behind bars. Only those pre­pared to risk their lives would dare pass through this area after dusk.

The area, which grew sugarcane and green vegetables then, is now a bustling industrial town boasting of more than twenty medium and large scale industries and employing more than18,000 workers. The people living in this area are hard work­ing, peace-loving and deeply religious. Behind the big-size mansions flanking both sides of the main road, there are rows o f residential quarters built for the employees working in the various industries in the town. The houses neat; clean and close to their place of work, provide comfortable accommo­dation to the workers.

The first factory to come up in this area was a small sugar mill with an initial capacity of crushing 800 tons of sugarcane per day and employing about two hundred workers. This was in the year 1933. It marked the beginning of the long process of industrialisation which was to change the entire landscape.

The capacity of the sugar mill was quickly expanded to 1132 tons of sugarcane per day. About seven years later came the vanaspati factory whose popular brand, Kotogem, conti­nues to be a household name. Thereafter, during the period from 1940 to 1963 came the soap factory, the oil crushing plant, the paint and varnish factory, the glycerine extraction plant, the cotton textile mill, the lantern factory, the torch factory, the arc electrodes factory, the steel mill, the silk and yarn mill and the thread mil! among others all in quick succession.

Who is the moving spirit behind this vast industrial complex embracing in its fold more than twenty industries and supporting a population of 80,000? Mr. Gujarmal Modi, the industrialist with a vision was an embodiment of enterprise. The story of the development of Modinagar is the history of his dogged determination.

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Tall, well-built he stood erect even in old age. He could be seen with a walking stick in his hand while he took his m orn­ing and evening walks, but the stick was more a symbol of com­mand than a necessity. The penetrating gaze underneath his dense eyebrows indicated a deep insight bom of sincere hard work and profound experience. He had his hands on the pulse of almost every single individual who mattered in one or the other of the various factories run by him or by the members of his big family. He discussed and solved the intricate prob­lems of the industry with the same ease and attention as he listen­ed to and resolved the difficulties of the smallest of his numer­ous workmen.

It is well-known that almost three-fourths of all the factories and buildings in Modinagar were built by Mr. Modi, or Rai Bahadur as he was called, under 1'is personal supervision took rightful pride in claiming that h. had been able to com­plete the construction of almost every building in the town in about nine months’ time. Why nine months for every building, big or small? Quickly would he add, “Well, God creates new life in that much time. I am only following what the Almighty has been doing all along.” Under his personal supervision many a wall was pulled down, beams re-laid and the position of the shuttering changed to accommodate the practical sug­gestions made by him during the process of construction.

The personal life of Mr. Modi was a marvellous blend of all that is modern and traditional. As a person he was a perfect synthesis of the feudal and the progressive. He would not sacrifice all that was Indian for the sake of the so-called modern values. He led a simple life deeply dedicated to his work. He commanded full respect among the members of his household in the same way as he exercised full control over the numerous factories owned and run by him. At his behest everyone in the household visited the temple in the morning and bowed before their elders to seek their blessings. Himself a deeply religious

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man, he attended religious discourses almost every day and at times held philosophical conversations with learned people of all faiths on the eternal problems of man. There he meditated and prayed for spiritual solace.

Such was the man who from a modest beginning rose to the towering heights of an industrial giant.

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C h a p t e rO n e

FAMILY, BOYHOOD AND EARLY EDUCATION

M r . G ujarm al M odi belonged to a fam ily which had a tra ­d i t i o n o f business. His great g rand-father M r. Ram Baksh J V f o d i w as a simple, kind-hearted, hard w orking and honest b u s i n e s s m a n . He had set up his business in M ahendra G arh w h i c h w as then known as K anaur and was the capital o f the s t a t e o f N aw ab o f Jhajjar. U ntil 1857 M r. Ram Baksh M odi a r r a n g e d civil supplies for the armies o f th e Nawab. During t h e f i r s t rebellion o f 1857 when the British R egent was compel­l e d t o leave the state of Jhajjar, he ensured his safe conduct to R e w a r i . L ater, when the rebellion was suppressed and the p r i n c e l y state o f Jhajjar came under the sw ay o f the British, the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f arranging civil supplies fo r the British forces s t a t i o n e d a t K anaur was once again en trusted to the experienced a n d c a p a b le hands o f the M odi family. T he State was later on g i v e n by the British to M aharaja M ahendra Singh o f Patiala as a . r e w a r d fo r the help rendered by him to th e British during the r e b e l l i o n . The name o f K anaur was then changed by the M aha­r a j a t o M ahendra G arh after his own nam e, and the Modi family w a s n o w asked to arrange civil supplies fo r the British forces s t a t i o n e d a t Patiala. It was, thus, th a t the business activities o f t h e M o d i family came to be extended to P a tia la where Mr. Ram B a k s h M odi established a branch o f his business.

A f te r the death of Mr. Ram Baksh in 1857, the family b u s i n e s s was ably carried on by his son M r. Chiranji Lai Modi, t h e g ra n d -fa th e r o f Mr. G ujarm al M odi. A s tim e passed, the task

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of arranging civil supplies for the whole range of British can to n ­ments from K a n p u r to Peshawar came to be entrusted to the M odi family and this work was carried on by them efficiently and to the entire satisfaction o f the armed forces. F or the sake o f efficiency and convenience, M r. C hiranjiLal shifted the h ead ­quarters of his fam ily business to M ultan (now a part o f W est Pakistan) with ad d itio n a l branches at K anpur and A m bala and also a t N au sh era and Jullunder. It was at M ultan th a t on 21st October, 1875, M r. C hiranji Lai was blessed with a son whom he named M ultanim al after the city o f Multan.

Mr. M ultan im al M odi was also a gifted businessman like his father. W hile helping his father in business, Mr. M u ltan i­mal in his own r ig h t came to be known for his honest dealings and shrewd business acumen. He told his father that he would join neither army nor civil service nor any other service, but would set up his o w n independent business. He had an im mense measure o f self-confidence and his discerning father gave him the desired consent. H e had no difficulty in raising the initial finance required for the business.

Mr. M ultanim al started his career as a commission agent in foodgrains a t P atia la . G radually , he started supplying w heat to a flour mill at P a tia la which was then run in partnership by a few Parsi and Sikh officers. F o r some years business a t the mill ran smoothly. But suddenly the mill suffered heavy losses and the owners w ere obliged to dispose it of. This offered a natural opportunity to M r. M ultanim al to expand and diversify his business. He pu rchased the mill in 1894 and with his m a n a ­gerial skill and business talent reorganized its working. T h e business flourished rapidly.

Mr. M ultanim al established his nam e not only in business circles but also in th e field of public service. I t was due to h is popularity and understand ing of public affairs that he was m ade an honorary m agistrate and was also elected City F ather o f Patiala. He was th e first and also the last in the state to get

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the title of R ai Bahadur. This was a fitting recognition o f his services as a businessman and philanthropist. Two high schools were among the m any public welfare institutions established or patronised by him. He also contributed liberally to the gosfialas besides form ing a public welfare council to look after the welfare o f others. He took keen interest in Persian language and literature and left behind several manuscripts in th a t language

Mr. G ujarm al M odi was the second child in the family of M r M ultanimal M odi who married four times. His first wife, who hailed from the family of the Dewan o f Khetri, gave birth to a daughter and died four years after m arriage. His second m arriage was solemnised with Chandi Devi, daughter o f N anak Ram o f Nawazpura, District N arnaul, in 1896. M r. M ultanimal did no t have any son so far. Being an orthodox Hindu, the elders in the family believed that the birth o f a son was necessary to ensure one’s salvation after death. There was a natural desire, therefore, that there should be a son in the family. This was, perhaps, one of the many reasons which had impelled him to m arry again after the death o f his first wife. W hen he was blessed with a son on 9th August, 1902 a t K anaur (Shravana Shukla Shashthi of 1859 according to the H indu calendar, m ore popularly known as the Vikrami Calendar) there was great rejoicing in the whole family. The birth was cele­brated with songs and music because this was the fulfilment of a long cherished desire for a son. G ood wishes continued to pour in for days and weeks. The astrologers were summoned and they stated that a t the time of the birth, the position o f the stars was extremely favourable for the child. The devout father then arranged a Yagna followed by all the ceremonies th a t no r­mally take place in an orthodox Hindu family after the birth o f a son.

But this rejoicing in the family and the mood o f gaiety lasted barely six days as the m other developed sepsis and all the medical a id that was available in those days could no t save her. The

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little child was left w ithout a m other. This naturally created numerous problems for the family. A t first it was decided to bring up the child on bottle feeding. But the elders in the family resisted the idea. They firmly believed tha t breast-feeding was the only way to save the child, the only male issue so far in the family. The father could no t resist the wishes o f the elders and thus a foster-m other from the nearby village o f M ajra was engaged to breastfeed the child.

The grand-m other would visit the child and the wet nurse almost every other day to ensure th a t the child received full a t­tention. But after a few days both the foster-m other and the child were brought over to Patiala where they could stay under the direct supervision o f the grand-m other.

The birth name o f the child was R am Prasad, bu t as time passed, the child was nicknam ed G u jar after his foster m other whose name was G ujari. The nam e G ujar stuck on and the child came to be known as G ujarm al. T hat is how the little Ram Prasad, who was destined to become an industrial magnate in his later years, came to be known as M r. G ujarm al Modi.

Meanwhile little G ujarm al’s fa ther was m arried for the third time to the daughter o f a well-known family at Patiala. As ill- luck would have it, the third wife too died after a year o f married life without leaving any issue. W hen the father m arried his fourth wife, Rukm ini Devi, daughter o f M r. Bansi D har o f M a­hendra Garh, when the young G ujarm al was only 2£ years of age. It was under her loving care th a t the child received real motherly affection.

By the time G ujarm al was four, his father had established his business at Patiala. In those days the m odern system o f pre-primary schooling was no t in vogue. D uring the early years, therefore, the young child was pu t under the care of a Maulvi at his private coaching centre. In those days education in such single-teacher coaching centres, established privately, was free. In return fo r the instruction given, the students paid

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in k in d in the shape o f grains and o th e r household goods. It w a s u nder the care o f the M aulvi th a t the young G ujarm al, th o u g h the son o f an affluent fam ily , started learning the M a h a ja n i style o f writing. A fter com pleting one year of p re -sc h o o l education, the child, at th e age o f five, was adm itted to a local school.

T he grand-father of the child was a staunch believer in disci­p l in e . He wanted the child to be ad m itted to a Sainik School to becom e a soldier. But this was n o t to be. The grand-father d ie d in 1913 when the boy was study ing in class VI. Destiny h a d ordained for him an altogether diiferent path—the path o f industry . And rightly so, because, as later events proved, in th e field o f industry Mr. G u ja rm a l M odi acquitted him self ex trem e ly well by creating the in frastruc tu re for new and diverse in d u s tr ie s in those areas which h ad hitherto been thoroughly b a c k w a rd and undeveloped.

Persons who had the occasion to w atch the young G ujarm al g ro w up confide that right from his early days he had started sh o w in g unm istakable signs o f a p rom ising career. While his o th e r friends at school appeared to be book-worms, the young G u ja rm a l could be seen engaged in new and uncommon pursuits. O n e person who had watched him d u rin g his school days from c lo s e quarters states th a t upto his eighth standard, the young G u ja rm a l used to get two paise (three paise in the new decimal c u rren c y ) as pocket money each day . Those were the days w h e n the first W orld W ar had ju s t started and inflation and r is in g prices were yet far away. E very th ing was less expensive a n d even a little money could buy a lot. And so, out o f the p o c k e t m oney, the boy would m eet h is daily expenses on snacks a n d yet save something for helping th e poo r and needy students, so m e th in g unim aginable in these days o f spiralling prices.

T he m ovem ent started by Swami D ayanand and other con­te m p o ra ry reform ers against child m arriages and other customs h a d m ade a deep im pact on society. The custom of early m ar­

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riages had not, how ever, disappeared altogether. The M odi family, essentially, w a s orthodox. So the marriage of the young- Gujarmal was solem nised a t the early age o f 13 in 1915. A t the time o f his m arriag e w ith R ajban Devi, daughter o f M r. Goverdhan Das o f village Singhana in R ajasthan. He was still studying at the M o d e l School, Patiala. Gauna, the post-mar- riage ceremony w hen the bride comes to live with her husband, took place two y e a rs later.

M arriage did n o t have any adverse effect on the education of the young M o d i. W hat did, however, disturb his studies was an otherwise m in o r incident a t school which eventually disrupted his school education . The incident relates to the year 1920 when he was studying in the tenth standard. It was a cloudy day and th e re was cool breeze blowing all around. The weather outside w a s extremely pleasant and inviting and the Mathematics teach e r, Mr. C hopra, suggested that the students might go on an excursion on that fine day.

The suggestion w a s m et with spontaneous response and the overjoyed students s ta rted preparing for an outing. But the principal, who was n o t on good term s with the Mathematics teacher, came in th e way. Taking advantage of the situation, he levelled the a lleg a tio n th a t the teacher was inciting the students to go on strike an d had, thus, violated the discipline of the school. He also a sk e d the students to apologise. The students led by Gujarmal, o p p o sed this suggestion. They argued that as students they were n o t to blame and should, therefore, not be asked to apologise. T h e principal, however, was in no mood to listen. Ultimately, th e echoes o f the incident reached the Maharaja. There, to o the young Gujarm al turned Student leader, argued the ca se o f the students fearlessly and sought justice at the hands o f the M aharaja.

While G ujarm al was thus engaged in pursuing the case o f the students, the last d a te fo r sending theexam inationfees expired. This meant the loss o f a full year fo r the young Modi. By this

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time the business of Mr. M ultanim al M odi had grown m ani­fold an d he felt the need o f som eone who could help him in run­ning the family business. The father considered this a G od- sent opportunity and asked his son Gujarm al to sta rt attending to the family business.

The young Modi wanted to pursue his studies, bu t in the face o f the firm opinion expressed by his father, who believed that p ractical experience in life could im part better education than the rou tine school education, the son yielded. A t the same time, being aware o f the son’s appetite for learning, the father m ade arrangem ents for private coaching a t home.

T he boy started pursuing privately courses in business m a­nagem ent, accountancy and o ther allied subjects. By 1919 he had started working as Munim (A ccountant) and cashier at th e fam ily shop. A genius learns in m ysterious and strange ways; it runs while the ordinary person crawls. The gifted G ujarm al absorbed knowledge o f business organisation rapidly. H e acquired knowledge o f practical aspects o f business m anagem ent an d the intricacies o f the trade. He worked very hard, spent long hours of his leisure in,reading books on commerce, architec­tu re, engineering and marketing. W hat he missed by no t going in fo r formal college education, he m ore than m ade up by th e practical training and the dedicated application he brought to b ea r on his chosen subjects. The father encouraged him in his studies and provided him with opportunities to gain practical experience.

ChapterTwo

THE FIRST STEP

Those were the days o f W orld W ar I when businessmen were experiencing difficulties i n securing railway wagons for the move­ment o f flour to the m ark e ts o f Lahore and Amritsar. In the absence of wagons g o o d s had to be transported by bullock carts. This meant higher tran sp o rta tio n costs and also stiff competi­tion from the local mills which were able to move their products to the nearby m arkets quick ly and a t smaller costs. There were also rumours that one m ill owner o f A m bala had close connec­tions with the G overnor o f Punjab, and, therefore, his mill had been able to secure w a g o n allotm ents more easily. The young Gujarmal decided to f in d out the tru th behind these rumours. He went to Lahore a lo n g with the trusted M unim, Gopal Sahai, and found that the ru m o u r was baseless. A few certificates from the railway authorities w a s all th a t was needed to ensure smooth allotment of wagons. T h is he was able to do. Armed with the certificates, he hurried b a c k to his father who was happy to see how cleverly his son h a d managed a difficult task. The new step was destined to increase and expand the demand for the products o f their mill. T h e fa ther was so happy at the achieve­ment o f his son that he w illingly gave him permission to take fur­ther initiative in business m atters. H e also decided to allow his son to equip him self w ith m odern m ethods o f book-keeping. Arrangements for th is w ere m ade at the local branch o f the Punjab N ational B ank a t Patiala.

There is another in te restin g incident which illustrates the enor­

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mous am oun t o f courage and conviction which Gujarmal had developed very early in his life. The Modis were running a wholesale business at Patiala. One day a M arwari businessman came to the shop in an imposing dress and suggested that if the Modis could send their merchandise to Calcutta for sale through him, they co u ld earn a lot o f profit. The father thought that the person w as an established businessman and commission agent. So he agreed to send the consignments direct to his Calcutta address and forwarded the hundi (a type of demand note) through the bank. But when the hundi was not honoured by the C alcu tta dealer within the specified time, the father got suspicious. T he question now was how to pursue the dealer and recover th e am ount. Gujarmal, then in his twentieth year, offered to go to Calcutta. He was so confident o f handling the job. He prom ised that in case he was not able to recover the am ount, he w ould bear the entire expense of the journey out of his pocket m oney which, then, was barely Rs. 10/-per month. In the face o f the firm determ ination and confidence shown by the son, th e father permitted him to go to Calcutta.

At first, th e railway authorities in C alcutta appeared to be reluctant to help G ujarm al trace the whereabouts o f the dealer but when th e youngm an threatened legal action, the authorities yielded. T he dealer was called and Gujarmal was able to reco­ver the m oney.

While in C alcutta, the young businessman made a thorough study o f the m arket conditions in the city. It was there that he first learnt ab o u t the principles of general insurance business. He saw the signboard o f an insurance company outside one godown. W ith an enquiring mind he went inside to find out what the w o rd insurance meant. Once inside, he was fully convinced a b o u t the soundness o f the principle o f general insu­rance. On h is return home he tried to explain to his father the need to have the family business insured against the risk of fire and other accidents. To this the father agreed. Very soon

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thereafter, the fam ily was a b l e t o reap the fruit of the wise step taken by them w hen a fte r a f i i 'e ac c id en t at their flour mill they got full co m p en sa tio n f r o m t h e in su rance company. This also earned G ujarm al M o d i t h e a s s i s t a n t managership of the flour mill. This was one o f the e a r l y o p p o rtu n itie s for him to show his mettle. He ad m in is te red t h e a f f a i r s of the mill well and was able to expand its business.

There is one m o re i n c i d e n t w hich illustrates his business acumen, a n d also, in c id e n ta l l y , th e magnanimous nature of the M odi family. I n t h o s e d a y s India used to im port food- grains and w heat f ro m A u s t r a l i a and some other countries. The cost o f w heat o n a r r iv a l a t t h e mill was 4.5 seers (about 4.2 kg) per rupee. W h ile w h e a t f l o u r from the mill was being supplied to th e army a t the r a t e o f 4 seers (approx. 3.5 kg) per rupee, its re ta il price f o r t h e p o o r h a d been kept deliberately at 5 seers per rupee. A t a t i m e o n e customer was allowed to purchase on ly one ru p e e w o r t h o f flour from the retail shop. The m ilitary officers w ere a n n o y e d a t this apparent disparity in the retail a n d w holesa le p r i c e s o f flour. Mr. Modi was sum­m oned to explain the p o s i t i o n a n d h e stated that the retail price had been k ep t de libera te ly l o w in order to help the poor and the under-privileged. T he m i l i t a r y authorities were not con­vinced by the a rg u m e n t and m a i n t a i n e d tha t any talk o f philan­thropy in th is m atter w a s a h o a x a n d that the mill was actually indulging in p ro fite e rin g by s e l l i n g wheat flour to the army at higher rates. It a p p e a rs t h a t t h e r e was a heated exchange in which the a rm y officer h u rt t h e re lig io u s feelings o f the Modi family. This was in to le r a b le t o t h e proud young man and he reminded the colonel t h a t i t w a s n o t proper for him to use in­sulting words fo r the M o d i f a m i l y . The officer became furious and threatened to c o u r t - m a r t i a l h im . But Mr. M odi stood his ground. T he o ffice r c o m p l a i n e d to Mr. M odi’s father. The father w as fully c o n v in c e d a b o u t the reasonableness o f his son’s stand a n d w ould not a c c e p t th e allegation against him.

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M r . M o d i w as, however, asked to explain the incident and he r e i t e r a t e d h is firm stand that he would prefer to quit the prin­c e ly s ta te r a th e r th an tolerate insults. It was w ith great dfficulty t h a t h e w a s prevailed upon to stay on in Patiala .

I n th e y e a r 1922 Mr. M odi undertook a to u r o f im portant t r a d i n g a n d business centres th roughout the country . With h i s h a r d w o r k and sincere efforts he was able to win over nu­m e r o u s c u s to m e rs fo r the products o f his factory . Whoever c a m e in to co n tac t with him became his custom er. Then, M r . M o d i t o o k upon him self the responsibility o f reconstructing a n d re -e s ta b lish in g the mill after the serious fire accident which h a d ta k e n p lace earlier. The fire did n o t dam pen his spirits a n d h e w a s on the look out for a capable engineer to take up t h e s u p e rv is io n o f the construction w ork of the mill. He ap­p r o a c h e d M r . B hanu K um ar M athur, a retired engineer who was t h e n liv in g in Delhi. M r. M athur had already served the mill a s a n e x e cu tiv e fo r about 15 or 16 years and had retired in 1916 a f t e r g e t t in g his son appointed in his place. M r. M ultanimal w a n te d t h e facto ry to be constructed under the able guidance o f t h e e n g in e e r . However, the latter did n o t w ant to come o v e r to P a t i a l a because there were feelings of extrem e bitterness b e tw e e n h i m and his son. After persuasion, he agreed to come t o P a t i a l a o n condition that M r. G ujarm al M odi would ensure h i s s a fe ty . M r. M odi agreed to this readily. S harp at six in t h e m o r n in g he would escort him to the factory site and move w i t h h im l ik e a shadow till bedtime. H e also to o k every pre­c a u t i o n t o ensure th a t there were no chances o f the engineer b e i n g p o is o n e d . Close proximity gave M r. M odi an opportu­n i t y t o l e a r n from the engineer the field and desk w ork required f o r c o n s t ru c t in g a mill.

T h e m o t to which continued to inspire G ujarm al throughout h i s c a re e r w as th a t the will power to face odds gives rise to c o u r a g e i n m an . R ight from his early days, h e had been an e a r l y rise r . H e w ould wake up a t 5 a.m . and after getting ready,

16

by 6 a.m. he could b e seen grappling with his business affairs. The energetic M odi w o u ld ride on horseback daily from N abha to Patiala to superv ise the work. He had not only to look after a team of 500 w orkers engaged in the mill bu t also the construction work o f the building. Cement had to be p ro ­cured; lime too, w as needed and so were bricks, m o rtar, steel and conduit pipes, a n d m ost im portant was the m anagerial skill needed to han d le all these without loss of time.

Personal superv ision m eant that for hours together he had to keep standing in th e scorching sun. All this kept him busy for 16 to 17 hours a d ay . But hard work never dam pened his spirits. The challenge o f ever increasing business activity gave him encouragement. Even after the day’s chores he m anaged to find time to type o u t replies to a large number o f letters.

The new factory w a s constructed on scientific and m odern lines. It took only n in e m onths to be built. His fa ther, by now, was fully conv inced th a t the young M odi had fully deve­loped the sense o f d ev o tio n to duty. He had, by then, acquired more experience o f ru n n in g an industrial establishm ent, o f building construction , business accounts and engineering than could be exp ected o f a young man barely tw enty-tw o years old. It was reaso n ab le and natural, therefore, that he should be asked to sh o u ld er the responsibility o f runn ing the affairs o f the new m ill.

In 1924 the new fa c to ry a t Patiala started functioning under the guidance o f the y o u n g M odi. The traditional fam ily quali­ties o f foresight and p ru d en ce helped him to make his w ay into the business world. H is outlook on business was progressive and socialistic. He sh o w ed a deep insight into o f business affairs and had a firm grip o v e r the work entrusted to him. H e was always willing to set a n example o f hard work before h is w or­kers. Any com prom ise with the ideal of sincere hard w ork on the part o f an em ployee was no t acceptable to him. H e was a strict disciplinarian.

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A small incident illustrates well his keen desire to adhere to the principle o f disciplined and diligent work. Among the persons employed to keep a watch on the large num ber o f weighmen (Palledars) employed in the factory was one Barumal. He was a clever man. W henever the father was present in the factory, he would put up a show of real hard work. But the moment the fa ther was away, he would slip into his norm al habit of lethargy. But Barumal could not escape the observing eyes of Gujarm al. The result was that one day he was removed from service fo r dereliction o f duty and for indiscipline.

The dismissed employee approached the father for mercy. The father was generous and forgiving. So the young M odi had to bow before the orders o f his father. But while re- employing him M r. M odi warned him to be careful in future. This Barum al could not do. So after one m onth he was once again given the sack and the large-hearted father had to intervene once again. However, this time the young M odi was unbending and instead o f saying anything, he sent in his own resignation to the father. This was surprising and un­expected but, perhaps, a better way of expressing his strong indignation over the episode. However, the benevolent father would not be outwitted. Having been a magistrate he knew that an erring man could always be won over through fo r­giveness. He called for the young M odi and made him see reason. While working as M agistrate, the father had let off many an offender with a simple warning. No police officer had ever shown indignation or disgust over his orders. Why, then, should the young M odi feel offended? A nd then the father had never m eant that the erring employee should no t be punished in future. He felt that on being forgiven again, the employee m ight see reason and might mend his ways. Once the erring employee was made to feel sorry for his mistake, it might become a turning point in his life. The young M odi appreciated the wisdom o f the arguments put forward by his

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father. For he knew tha t hearts could be won over by sym­pathy and also th a t renouncing anger was not only good but also necessary.

This incident helped to soften the young m an's heart. Now he started showing a better understanding o f his workers’ prob­lems. Fury and anger quickly gave way to amiability. For­giving and forgetting now became the rule. This welcome change naturally pleased the father. W henever he was out of town, he would issue orders th a t all the appeals made to him against the decisions of the son would be heard by the son him­self in his absence. Hearing appeals against his own decisions led to a complex psychological process. It was difficult to accept, at first, and m ore difficult to implement. But the son agreed to undergo the experience and once the new process was underway, it had a wonderful softening effect on him. These appeal sessions had a real, solid effect in shaping and moulding the thought processes o f the m an who was destined to hold an eminent place am ong the top men of the industrial world. This went a long way tow ards raising the stature of the man as a popular, justice-loving industrial leader and manager.

Very early in his life, Mr. M odi had realised the inherent defects in the indigenous trad ing practices one o f which was to quote different sets o f rates to different parties. The prevailing system, to an extent, m eant concealing the tru th . He preferred the m odern system of fixing a specific price for a particular day and then sticking to it fo r all the deals made during that particular day. F o r the young M odi, this m eant breaking the vicious circle of quoting different price levels to different parties. However, any change to the new system was not liked by his inunims who saw m ore advantages and more profits in the old system. But Mr. M odi was firm and he was able to have his way. Success in later years proved his point, fo r there came a time when 90% o f the indenting parties started placing their orders with the Modis w ithout asking for quotations. Other

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businessmen o f the M o d i’s stature continued to practise the old system o f quoting different prices. They would fix the price of a certain com m odity, b u t when the prices soared, they would change the terms and charge higher rates.

Gujarm al continued to develop and expand his business activities. In 1928, he purchased an old cotton mill, added to it a new oil expelling un it and started the new venture under the name, M /s. M odi Oil G inning Mills. In 1929 he planned to start a Vanaspati (hydrogenated oil) factory at Patiala, but official permission for th is was no t given and he had, therefore, to abandon his plans. In 1930 he was asked to set up a new cot­ton factory at N abha fo r his uncle M r. G irdhari Lai Modi. This was a clear recognition o f his organising capabilities.

Towards the end o f th e year 1930, the father o f M r. G ujarm al Modi resigned from the post o f M unicipal Commissioner and the son was nom inated in his place. This provided to the son yel another opportun ity to serve the common man.

The D eputy C om m issioner in those days also used to hold the post o f the ex-officio chairman of the M unicipal Committee. One day a t one o f the meetings o f the M unicipal Committee Mr. M odi put a question to the President which he latter re­fused to answer. M r. M odi insisted and when he saw th a t no answer was forthcom ing, he prom ptly brought forward a no- confidence m otion against the chairm an. This was a bold and courageous step as the members o f the M unicipal Com ­mittee in those days were government functionaries. In this particular case the chairm an o f the M unicipal Com mittee also happened to be the brother-in-law o f the M aharaja and also the District M agistrate o f the town. A t that time, the D istrict M agistrate also used to be the Income-tax Officer of the area and was, thus, in a position to exert his influence over the busi­ness com m unity o f the area. But in spite of the risks involved in this step of which he was fully aware, Mr. M odi remained firm on his daring stand . The members o f the M unicipal

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Com m ittee were impressed by the fearlessness and the sense o f justice o f M r. M odi. Hectic consultations am ong the members took place and ultim ately when the vote was taken, the no- confidence m otion was carried and the chairm an had to bow out o f office. I t is rem arkable that even the Police Chief o f the area voted in favour o f the motion.

This was an unprecedented incident in the history of the M unicipal C om m ittee and it gave a trem endous fillip to the rising popularity o f the young industrialist. H e became, in the eyes o f the com m on man, the champion o f right causes. People now started show ing courage in fighting for their rights and m any used to com e to him to seek advice in cases o f injustice and excesses aga inst them. The prevailing conditions and his own na tu re com bined to push Mr. Modi into the field of public welfare activities.

The same year M r. M odi founded the Cham ber o f Com ­merce and In d u stry at Patiala. The spade w ork for organising the business and trade o f the area under the banner o f the C ham ber o f Com m erce and Industry was done by him almost single-handed. I t was inaugurated by Sir Fredrick G auntlet who, a t th a t tim e, was the Finance M inister o f the State, and had earlier held the position o f the Auditor General in the G overnm ent o f Ind ia. Sir Fredrick was considered an authority on econom ic issues. The speech which Mr. M odi delivered on this im p o rtan t occasion clearly indicated the high esteem in which M r. M odi was held in Patiala because of his fearless character.

W hile engaged in his business pursuits M r. M odi never allowed any com prom ise with his sense o f self-respect and national honour. In his early days in the princely states he saw th a t abject su rrender and slavery to the British resident officers was the established pattern o f behaviour, and the ruling princes were deeply im m ersed in the pursuit o f sensual pleasures and in pleasing their British masters. They developed a sense o f

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hatred and contem pt for their subjects. During his frequent visits to these rulers’ palaces in the com pany o f his father, G ujarm al M odi came to have fairly good idea o f the kind of life these princely rulers were leading. His heart pained to see the steep fall in m oral values in their lives. He felt indig­nan t but there was no way to express it.

A t last an opportunity to give vent to his feelings came in 1926. M r. Turner, an Englishman, was working as the super­intending engineer in the garage o f the then M aharaja B hupendra Singh o f Patiala. His attitude towards Indian officers was insulting and humiliating. In the year 1926 there was a public auction at which Mr. M odi outbidded M r. Turner. This hu rt the Englishm an’s pride and in a fit of anger he started h u r­ling abuses a t M r. Modi. “You, dirty Ind ian ” , was one o f the phrases which hurt Mr. M odi deeply. I t was impossible for this self-respecting person to bear this insult to his person and his nation. He, at once, pounced upon the autom obile engineer, slapped him on his face and pushed him to the ground. M r. Turner used still more filthy language and this enraged M r. M odi all the more. The result was that M r. M odi beat the autom obile engineer so badly that the latter became uncon­scious. A t once Mr. Modi became the popular hero and the exemplary courage shown by him was praised by all the Indians present a t the auction.

M r. M odi was happy, for he knew tha t he had done the right thing. B ut since an Englishman was involved, it was consi­dered necessary to apprise the Dewan o f the State abou t the whole affair. The Dewan, Raja Daya K rishan K aul, appre­ciated the sense o f courage shown by the young m an, b u t he had a genuine fear tha t the M aharaja, who was known to be a blind follower o f the British, would not do justice if the case was brought to his notice by the autom obile engineer. M r. K aul, therefore, advised Mr. M odi to move out o f the State for some time so th a t things might cool down. He agreed and

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left for H apur in the State o f United Provinces (now known as U ttar Pradesh). Mr. Salig Ram and Mr. T ara Chand, his two elder cousins, were running a successful business there. From here he had to keep moving to different places for some time.

The atmosphere in British India was quite different from the one prevailing in the princely states, and his brief stay at H apur naturally afforded him an opportunity to study public life from close quarters. He was able to see how the British rulers gene­rated communal disharmony by following the policy o f divide and rule, in order to exploit the Indian people. He was also able to see how the evil o f speculative trading was ruining the business community. He himself had been attracted to this type of trading under the influence o f his m aternal uncle, Mr. M usaddi Lai. However, the failure o f a well-established firm, M/s. Tota Mai Jagga Mai made him realise the disastrous effect of speculative trading. He even advised his elder cousins a t H apur to run their business on the industrial trad ing pattern which he himself dem onstrated to them.

Meanwhile, after a week’s stay at H apur, M r. M odi was called back to Patiala and was produced before the M aharaja. He was asked to explain his conduct a t the auction. The ques­tion was “ Why did he beat Mr. T urner when he knew tha t the latter was an Englishman and was to be respected as a sup­erior.” Quick came the reply “ In tha t case I have certainly made a mistake, for I had all along thought tha t in the State of Patiala, there was none superior to the M aharaja, therefore, when an ordinary servant o f the M aharaja abused the M aharja. how could I tolerate it?”

“ W hat did Turner say?” asked the M aharaja.He said, “ You dirty Indian. . . . Sir, are you not an Ind ian?” The M aharaja listened carefully. He knew th a t perhaps the

angry young man was right, but he wanted to take a different stand. He called M r. M ultanimal M odi and told him that

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he feared his young, irate son m ight tu r n out to be a revolu­tionary.

There is still another incident w hich illustrates how young Modi had developed a dauntless c h a ra c te r and a strong love for discipline and self-respect. In 1930 the M aharaja of Patiala won a suit against the Princely R u le r o f the neighbour­ing State o f Nabha. It was an occasion fo r rejoicing. A public reception wa3 arranged to honour and rew ard those who had helped in winning the suit against the S ta te of Nabha. Promi­nent men from all walks o f life were in v ited to a public durbar in front o f the fort and separate enclosures were set apart for each category of invitees. An official o f the reception com­mittee, who was deputed to look after th e seating arrangements, objected to one invitee, a prom inent c itizen , taking his seat on the Chandni (a while sheet)— m eant f o r the gazetted officers. Mr. Modi took this as an insult to all t h e invitees. He protested and talked to all the invitees present there . This had an elec­trifying effect. All the invitees includ ing the Commissioner were convinced o f the reasonableness o f his argument. There was a mild flutter in the durbar and the authorities had to inter­vene to bring the situation under co n tro l. On another occasion, at a party hosted by the M aharaja, th e invitees were asked to drink and dance in the W estern style, b u t M r. Modi refused to do so, much to the chagrin o f the M ah a ra ja . In this respect, he was a traditionalist.

By his very nature M r. M odi never would compromise on matters of principles dear to him. H e always had an urge to give a new and dynam ic direction t o his business activities. The new accounting system in troduced by him for maintaining the accounts of his business had been w o rk in g very satisfactorily and his father, who was no t co n v ersan t with the new system was satisfied that the new system h a d neither resulted in any complaint of irregularities nor had i t shown any pitfalls.

The cramping atm osphere in the princely states, and the

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rulers’ unfavourable attitude towards the setting up o f new industrial ventures in the states sapped the enthusiasm and initiative o f the business community. This was felt keenly by the im patient Gujarmal who began to think in terms o f expanding his business activities outside Patiala. The problem , however, was how to obtain permission from his father who did not want his son to be away from Patiala. Patient efforts b ro ­ught dividends at persistence and the father gave his consent on condition that wherever Mr. M odi might set up his new indus­trial ventures, he would not leave the permanent residence at Patiala. This the devoted son agreed to abide by. So in 1931 when M r. M odi had a chance to purchase a flour mill in Bombay, he decided to shift it to a new site in Ludhiana, the industrial hub o f modern Punjab. Selections for the posts of engineers and other officers were made and other arrangements too were in advanced stages of finalisation when suddenly Mr. G opal Sahai, the old trusted munim o f the family, brought the news that the father o f Mr. Modi was not too happy with this idea. The news was distressing, because by then most of the plans for establishing and running the new mills at Ludhiana had been finalised.

Mr. Modi thought o f a way out. He approached his father and assured him th a t he would come back to Patiala imme­diately after setting up the new mill. But the father was un ­convinced o f the wisdom o f all this. Who would look after the family business at Patiala, was the question which nagged him. Finally, the son had to give in to the wish of his father and it was decided that a new cloth mill a t Patiala would be set up instead o f the proposed venture at Ludhiana. Official per­mission for the new mill was obtained. Arrangements for the selection and developm ent of the site too were also made. Plans for the construction work were finalised and selection o f per­sonnel progressed well. A capital o f Rs. 1.5 million was a r ­ranged for the new venture. But ju st when these plans had

Rai Bahadur G. M. Modi with Shri N. Sanjiva Reddi and Shri H. N . Bahuguna on the occasion of Founder’s Day Celebrations at Modinagar.

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reached an advanced stage, there came a nasty shock. The civil adm inistration o f the princely state had cancelled its earlier permission for the mill without assigning any reason whatsoever. This was enough to dam pen the zeal of any new industrialist. But there was no way out except to bow before the will o f the M aharaja.

The background for cancelling the perm it o f the mill was provided by the conditions o f political unrest and uncertainty prevailing in British India. There were a spate o f strikes and an eruption o f general unrest throughout the country in the wake o f the non-cooperation movement started under the leader­ship o f M ahatm a Gandhi. To the M aharaja the opening o f a new mill at Patiala m eant trouble from organised labour. A p­prehensions in this regard prompted the M aharaja to cancel the permit for the mill.

Mr. M odi was greatly perturbed over the arbitrary and autocratic attitude adopted by the civil adm inistration under the M aharaja. It brought home the painful realisation tha t life in the princely states meant complete subjugation and hum i­liation. The sudden cancellation o f the licence for the new mill plus the refusal to give licence for the vanaspati u n it only ac­centuated this realisation. The pleasure-seeking luxurious life of the princely rulers was responsible for the industrial back­wardness o f the princely states. In the Punjab, the conditions were more deplorable. All this aroused in Mr. M odi a keen desire to shift his business interests outside Patiala.

The proverbial last straw on the camel’s back in this regard was provided by an incident in which M r. Sukhdev Sahai, an affluent industrialist from K anaur (the birth place o f M r. M odi) was hum iliated by the State of Hyderabad. M r. Sahai had not only been decorated with the title o f “ R aja B ahadur” in the year 1931, bu t had also lent to the royal heir a huge am ount o f money in the form o f interest-bearing loan. When M r. Sahai wanted his money back, all that he got was a rebuke and a flat

26

refusal to pay. To this were added insults to his person. The aggrieved Mr. Sahai had to run for his life and seek the pro­tection and intervention o f Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of British India and the Political Agent o f the Crown, who was stationed at Secunderabad. As a direct consequence of this episode, he was forced to sell all his assets including his landed property worth thousand of rupees at throw-away prices to flee the State in the shortest time.

This episode made Mr. M odi take the firm decision to shift his business interests outside the princely State to the terri­tories ruled by the British, where the capital could be better protected and where there would alm ost be no chance of facing humiliation and insult at the hands o f the adm inistrators. How­ever, the problem o f convincing the father who was conservative in his ideas about moving out o f the State remained. This problem continued to worry the young Modi who was keen to expand his industries and at the same time not to displease his father.

The personal life o f Mr. G ujarm al M odi was also not free from troubles. He had to face many m isfortunes but these did not shake his self-confidence. Between his first m arriage in 1914 and the year 1931, he lost ten children. In 1931 there was yet another misfortune in the family when his only surviving dau­ghter from the first wife died. His first wife had been suffering from what is known in medical parlance as a fibroid uterus and was therefore unable to bear healthy children. This caused great disappointm ent to the young M odi who was a staunch believer in the Hindu way o f life in which the birth o f a son is considered essential for ensuring salvation after death. The absence o f a male issue in the family made him pon­der over the futility o f this world. Mr. Modi started brooding. For hours together he would sit and m editate. W hat was the use o f all the wealth and honour when there was no one to share them with, he wondered. He left for H ardw ar, the

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sacred town on the banks o f the river Ganga and stayed in the jungles o f R ishikesh for many days in search o f peace of mind.

His father hinted th a t the family might adopt his younger brother, Mr. H arm u k h Rai, as a son. This was resisted by Gujarm al. The bo ld reaction shown by him to this suggestion speaks volumes of th e mental make-up of the man. “ If the void created by the absence o f a male issue in the family can be filled in this way” , he said , “ I can regard the sons and daughters of the whole mankind as my own” . Adoption o f a male issue, thus, became out o f the question.

Then Mr. M odi’s father-in-law hinted that he would be willing to give the h a n d o f his younger daughter in marriage to Mr. Modi, b u t he declined the offer. Meanwhile his worries continued t o grow and this had an adverse effect on his physical health, a n d a time came when he had to agree to a proposal made by h is father for a second marriage. Thus on 19th June, 1932 M r. M odi was married to Dayawati, daughter o f Mr. Chheda Lai o f Kasganj, in District Etah o f U ttar Pradesh.

As was expected, the second marriage brought him a new lease o f life. The m ood o f gloom and melancholia gave way to a fresh zeal an d desire to live and work. The young man started taking full in te rest in his business activities. Sir Fredrick Gauntlet, the old tru s te d friend o f the family, had all along been advising him to u n d ertak e new industrial ventures. By now, he had several p lan s up his sleeves, but obtaining the consent o f his father still posed a problem.

There was, how ever, one ray of hope. Over the past few years M r. Janki D a s , the trusted Munim , who was o f the same age as Mr. M odi, had become quite familiar with the new accounting system. This provided a welcome relief to Mr. Modi. If he had to be aw ay from Patiala for some time, he was now confident that accoun ting would go on without difficulty. By now, the father, to o , had come round to the view that the son

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should go ahead w ith his plans to expand his industries. But the wise father also knew th a t in youth one is prone to indulge in day-dreams. H e d id not want the family money to be frit­tered away in experim ents. Yet, he would have liked his son to depend upon h im self for finances to run the new industrial ventures, as he him self h ad done. W hen the young M odi came to know this, he was overjoyed.

He felt that the n ew ventures might keep him unusually busy for some time. S o he sent back his bride, Dayawati to her father’s home an d left fo r Delhi with a meagre am ount of Rs. 400/- in his pocket. This was the beginning o f the indus­trial career o f this en terp rising youngm an who was destined to carve out a place fo r h im self in the world o f industry.

ChapterThree

THE QUEST

It was a clear September day in 1932 when M r. M o d i started on his journey from Patiala. H e was determ ined to launch new ventures in the field o f industry. He was not su re o f what he was going to do, but he was confident th a t w hatever he would do would be great. He decided to go to Delhi, w h ich being the capital of India prom ised good prospects fo r a young industrialist.

On reaching Delhi, M r. M odi stayed in a h o te l and paid Rs. 150/- as advance rent for one m onth. Im m ediately there­after he started scanning the city and its neighbourhood in search of a suitable place for a new industry. H ow ever, even after a week of running about he remained undecided. Suddenly one evening as he was taking stock o f the efforts m a d e by him so far, he realised th a t though Delhi was th e metropolis o f India, Calcutta as the industrial city estab lished by the British, still retained its glory as the seat o f in d u stria l power. To him Calcutta offered better possibilities fo r estab lish ing a new industry. He, therefore, decided to try this lu c k there.

While at Patiala, M r. M odi had been keeping in touch with Mr. Narayan Das Bajoria, one o f his trusted friends, who had established his business at Calcutta. A regular exchange of ideas had been taking place between the two. N o w a t Calcutta after hurried consultations it was decided th a t in view of the ever-increasing dem and for vanaspati (hydrogenated vegetable oil) it would be better and, perhaps, wiser to go in f o r a vanaspati

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m anufacturing unit.Until the year 1932, vanaspati as a substitute fo r pure desi

ghee was being im ported into Indiaby British firms fro m Holland. Mr. Bajoria intended to start a vanaspati unit in the country but he was not able to arrange the finances requ ired fo r this. Mr. Modi had earlier toyed with the idea of s ta rtin g a vanaspati industry in Patiala, bu t could not implement his p lan e owing to opposition by the S ta te adm inistration.

Having set his m ind on the vanaspati industry , M r. M odi started to mobilise financial resources for the venture. In the meantime the G overnm ent, all o f a sudden, announced an in­crease in duty on sugar im ported into India. T h e step was meant to curtail im port o f sugar and encourage its indigenous production. There was, therefore, immediately a spurt in interest among the business community for estab lish ing sugar mills. This inspired Mr. Modi to begin his new industrial career with a sugar m anufacturing unit and he decided to move out o f Calcutta in search o f a suitable location for a sugar mill.

At Hapur, in U .P. he met his cousins, Mr. Saligram and Mr. Tara Chand, and his m aternal uncle Mr. M usadd i Lai who were in the speculation business. Mr. Modi called a m eeting o f prom inent businessmen there and persuaded th e m to accept his plan. His cousins agreed to help him.

The problem of m obilising capital was, thus, p a rtia lly solved, but the selection of a suitable site continued to p re sen t obstacles. For sugar industry several preconditions are o f p rim e im por­tance. The land around the area should be su itab le for the cultivation o f sugarcane. It should also have a railw ay station nearby for ensuring quick and prom pt transport o f sugar and sugarcane besides the facility o f postal links for pu rp o ses o f com­munication. Plenty o f soft w ater and proper facilities for drainage are also needed. Lastly, the available land should be sufficient to allow fu tu re expansion of the industry.

Mr. Modi collected a small folding chair, a co tton m at and a

few things to eat and started his survey journey by a ca r loaned to him by his relations at H apur. He visited several places in and around H apur, and while on his way from Delhi to M eerut he passed through Begumabad, a little known place till then. He stopped his car at a lonely spot, a stretch o f wilderness in the surrounding irrigated area. This was a sandy a rea over­grown with grass and throny bushes. The place was almost equi-distant from H apur and M eerut, both these places being roughly 24 kms away, and ab o u t 50 kms from Delhi. The area lay along the m ain highway. H e felt th a t this would be ideal for establishing a sugar mill.

On his return to Patiala he told his father ab o u t his great idea of setting up a factory at Begum abad. He got the curt reply that he would have to arrange the finance himself. M r. Modi readily agreed. He acquired practically the whole o f Beguma­bad village and started developing it. W hat was once a desolate area infested with reptiles and dangerous crim inals, soon be­came the nucleus o f an industrial township, hum m ing with new life. That was the birth o f M odinagar 45 years ago.

Within a few m onths’ he raised the money required to put up a sugar factory, which was set up in 1933. However, nature and man, both seemed to be pitted against him. In the very first year of the launching o f the factory, the sugarcane crop was poor because o f an indifferent m onsoon. The landlords in the area were angry because their agricultural labour was being weaned away by better opportunities for w ork in the newly started factory. U ndaunted, G ujarm al set o u t to over­come the problems. He convinced the landlords th a t indus­trialisation o f the area would be to their advantage as the value of their landed property would appreciate. W ith the develop­ment of roads in the area their m arkets would increase, he told them. By offering secure round-the-year em ploym ent he re­leased landless labour m ostly harijans, from veritable bondage. He exhorted the small traders o f H apur and other nearby towns

32

to invest their money in industry fo r national developm ent as well as personal advancem ent, instead o f indulging in specula­tion. He brought them together under an association fo r tha t purpose.

Strange as it m ay sound, the industrial m agnate in the m aking went around on a bicycle for these missions. V isiting villages far and wide, he individually carried to the people his message o f prosperity through industry. He persuaded his relations everywhere to buy shares in the industry he was establishing. Though less discernible, this kind o f spade w ork he had pu t in at the personal level was as m uch responsible as his business acumen and m anagerial skill in developing M odinagar into what it is today.

Acquisition o f land for the factory presented several complex problems, but these were tackled sm oothly by the tactful hand­ling and the sym pathetic attitude adopted by the young indus­trialist. He obtained the land on hire and on lease. The first man with whom he developed intimacy there w as Mr. Ram Sarup, whose b ro ther was the honorary m agistrate o f the area, and who helped him a lot by driving hom e to the village-folk the im portance o f industrialisation. The simple village people were won over through the immediate prospect o f increased opportunities o f em ploym ent, and the educated ru ral elite were tackled through discussion and persuasion.

G radually, Mr. M odi was able to get about 100 bighas (ap­proximately 62 acres) of land, and work on the factory was taken up in right earnest. A brick kiln was set up quickly and a place fo r preparing m aterials for the foundation w as selected in the nearby village o f Sikri Khurd. The level o f the railway line running along the area was enough to serve as a rough guide for deciding the p lin th level. The construction w ork o f the factory was taken up with great speed. Even while the work was in progress, orders for the m achinery required fo r the mill were placed with a firm in England. From m orning till evening

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Mr. Modi w ould remain busy at the construction site and then at night, he would attend to the correspondence.

When th e father learnt about the venture o f his son, he was visibly moved because the success achieved by the son was beyond his expectations. He decided to go to Begum abad to see with his own eyes the ambitious venture o f his son. W hen he went to th e construction site, he marvelled at the organising ability o f his son. To show his appreciation and to encourage his enthusiastic son Mr. M ultanimal M odi offered to purchase shares w orth Rs. 200,000 in the new venture. This gesture had the desired effect and Gujarmal set upon his task w ith added vigour and decided to increase the initial capacity o f the p lan t from 600 to n s to 800 tons.

ChapterFour

EARLY STRUGGLES

Work at the site of the sugar facto ry progressed without much difficulty. However, after the construction was com p­lete—the plant equipment was installed at an expenditure of Rs. 11,00,000 and the factory came in to actual operation on 15th September 1933—there were some serious and dam pening developments. The drainage o f the effluent proved a problem. For sometime the pits of the brick kiln served the purpose but soon the pits were filled to capacity an d could not absorb any more water. The residents of the village Sikri, apparently under the influence o f the landlords o f the area, were bitter on account of the setting up o f the sugar factory n e a r the area o f their hab i­tation. As a protest they had constructed a bund on the o u t­skirts of the village thus obstructing the drainage of the effluent. The landlords o f the area were at the back o f these irate villagers because the farm labour, which used to be employed by them on low wages was engaged at the construc tion site on higher wages and with brighter prospects o f getting absorbed in the factory.

These villagers of Sikri not only constructed the bund but also mounted guard over the enbankm ent o f the bund fearing that the factory owner might attem pt a forcible breach o f the bund. But breaching of the bund w a sessential in order to drain out the accumulated effluent o f th e factory. All efforts to persuade the villagers to allow the accum ulated effluent to pass through the bund failed. Mr. M o d i, thereupon, thought

35

out a novel p lan . He knew that the area was infested w ith dacoits belonging to the M aria tribe who used to loo t people passing along th e highway as well as th rough the busy area. There was, on this account, an understandable fear am ong the villa­gers and no one dared to move out of the village after dusk. Mr. M odi chalked o u t a plan to scare the village watchm an away from the bund, b u t kept it a close secret. A man was taken into confidence and was told to go to the bund site a t the dead of night and cry ‘M ar gay a, mar gay a', (killed, killed) a t the shot o f a fire gun. Mr. M odi himself alongwith the construction engineer went to the bund on a storm y m idnight. M r. M odi fired a few rounds. The scheme had the desired effect, fo r the village watchman ran away to safety. This facilitated the work o f cutting breaches into the bund and the effluent was drained out.

But the problem , though solved for the time being, conti­nued to stare M r. M odi in the face, fo r the villagers who were outwitted and beaten still nursed ill will against him. Then, Mr. M odi adopted the wiser policy o f wooing the angry villagers till some alternative for draining out the effluent was devised. He offered them assistance in cash and kind to reconstruct their houses, to reclaim their land and to make up for the loss suffered by them . T hus, he was successful in getting over the antagonism o f the villagers.

The setting u p o f the sugar factory a t Begumabad was ju s t one step towards th e realisation of the dream of a new industrial empire cherished by Mr. Gujarmal M odi. The sugar factory was ready for operation by the middle o f September 1933 and there were full two m onths to go before the new sugarcane crop was expected fo r crushing. But Mr. M odi would not wait. He was anxious th a t the factory should sta rt functioning as early as possible. Therefore, one fine m orning he sum m oned all the engineers em ployed in the factory fo r consultation. He ex­plained his anxiety and wanted a solution. After discussions

36

it was agreed that the intervening period o f two m onths should be utilised to convert raw sugar and gur into refined sugar with the help of the sugar refining unit o f the factory.

Thus, by the end of October th a t year 35,000 maunds (about2,880,000 lbs) of raw sugar was converted into refined sugar. This operation resulted in a loss to Mr. M odi,bu t his enthusiasm was unabated. He set his eyes on the new sugarcane crop which was expected shortly.

There was, however, a new developm ent. By this time, about 30 more sugar mills had been established in the country and they had mopped up alm ost all the best talents in the field. There was, therefore, a shortage o f able chemists and other tech­nical personnel to man the sugar factory. Mr. Modi wisely decided not to confine his search fo r capable technicians inside the country alone, but to extend it outside as well. W ithin a reasonable time he was able to secure the service o f an experien­ced chemist from H olland and two experts from Jawa.

The conditions dictated by the foreign technical hands in­cluded high salaries, signing o f a written agreem ent, com for­table stay in a well furnished bungalow, free services o f two whole time servants at home and sum m er stay a t a hill resort. Judging by the living conditions in Europe during the recession of the 1930s, these were really exorbitant dem ands. But, then, one had to think o f the industrial prospects. Mr. Modi, there­fore, agreed to all the demands. He hoped that foreign technical hands would be able to show better results in a m arket in which there was a dearth o f capable men. But these foreign experts could not deliver the goods. Production did no t show any upward trend. This was a time o f grave trial for him. He thoroughly investigated the cause o f failure and was at last able to locate it. He found that the Dutch chemist had been neglect­ful in discharging his duties. Taking a cue from him, other officers, too, had started ignoring their duties. A big percentage of the sugar was going down the drainunutilised and the uneduca­

37

ted ru ra l workers were not am enable to discipline. Many absen­ted themselves from duty w ithout p rio r intimation.

In o rder to improve m atters, M r. M odi decided to stay within the facto ry premises for all the 24 hours. His presence in the facto ry had a miraculous effect, for w ithin two weeks conditions in the factory showed a m arked im provem ent. The workers started pu tting in their sincere effort an d the result was that while sugar mills in the adjoining areas o f M eerut and M ohiuddinpur continued to show losses, the M odi mill showed a profit.

A fter the first crushing season was over Mr. Modi left for P atia la , his ancestral home, as it w as the off season and there was no w ork in the factory. The second season at the factory b rough t in its wake a spate of new problem s. The traditional h ab it o f the Indian farm er was to m ake gur from the sugarcane and it was difficult to induce him to sell his produce to the mill. Low sugarcane yield added to the p ro b lem andthen there was the problem o f creating the in frastructure o f roads to facilitate the tran sp o rta tio n o f sugarcane from th e farm to the factory. There was also, a t the social level, the trad itional caste prejudice o f H indu landlords against Harijan w orkers who had been serving them as bonded labour. The em ploym ent o f this labour iby the mill had naturally infuriated the vested interests in the land- ow ing class. But M r. M odi would not listen to the suggestion th a t H arijan labour should be ousted from the factory to appease the ira te landlord community. Instead , he rendered financial assistance to the Harijan w orkers.

The forces of nature too appeared to pose a challenge to the young entrepreneur. The year 1934 saw the failure of m on­soon an d the consequent failure o f the sugarcane crop. Added to th is was the attack o f frost w hich ruined whatever prospects o f the crop were left. This m eant a period o f crisis for the sugar industry . There were two alternatives now, either the factory should be closed down or sugarcane should be transported from far-flung areas o f H ardoi, S hah jahanpur and Bareilly. Sugar

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mills in Meerut and M ohiuddinpur, too, were facing a similar cirsis and the impression was gaining ground that it was im pos­sible to run sugar factories in W estern U ttar Pradesh. One industrialist from D elhi came forw ard with the suggestion that if all the factories in the area were put under his control, he would be able to solve their problem s. But Mr. Modi decided to test his luck alone.

While Mr. Modi was facing adverse circumstances at M odi­nagar, conditions a t Patiala were no better. In the absence of the enterprising son, the father had been incurring heavy losses in his industries and the army supply contract business. W hatever little was earned from the managing agency business was neutralised by the heavy losses sustained at Patiala. This had given a big jo lt to the father who sent a frantic call to his son to come and help him. The young G ujarm al decided not to lose heart in the face o f the m ounting difficulties.

The third crushing season saw Mr. M odi sitting with his fingers crossed. This season, too, production o f sugarcane had been much below the estimate. The profits made during the months of January and February had been offset by the loss incurred during M arch and the only alternative now was either to bring sugarcane from other areas or to close the factory earlier and face losses and adm it defeat.

Besides, Mr. M odi faced another kind o f difficulty also. The sugarcane brought from far-flung areas gave less sugar because of inversion in the juice. As a result, the production of sugar was less and the percentage of molasses increased. This posed a problem which h ad no easy solution. As if Providence came to his help a t this juncture , one day when Mr. Modi was having his afternoon nap, he saw the figure o f a Mahatma (an ascetic) in his dream. At first the figure was unclear and hazy. But gra­dually it became clearer and started talking to him. The Maha­tma suggested to him that if a certain am ount of fresh milk o f lime was added to th e sugarcane juice, it would solve all his

39

problems. M r. M odi woke up in astonishm ent. He had never met anyone resembling the figure w hich he had seen in the dream. Yet the figure appeared to be familiar and re-assuring. He got up and began to recollect w hat he had seen in the dream . The sub-conscious in him helped h im to recollect all th a t the M ahatm a had said in the dream . H e called for the D utch chemist and related to him his astonish ing dream. The D utch expert laughed at the idea o f using m ilk o f lime and would not test it. But the young G ujarm al w as so convinced abou t the correctness o f the suggestion in the dream that he decided to try it. He told the D utch expert to q u it and entrusted the task o f working on the idea to Mr. D esraj N arula, who was then working as m anufacturing chem ist in the factory.

The novel idea suggested by him p roved miraculous, for the very next day Mr. N aru la came ru n n in g with the happy news that production in the factory had g o n e up from 400 bags to about 500 bags per day after the new idea had been put to test. Chemical analysis, done later a t different laboratories, revealed that the new process discovered by M r. M odi had the effect of reversing the process which was responsible for the low re­covery. W hat had been happening so fa r was that when sugar­cane juice was kept for a certain perio d of time, it became sour and acidic and this inverted the sucrose content in the juice and turned it into molasses. The ad d itio n of fresh milk o f lime had the effect of checking the inversion thereby yielding higher quantities of sugar. Today, it is custom ary to use this process in the sugar industry, but in the 1930s when the sugar industry in India was still in its infancy, th is discovery was of m ajor im portance, fo r it gave an am azing b o o st to the production of sugar in the country. This achievem ent is all the more rem ar­kable as it came from a person who did not have any form al technical knowledge o f the sugar industry .

C hapterFive

FRESH LAURELS AT HOME

M r. M odi was pleased at the success of the new discovery m ade by him on the basis o f the revelations m ade to him by an unknown M ahatm a in a dream. The new discovery had faci­lita ted a better recovery o f sugar from sugarcane juice. In the sum m er o f 1936 he decided to go on a short holiday to Kashmir. But before undertaking the trip, he thought it better to have an audience with the then M aharaja of Patiala.

T he M aharaja was already impressed by the qualities and capabilities o f M r. Modi. He decided to put him to a test. M r. H ari K rishna Lai, a well-known industrialist of Bhatinda in Punjab owed large am ounts of money to the State exchequer. He had a wide net-w ork of industries in different parts of the state and had secured loans from the State Bank of Patiala against the security of these industrial units. The Chief M ini­ster o f the State, M r. Liaquat Ali K han, and the Finance M ini­ster, S ir Gauntlet, had failed in their efforts to realise this money from him and the M aharaja wanted to entrust this work to Mr. M odi. The M aharaja offered the services o f 100 strong band of arm ed guards to help him in this work. M r. Modi declined the offer o f security guards but readily accepted the task. He abandoned his holiday plans and decided to proceed to Bha­tinda the same day.

The M anager o f the mill a t Bhatinda was a British national and in those days when the Political A gent of the British Gov­ernm ent had con tro l over every field o f activity, this manager

41

was able to wield trem endous influence in public life. Even per­sons in high office did not dare enter the premises o f the factory which was under his charge. Mr. Modi, however, decided to undertake the arduous task of taking over the m anagem ent o f the mill by using this very British M anager and his Indian secretary, Mr. Tara Chand. He invited both o f them to tea a t the Rest House and while both were busy enjoying a cup of tea, Mr, M odi quietly made his way to the factory with the intention of taking charge o f the mill in their absence. Taking charge of the keys o f the cash box proved very easy because the chief cashier was overawed by the personality of Mr. M odi and did not suspect any foul play. He readily agreed to hand over all the keys of the cash box. Once this was done, the remaining task did no t present any hurdle. W ith his deft handling of the situation, Mr. M odi succeeded in achieving his seemingly insurm ountable goal without the use o f any force. As a gesture of goodwill, which also reflects his tactfulness, M r. M odi allowed the British manager to continue in his post. When the M aharaja heard the happy news, he was overjoyed and he decided to appoint Mr. Modi as the official receiver of the mill. This was a unique honour for Mr. M odi because normally this post is reserved for one who is acquainted with law or who is in the legal profession.

When M r. H ari K rishna Lai heard the news, he was beside himself with fury and immediately lodged a com plaint w ith the British Governm ent against the ruler o f Patiala. In his com ­plaint Mr. Lai alleged tha t the factory at Bhatinda had been taken possession o f by force. The M aharaja in those days was no t on good terms w ith the then Viceroy o f the British G overn­m ent and he feared some legal action might be taken against him. Mr. M odi was, therefore, summoned once again for consultation. But the latter had accomplished the whole task without leaving any legal flaws whatsoever. Therefore, when the Political Agent started the enquiry, he was shown the transfer

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deed signed by the M anager and the secretary of the mill. This totally belied the allegation o f use o f force and so the M aharaja was acquitted o f the charge. This second achievement was certainly greater than the first, fo r the M aharaja now began to have full trust in him and started consulting him on every im­portant matter concerning the State. These incidents obviously added to the self-confidence o f Mr. Modi.

While working a t the B hatinda mill, Mr. Modi had the opportunity of testing the behavioural pattern o f the bureau­cracy. The factory was being run efficiently under his able guidance. A small tract o f land and a few villages formed part of the fixed assets o f the factory and M r. M odi decided to auction them. An advertisement was, accordingly, issued. But the then Deputy Commissioner had his eye sset on this auction. He approached Mr. M odi and suggested tha t if one village and a part of the land were given over to him a t a lower price with­out auctioning it, he would be willing to share h a lf the am ount thus saved with Mr. Modi. When Mr. Modi declined the offer, the Deputy C om m issioner felt offended and sought an opportunity to take revenge.

One such occasion came his way when the Revenue Minister of the State paid a visit to the office o f the Deputy Commissioner. Word was sent to M r. Modi to send one slab o f ice from the factory and as expected, no m oney was sent for it. M r. Modi sent the slab as requested but paid its price from his own pocket. The Deputy Commissioner m ade a note o f this incident for future use. On another occasion M r. Modi had to travel to Bhatinda in the company o f his father. While the son used to travel first class, the father always preferred to travel second class. As usual, Mr. M odi purchased a first class ticket but, in deference to the wishes o f the father, decided to travel with him in the second class. The D eputy Com missioner thought that this was another good occasion for him to take revenge. Immediately he took action. A photograph o f Mr. Modi

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travelling in the second class was tak en and a com plaint was lodged with the M aharaja alleging th a t Mr. Modi had been giving away slabs of ice to people w ithout charging any price and that while he had travelled in the second class, he had charged for first class. The photograph w as presented in support of the second allegation. This was sufficient to create an elem ent of doubt in the mind o f the M ah a ra ja who summoned M r. M odi and asked him to explain his conduc t. Mr. Modi had to show that he had actually purchased a first class ticket but was obliged to sit with his father in the second class. Similarly he was able to prove that he had paid the p rice of the ice from his own pocket. M r Modi, was, thus, exonerated , but this incident shook his faith in the bureaucracy. He realised that an officer was an officer first and a friend afterw ards.

But in the mind o f the M ahara ja , this incident created a tremendous am ount o f goodwill fo r Mr. Modi. He was en- tremely pleased with his blotless conduct and offered him a contract for the factory a t a concessional rate. However, M r. Modi preferred to let his cousin, Mr. Harnam Singh Modi, become manager of the factory, an d kept himself a loof from its affairs.

C hapterSix

AN INDUSTRIAL TO W N IS BORN

M r. Modi now concentrated his attention on the develop­m ent of industry a t Begumabad. The th ird crushing season had brought in its w ake a few more serious threatening problems. P roduction o f sugar during these years had crossed the de­m and and in view o f the glut in the m arket, the sugar factories were obliged to sell their product at below-the-cost prices. This was a period o f crisis for the industry. M r M odi then hit upon the idea of organising the sugar factory owners into a syndicate which would con tro l the price levels and also regulate the flow of sugar stocks in the market. Official blessing came forth readily and thus M r. Modi was able to tackle one serious p ro ­blem o f the industry at least tem porarily.

While the year 1936-37 was the year o f crises for the sugar industry, the year 1938-39 saw it achieve m aturity and stability. This year saw the b irth o f Sugarcane D evelopm ent Cooperative Societies. The concept o f having com m and areas for sugar mills was also introduced during these days. All the farmers in a particu lar area were organised into one cooperative society and all the supplies o f sugarcane to a particular mill were regulated with the assistance o f the cooperative society working in that area. The factory owners quickly realised the importance of these societies and a commission of one p er cent was fixed in order to build up the finances o f these societies. The amount thus collected was utilised to repair, im prove and augment the net-w ork of roads in th e area. Alm ost all the new roads which

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were laid in this a rea during the course of the early years were constructed by these cooperative societies which also played a leading role in im proving the lot o f the farm ers. The growers were now assured o f a certain fixed price for their produce and they had no longer to wait in never-ending queues outside factories. W ith his untiring efforts Mr. Modi was thus able to put the sugar industry in Western U.P. on a stable footing.

At the same tim e, the welfare of the workers was no t neglec­ted by Mr. G ujarm al Modi. In 1938 a water supply system was laid by him to tack le the basic problem o f drinking w ater for the workmen em ployed in the factory. One medical offi­cer was also ap p o in ted to look after the health needs o f the labour force and th e medical facilities available at the hospital were thrown open to the general public.

The sugar facto ry provided only seasonal em ploym ent to labour and was not conducive to the establishm ent o f the in ­dustrial town envisaged by Mr. Modi. H e had been, therefore, on the lookout for som e other factories in order to provide year- round employment to the workers and be able to give them an opportunity to stay near the place of their em ploym ent. A fter considering several schemes Mr. M odi decided to go in for a vanaspati m anufacturing unit. He had already toyed w ith this idea in 1928 at P a tia la when his plans were frustrated because o f the refusal of th e then M aharaja to grant him necessary permission. A t C alcu tta , too, his plans in this regard had n o t materialised in 1932 because he was not able to mobilise suffi­cient capital to estab lish the factory. A better opportun ity came his way in 1939. This was the time when G erm any was engaged in hectic preparations for W orld W ar II. T ransport of civil m aterial at t h a t time was given a very low priority. H ow ­ever, M r. M odi m anaged to import all the machinery needed by him for establishing the factory, and by the end o f June 1939 the new factory s ta rted operating.

In those days th e vanaspati m anufactured and m arketed by

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M/s. Lever Brothers, Bombay (n o w M /s. H industan Lever Ltd.) was very popular and it was g i v i n g the highest percentage of profit to the company. Their f a c to r y in India was the first of its kind, and when the M odi V a n a s p a t i M anufacturing com ­pany started functioning, the m a n a g e m e n t o f the Lever Bros., did not like it. They offered to p u rc h a se all the assets of the factory at double the am ount o f m o n ey invested. Mr. M odi rejected the offer outright. T h is en rag ed the m anagem ent o f Lever Bros., who decided to fo r c e Mr. M odi into submission. The strategy of underselling th e ir p ro d u c t was adopted in the area served by M odi’s Kotogem a n d the result was tha t in areas like M eerut and G haziabad v a n a s p a ti m anufactured by Lever Bros started selling at b e lo w -th e -co s t prices. Mr. M odi had anticipated this and he also knew t h a t if he could face this cu t­throat competition for some tim e , h e w ould be able to win. This competition went on for a b o u t a year and at the end of this period Lever Bros., was forced to re v e rse its strategy.

The progress of W orld W ar II g a v e a boost to the dem and for vanaspati which in turn resulted i n a rise in price. Vanaspati, therefore, became a gold mine a n d ICotogem , too, became very popular. By this time M odis h ad s ta r te d using co tton seed oil for the m anufacture of vanaspati.

Tatas too implicated M odis in to a copyright suit concerning the use of the brand name o f K o to g e m and threatened to spend huge amounts of money to pursue t h e case. W hen they did not succeed in the lower court, they w e n t up to the High Court, but there too they could not s u b s ta n tia te the charge of the in­fringement o f copyright and had to p a y the costs under a High Court decree.

In 1940 Mr. M odi established a washing soap factory by utilising the waste sludge resulting f r o m the processing of vanas­pati.

After his initial success with th e w ash in g soap project, Mr. Modi decided to go in for a toilet s o a p factory. This was no easy

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task , for no soap m anufacturer in the organised sector was wil­ling to reveal the details of his m anufacturing process. He visited V aranasi and saw some small-scale factories but this did not satisfy him. Thereafter, he went to Calcutta and sought the help o f his friend Mr. Bajoria, but here, too, he did no t suc­ceed. He was disappointed, but he refused to accept defeat. Suddenly one day he thought of a clever plan. He m ade his way to a big soap-making factory in an ordinary dress on the excuse o f getting some drinking water. He secured entry into the factory premises and was able to talk to one Bengali gentle­m an, Mr. Das G upta, who he learnt later, was the chemical engineer o f the factory. Mr. Modi approached him as an o r­dinary, innocent person and enquired, “ W hat do you m anu­facture here. Sir ?”

“Toilet soap” , was the reply.“ Really ? Can toilet soap be m anufactured in India?” Mr.

M odi asked in amazement.“ Why n o t” , replied the chemical engineer, and in order to

reassure the unfam iliar visitor, he olfered to show him round the factory. This provided Mr. Modi the much-needed oppor­tunity to study the soap-making process. It was here tha t he came to know tha t the white oily substance which was stored in the factory in huge wooden barrels and was being used in the m anufacture o f toilet soaps was nothing else but tallow.

“C an’t we m anufacture toilet soap w ithout the use of ta l­low ?” M r. M odi enquired.

“N o” said the chemical engineer, “ for it is only tallow which keeps the soap cake hard and dry.”

“ I can make it possible” , asserted the visitor.“Will you use vanaspatiV’“ Yes”“ But tha t will be a costly affair.”“ Sometimes sentiments have more value than m oney,” as­

serted the visitor.

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This casual acquaintance between the two grew and Mr. M odi was able to persuade Mr. D asgupta to jo in his toilet soap- making project at M odinagar. A nd, thus, the year 1941 saw the emergence o f the toilet soap factory at M odinagar. Modis started m anufacturing soaps under the brand names, M odi No. 1 and Prefect soap.

In 1941 came the M odi Tin Factory to fulfil the dem and of the vanaspati unit for tin containers. The construction o f the M odi Hospital too was taken up the same year. By now the ever-expanding activities at M odinagar had come to a point where Mr. Gujarmal Modi had to decide to cut off his links with Patiala.

The year 1941-42 saw m any countries get involved in the World War and the British G overnm ent was hard pressed for resources and for arranging civil supplies for the armies. It wanted to involve its protectorates too in the war effort. In India several new industries were set up to provide civil supplies to the armies. The biggest need o f the hour was food and clothing. Some way had to be found to process dehydrated vegetables and other foods for the arm ed forces. An English General was asked to explore the possibilities o f setting up such industries in India. The General cam e to this country and cal­led a meeting of the leading industrialists. He was surprised to see that no one was willing to com e forward to set up any such industry.

Mr. Modi was the only industrialist who came forward and offered to try his hand in this line. He was given one m on­th ’s time to submit his scheme. M r. M odi had to start from scratch because the necessary technical know-how for such an industry was not available in the country. M r. M odi was all the time thinking about making a blue-print of the machinery for the factory. Suddenly once again he saw the image o f the M ahatm a in his dream. The im age was clear and familiar. On his request the M ahatm a took him to a p lan t in Germ any,

S h ri G ujarm al M odi in discussion with Shri Jaw ah ar L ai Nehru during his visit to M odi N agar.

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and showed him the different parts o f the m achinery. W hen the reverie broke G ujarm al found himself lying on his cosy bed. He was overjoyed as the dream sequence had set his m ind at rest. He sketched a blue-print. A wooden model o f the dehy­drating machines was prepared on the basis of the rough sketch provided by M r. M odi which was later on im proved and incor­porated into prototype machines which were further im proved for the factory. Thus on 28th May 1941 was bo rn the M odi Food Products, based entirely on the ideas provided by the enterprising young industrialist.

On 18th December 1941, this factory was separated from the sugar factory and converted into a public limited company. Sometime later a new company, Modi Supplies C orporation Ltd. was set up to process dry fruits into cakes and tablets for the use of the armed forces. The dehydrating p lant o f the M odis was the first of its kind in the country. The dehydration p ro ­cess was patented by M r. M odi and dedicated to the G overnm ent of India.

Meanwhile, Mr. M odi continued to expand facilities for his workers. They were given canteen facilities a t M odinagar and a school was opened for the benefit of their children. In 1942, Mr. Jaw ahar Lai N ehru, Leader o f the N ational M ovement, visited the School and a purse was presented to him. M r. N ehru is reported to have quipped: “Is it meant to stop me from incit­ing your workers ?” Pat came the reply fi'om M r. M odi, “ I f an outsider can exercise so much influence on my workers, one can imagine how m uch influence I have over them .” M r. N ehru was pleased and he praised the sense of goodwill shown by M r. M odi towards his workers.

The title of Rai Bahadur was conferred on G ujarm al M odi at a formal investiture ceremony held at the G overnm ent House, Lucknow, on 28th November 1942. His Excellency Sir M au­rice Hallet, the G overnor of the then United Provinces, read out the citation th a t Mr. Modi had “not only rendered a valu­

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able contribution to supply” but had also shown himself as “ a generous helper o f all good causes” and had “ considerably con­tributed in the furtherance o f the W ar E ffort.”

The same year Mr. M odi established a girl’s school for the benefit of children o f the workers employed a t M odinagar.

All these years he had not been oblivious o f M ahendra Garh, his birth-place. He took a num ber o f measures for the welfare of the people of the area. In 1942 he constructed a W om en’s Hospital at M ahendra G arh in the memory o f his grand-m other, Mrs. Jai Devi, and handed it over to the Governm ent. The hospital fulfiled the long-standing need for a wom en’s hospital in the area.

Mr. M odi also felt that there should be a high school at M ahendra Garh. There was only one middle school for the villages surrounding this town. In 1943, M r. M odi established a higher secondary school under the nam e o f Yadavendra M ultanimal M odi Higher Secondary School.

The Government of India was so far im porting biscuits from abroad. In 1943 Mr. M odi was encouraged to set up a biscuit m anufacturing factory. C onstruction o f the factory was prom pt­ly taken up, the machinery was im ported and the factory started m anufacturing a variety o f biscuits two years later. Sim ulta­neously, a confectionary plant was also set up.

Rai Bahadur M ultanimal M odi C haritable T rust was formed in the same year in order to carry on various public welfare activities. The rules of the T rust were approved at its first meet­ing held at Patiala under the Chairm anship o f his father. A cash grant of Rs. 10,00,000 and a G uest House at the pilgrim centre o f H ardw ar comprised the first donation made by Mr. Multanimal Modi to the Trust.

Modi Oil Mills was set up in 1944 to meet the needs of the vanaspati unit for pure cottonseed oil and groundnut oil.

As a token of his love and affection for the Jciwans, M r. M odi constructed an imposing Sainik Bhawan at M eerut and dedica­

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ted it to the Jawcms.Acquisition o f land for constructing living accommodation

for the ever-increasing labour force employed at M odinagar presented a problem . M r. M odi was able to persuade the Government to hand over to him a m ilitary camping ground opposite the sugar mill. A scheme for construction of living quarters for the workers was taken up. In 1944, when the oil mill was established, another dispensary was set up for the benefit of the workers there.

By this time, M odi H igh School had started attracting an increasing num ber o f students from the surrounding villages. The construction of boys’ hostel for these students was, therefore, taken up in 1944 and com pleted in 1945. Construction o f a teachers’ colony was also taken up the same year.

The year 1945 saw the end o f W orld W ar II. The British Government heaved a sigh o f relief at the end o f the war. As a natural corollary to the end of the W'ar, industries like Modi Food Products and M odi Supplies C orporation were wound up. In appreciation o f the sevices rendered by him during the war period, M r. M odi was taken in an imposing procession through the main streets o f M eerut. A t the head of the proces­sion Mr. Modi was seated on a well decorated elephant and along with him sat the D istrict M agistrate. A nother elephant carried the Additional D istrict M agistrate and the Tehsildar of M eerut. The military parade which followed these elephants passed through the main road o f the city. Coins w orth Rs. 5,000/- were showered by the G overnm ent on M r. Modi.

It was at this time th a t the G overnm ent thought of confer­ring knighthood on him as a m ark o f further appreciation o f the valuable services rendered by him. W hen M r. M odi’s father was informed about the G overnm ent’s desire, he is reported to have remarked that it would be better if some ‘Ind ian’ title was con­ferred on the son. M r. M odi conveyed the wish of his father to the Governor who suggested tha t nstead of ‘kinighthood’

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the title of Raja B ahadur might be conferred on him. The G over­nor conveyed his suggestion to th e Viceroy. The problem, how ­ever, was that this title was generally conferred on big landlords or on those who owned village property or were owners o f farm lands. Mr. M odi neither owned any villages nor was he a big landlord. In o rder to remove this difficulty the Governor sug­gested that the colony set up by M r. M odi near Begumabad be named M odinagar and in his capacity as the founder of the colo­ny the title of R aja Bahadur be conferred on him.

In 1945, therefore, the industrial colony founded by Mr. Guja- ral M odi was formally and officially named M odinagar. The names of the post office, Railway Station and Police Station also were changed from Begumabad to M odinagar.

The year 1945-46 saw events of m ajor political significance taking place in the country. T he ‘Quit India M ovement’ o f 1942 had more than convinced the British G overnm ent that it would have to grant an am ple measure of autonom y to the country. They knew well th a t they were able to secure public cooperation during the W ar only in exchange for the prom ise o f granting autonom y to the Ind ian people. In 1945, therefore, elections to the provincial legislature were held, and next year elections to the C onstituent Assembly took place. The Interim Governm ent, which was form ed in September 1946, decided to stop the practice o f conferring titles in vogue during the British regime. The question o f conferring the title of Raja Bahadur on Mr. Modi, was, therefore, deferred.

In view of the fast pace of expansion and development of M odinagar, a Tow n Area Com m ittee was constituted by the Governm ent in 1746. The Com m ittee was entrusted with the task o f looking after public health, sanitation, lighting and other civic needs of the area. Mr. G ujarm al M odi, as the founder of the town was naturally nom inated, and later on elected the first Chairm an o f the Town A rea Committee.

%

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On June 17, 1946, R. B. M ultan im al M odi C haritable T rust decided to construct one Sadhu A shram at Patiala for the benefit of sadhus. A scheme to sta rt a Sanskrit Pathshala was also approved by the Trust.

C hapterSeven

FURTHER TRIALS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

In 1946, Mr. G ujarm al M odi decided to set up a textile mill a t an estim ated cost of Rs. 10 million. A big p lo t o f land adjoining the existing factory in village Sikri was selected fo r the purpose and after prelim inary negotiations with the parties concerned, the G overnm ent was approached for permission to acquire the land from the G u ja r land-owners. The G overnm ent granted the necessary perm ission and Mr. M odi took possession o f the land on 6th June 1946 w hen there was an unexpected development. The G ujars of the area were dissatisfied over the Government decision to permit acquisition of the land. A t that time a large num ber of com m unist leaders and w orkers had gathered at Delhi to take p art in the im pending strike by railwaymen. The strike, however, fizzled out and therefore the com m unist wor­kers h ad to retreat. On their way back, some o f them stopped a t M odinagar and dem anded a sum o f Rs. 5000/-from M r. Modi but he refused. The com m unist leaders decided to incite the mill workers against M r. Modi. Loud speakers were installed in front o f the factory gates and a venomous propaganda tirade was let loose against Mr. Modi.

A com plaint ab o u t a threat to peace in the mill area was lodged with D istrict M agistrate at M eerut who forwarded it to the new G overnm ent at Lucknow. The Parliam entary Sec­retary attached to the M inistry o f Hom e Affairs in the new G overnm ent reportedly told the District M agistrate that the new popular M inistry was not bound to follow the old British practice

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of patronising and protecting capitalist interests. In view o f this advice, the D istrict M agistrate decided to keep quiet and took no action in the m atter. When Mr. M odi was apprised o f this new policy o f the popu lar ministry, he, too, decided to watch the situation quietly.

Meanwhile, the communists and others started spreading all sorts of rum ours in the surrounding villages. One such rum our was th a t the new Government had issued orders th a t every farmer who had supplied sugarcane to the sugar factory was entitled to get free of cost sugar to the extent o f 1 /IOth o f the sugar produced from the cane supplied by him.

The irate landlords o f the Sikri village joined hands with communist elements and incited the farmers. The result was tha t on 26th June 1946 a huge mob collected in fron t o f the sugar mill. It included young girls and both undergraduate and post­graduate students from Meerut. The girl students and small children were kept at the head of this m ob and the com m unists and others arm ed with lathis kept themselves behind them.

The organisers of this dem onstration perhaps expected th a t the watch and w ard staff of the mills would be ordered to open fire on the restive people and this would give the agitated m ob an opportunity to level the allegation that M r. M odi had com m it­ted excesses against a peaceful gathering. But th a t did no t happen, for the far sighted industrialist had anticipated such moves on the p a r t of these elements and had quietly disarm ed the watch and w ard staff. The angry m ob beat the watch and ward staff and slappd them in their faces and threw their tu rbans away. However, even these tactics failed to provoke the watch and ward staff into reacting in any violent manner.

From the sugar mill the mob proceeded to the biscuit mill where the same dram a of violence was enacted. As a m easure of safety, M r. M odi had to order all the factories to close down for the day. The rowdy elements continued their tactics alm ost throughout the day and retreated only late in the evening.

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Mr. M odi lodged a report abou t these incidents with the District M agistrate who promised to hold an inquiry into the matter. Next day when the D istrict M agistrate and the police officer in charge o f the area came to the scene o f the incidents, they, too, were m anhandled by rowdy elements. One person threw the pea-cap of the Police Chief, a British national, and another snatched away his baton. The police chief refrained from using force, fo r he did not want to incur the displeasure of the new Governm ent. But as the crowd became more restive, a few of the rowdy elements were rounded up and taken to the local Police Station. The mob, however, was able to secure their release under the threat o f futher violence. The police officers left for M eerut with the prom ise to return in the after­noon, bu t they never came back.

The irate mob led by the rowdy elements continued their dram a of violence fo r eight days. D uring this period life in the town came to a standstill. There was panic all a round and it appeared as if lawlessness had become the law o f the day.

As the situation in the town continued to deteriorate, M r. Modi decided to go to Lucknow to discuss the m atter with the Ministers of the new Governm ent. There M r. M odi met Mr. Govind Ballabh Pant, Mr. Rafi Ahm ed K idwai and Mr. K. N. Katju, the C hief Minister, the Hom e M inister and the M inister for Industry respectively. H e was able to convince them tha t if it was intended that no pro tection should be affor­ded to the industries or that the industries should no t function at all, it would be better to order their closure in a peaceful m an­ner, bu t the type o f rowdyism which was being perm itted in M odinagar did not benefit anyone.

Mr. M odi came back from Lucknow after securing an assu­rance tha t due protection would be given to the industries at

M odinagar. The factories in the tow n were able to resume normal working afte r about ten days o f disorder.

Mr. M odi now started his search for an alternative site for

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t h e t e x t i l e m i l l and finally selected a b ig p lo t of barren land near v i l l a g e B is o k h a r . C onstruction of th e factory building was s t a r t e d i n 1946 after the necessary form alities o f acquiring and d e v e l o p i n g th e land had been com pleted. Mobilising capital f o r t h e f a c t o r y did n o t present any obstacles. In view of his p a s t p e r f o r m a n c e . M r. M odi was able to arrange all the neces­s a r y s l a a r e c a p ita l w ithin three days o f floating of shares.

I n i 9 4 7 h e decided to start a paints an d varnish factory. Mr. J V t o d i m a d e a big contribution in developing indigenous know­h o w i n th i s field.

T h e y e a r 1947 also saw a big change fo r the better in his life. T h e e n t e r p r i s i n g industrialist had alw ays preferred to live among t l i e w o r k e r s w ho ran his factories. T his helped him to share t h e i r j o y s a n d sorrow s and also to know their difficulties. It w a s t h i s w h ic h helped him win the fa v o u r o f the ministers of the p o p u l a r G o v e rn m en t in U ttar P radesh .

S o f a r M r. M odi had been w earing his traditional dress c H u r i d a r s a n d achken studded with g o ld en buttons and a turban i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l Jodhpuri style. H ow ever, while at Lucknow, h e w a s h ig h ly im pressed by the m inisters. In deference to the w i s h e s a n d advice o f the popular C h ie f Minister, Mr. M odi d e c i d e d t o change his style o f dress. The expensive dresses o f t h e in d u s tr ia l is t gave way to sim ple ones and the royal-style t u r b a n g a v e w ay to a simple G an d h ian style white cap.

P a r t i t i o n o f the country in 1947 b rough t in its wake several p r o b l e m s . Lakhs o f refugees from areas which went over to P a k i s t a n m ig ra ted to India. Their rehabilitation caused severe s t r a i n t o th e country’s economy. T he new government of i n d e p e n d e n t India decided to a d o p t a policy of prom oting i n d u s t r i e s b o th in the private and p u b lic sectors.

IV Tr. M o d i had already placed o rd e rs for machinery for the t h e t e x t i l e facto ry w ith a firm in E n g lan d in 1947. The arrival o f m a c h i n e r y in Ind ia had been delayed much beyond the sche­d u l e d p e r io d . M r. Modi had so f a r mobilised 50% of the

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share capital and m obilisa tion o f the remaining 50% was creat­ing difficulties because of the non-arrival of the machinery. Many o f the refugees who had purchased shares of the M odi Spinning & W eaving Mills Co. Ltd. were obliged to sell their shares in the m arket w ith the result that the market value o f the the shares fell to a lm o s t half their face value. Mr. Modi had to step in and purchase a large num ber of shares in order to m ain­tain the price-level. This restored the confidence in the share market.

Mr. Modi was anx ious to know when exactly he could ex­pect the imported m achinery from England. Therefore, in May 1948 he sent his you n g er b ro ther Mr. K edar Nath M odi to England. However, in England he was greatly disappointed by the lack of sym pathy shown tow ards Indian business interests by the Indian am b assad o r there. Mr. Kedar N ath M odi issued a press s ta tem en t saying tha t the M odis had come to the conclusion that conditions in the British industries in England were deteriorating a n d since they had not been able to get all the textile machinery fo r which orders had been placed as far as two years back, th e y were now obliged to place their orders in America. This s ta tem en t was refuted by the M inister for Trade in the British G overnm en t who insinuated that the Modi belonged to an average class o f Indian businessmen and may not be in a position to p a y for the machinery. Mr. K edar N ath Modi thereupon issued a rejoinder. He declared that he was prepared to show ‘le tte rs o f credit’ and other docmuents to prove that the Modis w ere in a position to pay for the machinery worth Rs. ten million. The Indian am bassador initiated enqui­ries and when he came t o know the actual position in this regard, he was sorry for the ap a th e tic attitude adopted by him towards Mr. Modi. The B ritish G overnm ent also then gave him due honour but expressed its inability to secure the machinery re­quired for the textile m ill . Mr. M odi, therefore, left for America and succeeded in securing the necessary machinery from there.

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Many industrialists had earned huge am ounts of profit d u r in g W orld W ar II. Therefore, the new governm ent at the C e n tre set up an Inquiry Board to go into the financial cond itions o f the industries established during this period and to detect tax evasion, if any. The Board started enquiries and tax assessm en t proceedings were initiated against a num ber o f businessm en. As an industrialist who had undertaken huge expansion o f in ­dustries during th a t period, M r. M odi also came under the p u r ­view of this inquiry. He was already facing the p ro b lem s o f importing textile m achinery from ab road , and m obilising the remaining am ount o f share m oney from the share-holders, an d now he was faced with the th ird problem of tax assessm ent. His financial advisers counselled him to drop the idea of s e t t in g up the proposed textile mill, b u t he refused to listen to th e m . He was o f the opinion th a t fo r an industrialist m ain ta in ing the public image was m ore im portan t th an facing an enquiry a n d , possibly, losing some m oney as a result o f tax assessm ent. He was, therefore, determ ined to go ahead with his project.

In 1948 M odi Hosiery F acto ry and M odi Tent Factory w ere started. In the same year M odi H igh School was c o n v e rte d into Modi Science & Com m erce College.

It had been estim ated th a t ab o u t 2,000 workers w o u ld be needed for the new textile factory. There was also the p ro b le m of rehabilitating the refugees from Pakistan. He, th e re fo re , thought it p roper to establish a new colony for the re fu g ees at Modinagar. M r. G ovind B allabh P an t was then the C h ie f Minister of U tta r Pradesh. M r. M odi placed his p r o j e c t before him and gave the undertak ing that if he was g ra n te d a loan to establish the new colony, he would return with in te r e s t every rupee loaned to him by the G overnm ent. He also w a n te d permission to establish a few cottage industries for the b e n e f i t of the refugees. The U .P. G overnm ent gave him the n ecessa ry permission to go ahead w ith the pro ject.

The M odi Spinning & W eaving M ills Co. Ltd. was i n a u g u ­

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rated by M r. P an t on June 29, 1949 and o n the same day he laid the foundation-stone of the new c o lo n y which was named G ovindpuri after his name. The U .P. G o v e rn m en t gave an advance o f Rs. 3 million for the c o n s tru c tio n of the colony. The refugees were also permitted to have t h e i r adm itted claims of com pensation fo r property lost because o f partition set off against the price o f the houses purchased by th e m in this colony.

In 1949 Mr. M odi established a la n te rn factory which was inaugurated by C.B. G upta, the then M in is te r for Industries in U.P. on May 13, 1950. The quality o f th e lanterns produced in this factory com pared very favourably w i t h those imported from Germany. T he factory could p ro d u c e 5000 lanterns per day.

The same year M r. M odi was invited to t h e Fourth Conven­tion o f the All In d ia M anufacturers’ O rg a n isa tio n at Delhi on 26th M arch, 1949. I n his address he d ec la red that political free­dom was meaningless if there was no e c o n o m ic freedom. Mr. M odi always favoured progressive e x p a n s io n of industries.

In 1950-51 M o d i Girls School was u p g ra d e d and named R ukm ini M odi G irls’ College.

Towards the end of 1951 Mr. M odi had t o face a distressing situation. I t was th e m onth of N ovem ber a n d he was about to leave fo r M adras to participate in the m e e tin g of the Export Advisory Com m ittee. Just then his younger b ro th e r , M r. K edar N ath M odi broke th e news that Delhi Police h a d framed charges against the M odis alleging that they had c o llu d e d with railway officials and had embezzled railway co n sig n m en ts worth several thousands o f rupees. The news was s h o c k in g but M r. M odi advised his b rother to have patience, fo r he h a d always believed that tru th ultim ately prevails.

The real story regarding this allegation w a s revealed only later. Apparently, there had been some h e a te d exchange of words between the Claims Inspector o f th e railways and the M ovement Officer o f the Modi mills, and th e Claims Inspector

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had felt insulted and offended. W ith the help o f one o f his rela­tives who was a senior official in the CID , the Inspector m ana­ged to get Mr. Modi involved in an embezzlement case. The Claims Inspector, on the advice o f the CID official, sent an anonymous letter of complaint to the Prime M inister alleging that during the disturbed conditions of the post-partition days Mr. M odi had entered into a conspiracy with the railway officials and had managed to m isappropriate railway consignments worth several thousands of rupees. The Prime M inister’s Secretariat forwarded the anonymous letter to the M inister for Railways who ordered an investigation.

The case was entrusted to the Special Police Establishment. Once the case was with the S.P.E., the CID Officer, who was a relation of the Claims Inspector, was able to cook up a case of cheating implicating M r M odi and several officers of M odi mills including the Accountant and the Secretary. The officer of the mills dealing with the railways was forced by the police to side with them under threat and preparations for a large num ber of fake witnesses were also made. Thereafter, a request was made to the Union G overnm ent that since the person in­volved in the racket happened to be a very influential industria­list o f N orthern India, some judge from M adhya Pradesh should be asked to hear the case. Elaborate preparations were made to cook up a false case, and for its prosecution.

The simple fact, which came to light only later, was th a t in 1947, when the country was passing through a state o f turm oil, a large number of wagons carrying coal to destinations in West Punjab were detained by the railway officials a t Delhi and to avoid congestion at Delhi mill owners in adjoining states were requested to take some o f these wagons over to their sidings. Some wagons, in this way, were despatched to M odinagar and incidentally some wagons carrying pipes, stone, and salt also came to be diverted to M odinagar along with the wagons loaded with coal. Consignments worth roughly Rs. 1,50,000 were in

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this way diverted to M odinagar. Similarly, due to the confu­sion, consignments worth nearly Rs. 2,50,000 belonging to the Modis were diverted to unknown destinations instead of being transported to M odinagar. These m atters were sorted out with the help o f the railway officials. Delhi police was then able to detect the alleged racket.

Mr. Modi was extremely worried over the case. He approa­ched the then M inister for Home Affairs, Dr. Kailash N ath K atju , and the M inister for Railways, Mr. Iyengar, and requested tha t proper investigations should be made before prosecution was launched, for M r. Modi was of the view that the case, if launched, would take at least ten years to decide and tha t this period would be sufficient to damage the established reputation o f the firm. Secondly, in the prevailing conditions then, no judge would be prepared to exonerate even an innocent capita list for fear that he m ight be accused of having accepted bribes. The Home M inister explained that while the G overnm ent shared the views o f Mr. M odi, they were helpless. They knew tha t the case was baseless, bu t they were not prepared to order its withdrawal for the simple reason that they, too, might be accused. M r. Modi was to ld that in the prevailing atm osphere even persons in high offices who were under constant public gaze could not w ithdraw the case.

Ultimately, Mr. M odi took the m atter to the U nion Cabinet. The Cabinet sought the opinion of the Advocate General, the A ttorney General, and the Minister for Law. On the strength o f their advice and also after a thorough exam ination o f the case, the Government finally came to the conclusion th a t the case against the M odis was false and that no prosecution should be launched in the m atter.

In 1952 the G overnm ent at the Centre decided to im plement its programme o f abolition of Zamindari. This historic step tow ards reform in the field o f agriculture was announced on 1st. July 1952. It was at that time that the Prim e M inister Mr.

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Jawaharlal Nehru paid a second visit to M odinagar. M r. Nehru had visited M odinagar in his capacity as a leader o f the National Movement in the country and now he was visiting the town in his capacity as the Prime M inister o f independent India. Mr. Nehru was accorded a rousing reception by M r. M odi and the people o f the town. A m am m oth gathering including students, workers and farmers from the surrounding villages braved heavy rain to listen to the speech o f their beloved Prime Minister in the spacious lawns o f the college at M odinagar.

When the public meeting was over. Mr. M odi requested Mr. Nehru to accept his invitation for a cup o f tea at his residence. The members o f the District Congress Com mittee were against accepting this type of invitation from a capitalist. M r. Modi explained that in the past also Mr. N ehru had honoured him by accepting his courtesy and there was no reason why a similar opportunity should be denied to him this time. Mr. Nehru was listening to the discussions on this issue between M r. M odi and the Congress leaders. He turned to Mr. M odi with a smile and said, “ If you want to invite Jaw aharlal N ehru, and not the Prime Minister, I will be glad to accept the invitation.” Ulti­mately, it was agreed that the tea might be arranged at the M urad Nagar Rest House which was away from public gaze and also a quiet and lonely spot. Only a limited num ber o f persons— Mr. Nehru, Mr. Lai Bahadur Shastri, M r. K rishna C handra Sharma, M .P., Mr. Gujarmal M odi and his younger brother, Mr. Kedar N ath M odi—were present on the occasion.

At the Rest House which overlooked the G anga canal and was situated amidst beautiful natural sourrounding, Mr. Mr. Nehru and Mr. M odi exchanged ideas over a cup o f tea. Mr. Nehru is believed to have pointed that the Congress party was against capitalist interests and was com m itted to the early abolition of capitalism. He warned that the big industries in the country might be nationalised any time and was surprised why in the face o f such a threat capitalists were always eager to

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extend a warm welcom e to him instead of being disappoin­ted at his anti-capitalist policies and programmes. He also wondered why the capitalists continued to expand their indus­tries every year in the face o f a genuine fear that all these indus­tries m ight be nationalised one day.

M r. M odi replied to these queries in his own characteristic way. He said, “ You cannot claim to have fought big battles nor can you claim to b e the most learned person in the country. Still if the common people are prepared to brave the scorching sun and wait for h o u rs in order to have a glimpse o f you, it is because you have perform ed really good deeds (Karmas) in your past life. In th e same way it must be because o f good deeds perform ed by m e in past life that even though I have not received very h ig h education and even though I do not possess any special qualities, God has always fulfilled my wishes,” Mr. M odi added.

The year 1952 w as no less difficult for Mr. M odi. F rost had destroyed the sugarcane crop and at the end o f M arch-April when the groundnut crop was ready, there was a large accum u­lation o f stocks w ith the mill owners, and the speculators entered the m arket to c reate conditions of slump. W hen M r. M odi reached Bombay fro m Nasik he was informed th a t oil prices in the m arket had crashed and continued to register a steep fall. The prices of g roundnut oil fell from Rs. 70 to Rs. 40 per maund (37.1 Kg) The next day Mr. Modi got the news th a t there had been a further fall in the prices of oils. There was also a fall in the prices of m etals, cotton and some other items. W ith the result several established firms had to close down. M any factories were fo rced to close down and the banks were worried. The economic cond ition of the mills deteriorated to such an extent that the m anaging agents had to agree to forego their their commission a n d the employees, too, had to accept a cut in their salaries in o rd e r to keep the industry going.

An oil mill o f M r. M odi at Rajpura registered heavy losses.

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In view o f the adverse financial condition of the industries, a meeting o f the B oard o f D irectors was called. Some of the directors were rep o rted ly o f the view that if oil did no t sell, Mr. M odi shou ld sell g o ld an d silver in order to cover the risk. However, the general opin ion at the meeting was th a t the situation should be w atched for some m ore time. Luckily, conditions in the m ark e t s tarted improving after a few days and the result was th a t th e losses became less heavy.

Mr. M odi had p u rch ased a big plot o f land on N ajafgarh R oad in D elhi in the y ea r 1945. He wanted to establish one vanaspati u n it an d o n e textile unit there. He had purchased this land a t 50 paise p e r sq. yard, but the m arket price had now gone up to Rs. 6 per sq . yard , Mr. M odi sold this land at the m arket price as also h is oxygen gas plant in order to face the slump. The financial crisis which he had to face along with other difficulties in 1952 convinced him th a t it was absolutely necessary to m ain ta in a reserve fund to ensure industrial stability. All the concerns o f M r. M odi had a smooth run during 1953. The losses sustained d u rin g the previous year were wiped out and some profit was also made.

In 1954 M r. M o d i w as elected M ember o f the Executive Committee o f the F ed e ra tio n of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry an d w as nom inated adviser to the Consultative Com mittee o f the R ailw ays. He was also elected Financial Adviser to R oorkee U niversity the same year.

Mr. M odi set up a n Oxygen Gas Plant in the year 1954 and also purchased one tubew ell com pany owned b y a British firm. The com pany h ad a cap ita l o f Rs. 10 million, but M r. M odi was able to negotiate a n d purchase it for Rs. 1.2 million. He handed over the m an ag em en t of the concern to his eldest son- in-law M r. Jayan ti P ra sa d Agarwal and his brothers who be­came partners in the firm . In 1955 a big colony consisting of 360 tenem ents know n as H arm ukh Puri was constructed.

On 11th O ctober 1956 M r. Govind Ballabh Pant visited M odi

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Nagar to inaugurate the M odi Silk Factory. It was drizzling when M r. Pant arrived at M odinagar. But on the night which followed, there was a heavy dow npour and it was estimated that M odinagar registered a record 20 inches of rainfall. The township of M odinagar was nearly 4 ft. u n d er water. The rain water entered the premises of the cotton mill and the silk mill and damaged costly machinery and finished piece-goods. Dye stuffs and other materials used in th e mills got mixed with the rain-water and were washed away. Similarly, huge quantities of the finished product of the sugar mill were lost in the rain water. There was panic all around an d it looked as if it would be impossible to save the town. T he railway line also gave way at several places and thus com m unication between Delhi and M odinagar was dislocated. Inside the tow n army m otor boats had to be pressed into service to rush rations and other supplies to the marooned people. Experts advised th a t a five feet high protective bund should be built around the cotton textile mills. This was done and a road was also constructed in order to strengthen the bund. Later, residential quarters were also constructed on the ou tsk irts of the factory.

It took two full days to clear o u t accum ulated ra in water. On the third day the weather was clear and there was no sign of reflooding. Yet suddenly the flood waters flowed into the town once again. Enquiries revealed that there had been excessive rainfall in Haridw ar and its adjoining area which had raised the water level of the Ganga. W ater level in the Ganga Canal also became high and it was feared that areas in Buland- shahar might get submerged in the ra in waters. In order to save these areas, the irrigation canal n ea r N iw ari Village, about 5 Kms from M odinagar, was opened to stop entry o f ra in water into the canal. All this water accum ulated in the K adarabad Nullah. The railway under-bridges in the areas were no t wide enough to permit a sm ooth flow o f th e flood waters and caused heavy damages. It became im perative th a t the two railway

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under-bridges and three road under-bridges along the H apur- M odinagar road should be widened sufficiently to allow the smooth flow of flood-water. The government allowed these projects to be undertaken.

In spite o f all these nature-calamities Mr. M odi did no t lose courage. He faced these odds bravely. While he helped and cooperated with the governmental machinery in its long and short term protective measures, he was seen helping the poor and misery-stricken people. In the knee-deep flood waters he moved from door to door distributing rations to the hungry, clothes to the needy and medicines to the indisposed. His name had become synonymous with hope and cheer. A word o f encouragement from him acted as a healing balm to those affec­ted by the floods.

Another textile unit was planned to be set up in 1956 at a cost of Rs. 3.85 million. Capital for the mill was arranged through the issue of shares. The same year Mr. M usaddi Lai, a director in the M odi concerns, was compelled by deteriorating financial circumstances to dispose of his shares in the Company. In 1957 a degree college was established at M odinagar. Its foun­dation stone was laid on 11th M ay 1957.

On G ovardhan Puja day, the 23th October 1957 Rai B ahadur M ultanimal Modi, Gujarmal M odi’s beloved father, breathed his last. He was born on 21st October 1875 and died at the age o f 82 years. He was a religious and God-fearing person and had lived m ost of his life at Patiala. Mr. M odi would seek the blessings o f his father while embarking on any new project. I t was on his advice that Mr. M odi dropped the idea of purchasing a wire-drawing factory at Patiala.

It appears that the father had some intuition about his ap ­proaching death. One day he called his son and told him that he had faith that he would be able to carry out his three most ardent wishes. He wanted him to take proper care of his mother, keep all the brothers happy and contended, and

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lastly safeguard the assets o f the family.On the night before his death, Rai B ahadur Multanimal

was in fairly good health for his age. He was put in a chair and carried to his shop where the family worshipped Lakshmi, the Goddess o f Wealth. Next m orning, having finished the usual morning chores, he took his breakfast and suddenly died. The last rites were perform ed a t his Ashram situated outside the city. A big temple was later constructed there in his memory and a Sanskrit College was also established.

In the early years after Independence there were rum ours that the new socialist Governm ent might nationalise all big indus­tries. The younger brother, M r. K edar N ath Modi, one day suggested that the M odi family m ight go in for medium and small size industries in keeping w ith the socialistic thinking. Just then Ganesh F lour Mills in Delhi was gutted by fire and the then Union M inister for F o o d suggested that the Modis might also set up a big flour mill in Delhi. The idea was tempting. After preliminary negotiations, orders for the flour mill machinery were placed w ith a firm in Czechoslovakia in early 1957. Simultaneously, a search for a suitable site for the factory was made. At long last a site in Olchla was selected, but this land could be acquired only after prolonged efforts.

In April, 1957 a new spinning unit with 28,000 spindles was set up at a cost of Rs. 3.85 million. This mill came to be known as ‘B’ mill. A new acetylene gas factory also was set up.

The next year was an otherwise ordinary year for the M odi concerns except in the case o f the textile mill where an atmosphere of unrest was brewing. F loods in the past two years had damaged costly machinery in the factory and this had resulted in a loss in production and the workers o f the factory were not getting the usual am ount o f bonus. The workers, therefore, went on a strike which continued for 20 days. The leaders of the striking employees adopted all sorts o f tactics to brow-beat the management. One w orker was made to lie down on the

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r o a d an d the news was spread that he had died as a result o f the in ju ries received during a police lathi-charge. This led to a fu r th e r flare-up among the workers. One Deputy Superinten­d e n t o f Police also reportedly joined hands with the workers a n d began to incite them. A t this juncture Mr. Gyan Prakash, th e D istrict M agistrate o f Meerut, intervened to tackle the s itu a tio n . He went to the place where the ‘dead’ worker lay o n the road and kicked the ‘body’. Immediately the worker, w h o was supposed to be dead, got up and started crying. This d e f t handling o f the situation by the District Magistrate saved i t fro m deteriorating further. However, the leaders continued to incite the workers by raising all sorts o f false bogies.

O ne im portant factor which came to light during this strike w as th a t the leaders o f the striking workers would not allow th e m anagem ent to have a direct dialogue with the workers. T h e G overnm ent officials, too, advised that the management sh o u ld no t bypass the leaders and have a direct dialogue with th e workers. It was feared that the agitated workers might in su lt the officials of the management.

P rohibitory orders under section 144 of the Indian Penal C o d e had been imposed in M odinagar town. All meetings of th e employees began to be held outside the town. M r M odi sen t his officials to one o f the meetings o f the striking em plo­yees. The management tried to convince the workers that they w ere being misled by elements with vested interests from outside th e tow n. In complete disregard of the advice given by the police and the authorities M r. M odi himself went to the meet­ings and calmly advised the workers that if they had any com­p la in ts , they were free to come to him personally for redress. T h is bold approach adopted by Mr. M odi had the desired effect fo r it removed many misunderstandings between the workers an d the management. A deteriorating labour situation was th u s brought under control. His dynamic approach brought h im success in many similar situations.

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The new flour mill a t Okhla in New Delhi was inaugurated on 14th May, 1959. In the same year it was decided to start p ro­duction of finer varieties o f cloth in the textile mill as these were found to be more profitable than the coarse and medium varie­ties manufactured there so far. M r. K edar N ath Modi and Mr. Krishna K um ar M odi undertook a 25 day tour of Switzerland, Italy, Germany and other European countries to explore the possibilities of purchasing the latest type of textile machinery from these countries. The same year a new distillery was also established to m anufacture power alcohol.

Modi’s Prefect Soap had been doing very well in the market. In the initial stages some difficulty was experienced in prom o­ting its sales because the M odis could not afford to spend huge amounts o f money on prom otional publicity and the traders were interested in selling only the established brands of toilet soaps. Therefore, the com pany’s own salesmen had to be engaged to create initial dem and for the soap. Later on, due to its better quality, the dem and for the soap picked up and the traders and shop-keepers too began to show interest in its sale. The mechanism o f price-controls, which did not apply to M odi soaps, also helped in pushing up their sales. How­ever, during W orld W ar II, the G overnm ent put a ban on the import of the perfum e which was used in the manufacture of the Prefect toilet soap. This had a serious effect on the quality,

Sometime later there was another serious development which forced Modis and several other big m anufacturers of toilet soaps to discontinue the production of toilet soaps. Lever Brothers and some other foreign firms m anufacturing soaps in India decided to create m onopoly conditions for their toilet soaps by resorting to the technique o f heavily under-selling their product. This process continued to such an extent tha t it became impo- sible for other m anufacturers to get back even the cost o f the oil used by them.

Levers was an in ternational com pany doing business in

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several countries. It could afford to sustain itself even after heavily undercutting the prices of their toilet soaps an d even after spending huge am ounts of money on p rom otional publicity. A bout 300 Indian concerns which were at the tim e engaged in the manufacture of toilet soaps started closing dow n one after the other in the face of heavy and unequal com petition thus offered by the Levers, and only Tatas and Levers were left in the market. Both these firms used to spend thousands o f rupees on promotional publicity of their products. A fter W ar, the Levers set up a big toilet soap factory at C alcutta and , T a ta s, too, established another factory at Ghaziabad in o rder to push the sales of their products in N orthern India and m ake th e ir soaps more competitive in comparison to Levers’ p roducts . The Tatas adopted one more technique in order to sustain them selves in the competition with Levers. They w ould supply their bleaching powder only to those dealers who agreed to p lace orders for their toilet products. Since the bleaching pow der had a better margin of profit, this inducement helped to push up the sales of their toilet soaps.

Among the numerous toilet soap factories w hich closed down in the face o f the cut-throat com petition from Levers were those established by Birlas, Thapars and L ala Shri Ram. Modis, too, had to close down their toilet soap un it, b u t they continued to m anufacture washing soap.

The distillery set up by Mr. M odi was in au g u ra ted by M r. M anubhai Shah, the theu, Minister for Industries, o n 10th January1960. While inaugurating the factory, M r. Shah exhorted Mr. Modi to go in for the production o f acetate y arn based on chemicals and alcohol. Modis realised th a t m an-m ade fibres had a bright future and from that very day they s ta rted looking for a suitable scheme for the m anufacture o f synthetic yarn.

In 1960, the Governm ent decided to establish one Engineer­ing College at K anpur and a Board o f G overnors consisting o f four eminent persons was set up for running the same. M r. M odi

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was appointed G overnor on the board representing public in ter­ests. In the same year a synthetic Silk Y arn D evelopm ent Council was set u p by the Governm ent and M r. M odi was ap ­pointed member o f the Council for a period o f three years. Again, a branch o f the N ational Productivity C ouncil was set up at M eerut and M r. M odi was elected its first P resident.

A Central Custom s and Excise Advisory C om m ittee was set up by the G overnm ent that year and M r. M odi was appointed its member. The G overnm ent of U. P. also set up a B oard of Technical Education in the State o f which M odi becam e a nom i­nated member representing industrial establishm ents. H e was also appointed a m em ber and later Vice-President o f the Board of Directors o f the Reserve Bank o f N orthern Ind ia.

On 16 July 1961 Mr. M odi decided togo on a to u r to foreign countries which lasted about fifty days. M any o f his brothers and other relations had been abroad, but this was fo r the first time that this self-made industrialist decided to undertake a foreign tour himself. D uring the past 40 years o f h is industrial career, on several occasions he had planned to go ab ro ad , but each time he had to drop the idea on the advice o f his father.

On his first tour abroad, M r. M odi was accom panied by his wife, younger bro ther M r. K edar N ath M odi and his sister-in- law. They visited several countries and places including R om e, Milan, Zurich, France, West Germany, Sweden, E ngland , New York and W ashington. On his 60th birthday, M r. M od i was in England. Being a religious m an, he wanted to celebrate it in a place o f worship an d therefore he went to a church in London. Then, passing through San Francisco, H onolulu, T okyo and Hongkong, M r. M odi returned to India on 5 Septem ber 1961.

The first foreign to u r o f M r. M odi was educative and full of varied experiences. The first thing th a t he learnt w as th a t it was very difficult for a vegetarian to find a variety o f foods to eat in these countries. T hroughout his tour abroad , M r.M o d i had to live on milk and fruits. Only a t far off places in L ondon,

AIR - iNbu

Shri Gujarmal Modi & Shrim ati M odi with his brother Shri K. N. Modi and his wife a t the airport a t the time of their departure to Foreign Countries,

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Japan and a t a few places in Am erica, he could get satisfactory vegetarian food. B ut in H ongkong he found that he had no difficulty in getting Indian meals.

On account o f his strict vegetarianism the tour had an adverse effect on his health. He felt fatigued and developed a swelling in one knee-joint. The medicines which were given for the treatm ent o f the swelling did not suit him and he deve­loped an ulcer in his liver. This became rather serious. Even till 4 December 1961, when M r. K rishna Kum ar Modi, his eldest son, was m arried, M r. M odi continued to suffer from the effects o f the knee-joint swelling. He was cured only after 4 to 5 months of treatment b u t the swelling had even then not altogether dis­appeared. It left a perm anent m ark on him. He was advised not to take baths w ith cold water and he was prevented from going on pilgrimage to the hill areas.

In 1961 a to rch factory was set up and machines for the arc electrodes factory were im ported from East Germany. The same year M r. M odi was elected President of Indian Sugar Mills Association. He also visited Kulu, Manali, Jwalaji. On his return journey from these places, he stayed with the Raja of Mandi. H e was treated by the royal family as a guest o f honour. In A pril 1961 M r. M odi presided over the annual conference o f the M echanical Engineers of India at Bombay.

In the veryfirst year the arc-electrodes factory yielded enough profit to cover the initial expenditure incurred in setting up the factory. W ork on the setting up o f a Steel factory was taken in hand tha t year. A scheme was also prepared to set up the fourth textile un it a t an estim ated cost of Rs. 25 million. M a­chinery for the steel furnace, rolling mill and the wire-drawing plant was ordered. A cotton delinting factory was also set up at A bohar in Punjab at a cost o f Rs. 1.45 million. A t the same time work on the setting up o f a new distillery at Jagadhri was taken up at an estim ated cost of Rs. 3 million.

C hapterEight

ON THE HEIGHTS

The year 1963 m arks the beginning of a period of pre-emi- nence in the life o f M r. Modi. By this time he had established a chain o f industries a t M odinagar after getting over all kinds of teething troubles an d crises. He had also built up a consider­able reputation w ith the Government and the public by virtue o f his rem arkable business acumen and entrepreneurial ability. He had established himself as a great industrialist with a large vision and a dynam ic outlook. From now onwards, Mr. Modi received honour a fte r honour from both the Government and the public in recognition o f his services to the people and the industry in the country. Besides, he continued to expand his industrial capital a t M odinagar. It is in the fitness of things that this period o f g lory began with the opening of Laxmi Narayan Temple constructed in the heart o f Modinagar. The conse­cration o f the idols installed in the temple was performed by his Guru K rishnashram ji M aharaj on 3rd Feb. 1963 who came down from his ashram in the Himalayas especially for this purpose.

The steel factory a t M odinagar was inaugurated on 25 Janu­ary 1964. The facto ry was set up at a cost of Rs. 10 million. In the sam e year a big pilgrim Guest Home was constructed at V rindaban in U tta r Pradesh. On lo th January 1965, the founda­tion-stone o f a m ost m odern thread mill was laid and the electric furnace o f the steel mill a t M odinagar was inaugurated. In the same year a public library was set up at M ahendra Garh. It

Shri Gujarmal Modi with his Guru 1008 Swami Krishnashram J i M aharaj, riding on the elephant in a procession a t the time of installation ceremony of Shri Lakshmi N arayan Tem ple, Modi N agar.

sw |

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lise the negotiations. They were highly impressed by 'the p ro ­gress made by the tow n in 32 years. They were also surprised to find that children o f the M odi family were studying in the same common school in which children of the workers were studying. One o f them is reported to have remarked that this was the best way to fight communism. The American firm wanted the new factory to be established at Bombay. But Mr. M odi was un ­willing to shift to Bombay. Therefore, it was finally agreed to set up the factory a t M odinagar. A large plot of 585, 288 sq. meters o f land was acquired for the factory.

In the same year Mr. Modi was nominated member o f the N ational Productivity Council and as such made several im por­tan t suggestions to improve productivity in a num ber o f indus­tries.

In A ugust 1965 he went on a pilgrimage to A m arnath and other holy places, and by the time the family returned from Kashm ir, the war between India and Pakistan had broken ou t and one could see Indian armies moving along alm ost all the im portant hill routes in the Kashmir Valley. A t Srinagar M r. M odi announced a donation of Rs. 50,000 to the Defence o f India Fund as his contribution to the war effort. The donation was accepted by M r. Lai Bahadur Shastri, the then Prime M inister o f India on 6th N ovem ber 1965.

The year 1966 was an eventful one both for M r. M odi and the country. O n a political scene, the reigns of the U nion G overn­m ent were taken over by Prime M inister Indira G andhi after the sad demise of M r. Lai Bahadur Shastri at Tashkent in Soviet Union. The M odi family, too, had its share of bereavements. M r. Salig R am , one o f the close relations o f Mr. M odi, died of heart failure at H apur. His younger brother also lost his wife that year. M r. Salig R am was Mr. M odi’s close friend with whom he could talk with an open heart and unreservedly. He was his com panion with w hom he shared his weal and woe. N aturally his passing away left a void in his life. In April, the same year,

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was inaugurated by M r. Ram Kishan, the then C hief Minister of Punjab, on 1st M arch, 1965. In the same m onth the foundation stone o f a temple consecrated to Goddess D urga was laid at Shukratal in District M uzaffarnagar.

On 7th September 1965 it was finally decided to establish a new company under the nam e o f M odipon to produce nylon yarn a t Modinagar in collaboration with an American firm. M/s. Rohm and Hass agreed to contribute 40 per cent o f the share capital in the form o f foreign exchange. M r. M odi was appoin­ted Chairman and Mr. K edar N ath M odi and M r. Krishna Kum ar Modi, his younger b ro ther and eldest son respectively, were appointed President and Vice-President o f the new Company.

Dr. Murphy, the Chairm an o f the collaborating American firm came to India to finalise the agreement. While at M odi­nagar, Mr. Modi asked Dr. M urphy : “ W hat is it that has attracted you to agree to invest so m uch m oney in the new firm even though we are not know n to each o ther?” Dr. Murphy replied that while talking to M r. M odi, he was hypnotised and charmed by the simplicity and high character of the members of the M odi family. The A m erican collaborators were indeed surprised when in Paris the previous year they noticed th a t both Mr. Kedar N ath M odi and M r. K rishna K um ar M odi had abs­tained from drinks and all types o f sexual indulgence or enter­tainment so common in western countries.

The American firm wanted M r. M odi to go to America to finalise the deal fo r the new venture. But he declined the in­vitation on grounds o f health. He received two more invita­tions to go to the U nited States. One o f these was to negotiate a deal for the export o f sugar from India as President of the Sugar Mills Association and the o ther was to preside over the Labour Conference at San Francisco. Both these invitations were also declined by him on medical advice. The American collaborators, therefore, decided to come over to India to fina-

Shri Gujarma! Modi in discussion with Shri M orarji Desai a t the F IC C I Session in 1967.

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M r. M odi had the opportunity to preside o v e r the 33rd conven­tion o f the Industrial Em ployers’ O rg an isa tio n at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.

An event of great honour and h is to r ic significance came in M arch 1967 when the corner stone o f M odipon, one m ore im portant venture of the M odi fam ily w as laid on 12 M arch1967. This was the m ost prestigious v en tu re undertaken by the Modis in collaboration with an A m eric an firm m ost reputed in the field of Nylon yarn. A m am m oth congregation o f invitees assembled a t M odinagar and the in au g u ra tio n ceremony was performed by the renowned A m erican in d u stria lis t D r F. C. Hass, Head of the collaborating A m erican firm.

The same day a nine feet high statue o f R a i Bahadur M ultani mal Modi, father of M r. G ujarm al M odi, w as unveiled in the park adjoining the college. This was another m em orable day in the life of this industrial town. H igh d ig n ita ries present at the u n ­veiling ceremony included High C o u rt Ju d g es , several political leaders and the M aharani o f Patiala. A t t h e unveiling ceremony, glowing tributes were paid to the m em ory o f the Rai Bahadur M ultanimal for the services rendered by h im to the people.

There were yet m ore honours in sto re fo r G ujarm al M odi. One such occasion came when he w as n o m in a ted a m em ber of the Export and Im port Advisory Council a n d also of the Indian Exports Organisation. He was also n o m in a ted a member o f the Senate of the M eerut University in reco g n itio n o f the invaluable services rendered by him to the cause o f education .

The year 1968 was the m ost m em o rab le in his life. H e was then holding the post o f the P resident of th e Federation o f Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry . T h e popular G overn­ment of the day made an assessment o f th e valuable contribution made by Mr. M odi to the developm ent o f the country and in recognition o f the services rendered by h im to the nation, the Union Government decided to confer the co v e ted award o f Padm a Bhushan on him.

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The announcem ent o f the d eco ra tio n was greeted with a p ­plause by the industry and the leaders o f public opinion. T h o u s ­ands o f greetings and congratu latory m essages poured into M o d i­nagar. The industrialists o f C a lc u tta arranged a big p u b lic reception in his honour, a t w hich M r . D haram Vira, the th e n Governor of West Bengal, presided. This was followed by a public reception at Delhi under the C hairm anship o f M r. F a k h - ruddin Ali Ahmed who was then the U n io n M inister for In d u s try and Company Affairs. The D elhi recep tion was attended b y over 2,000 im portan t personalities includ ing M inisters, M em bers o f Parliament, representatives o f the diplom atic corps, and th e business community. G lowing tr ib u te s were paid to M r. M o d i for the yeoman’s service rendered by h im to the cause o f in d u stry . On behalf of the citizens o f D elhi, M r. Balraj K hanna, th e n Deputy M ayor of Delhi, p resented a n ivory Ashoka Pillar t o him. The Punjab, H aryana and D e lh i Cham bers o f C om m erce and the H industan M erchants A sso cia tio n also arranged p u b lic receptions in his honour. T he N a tio n a l A w ard o f Padm a B h u - shan was made to M r. M odi on 7 A p ril, 1968. The c ita tio n accompanying the aw ard lauded his achievem ents and c o n trib u ­tions in the fieds o f industry, social service and education. I t read :

“Shri G ujarm al M odi (65), the m o v ing spirit behind the la rg e industrial complex o f M od inagar is the founder o f the i n ­dustrial tow nship o f M odinagar. I t is due to his v ision , foresight and drive th a t the to w n sh ip with more than a score o f factories has em erged o u t o f the wilderness of B e ­gumabad. Shri M odi m ade su b stan tia l contribution in rehabilitating displaced persons by constructing G o v in d Puri Colony consisting o f 5,000 houses and 25 small sca le industries. All those persons w h o were rehabilitated i n M odinagar were given em p lo y m en t either in M odi E n te r­prises o r in small scale industries b u ilt in the Colony.

Shri Gujarmal M odi b e i n g a w a r d e d “ P A D M A B H U S H A N ” by the President of Ind ia , Dr. Z a k i r H u s s a in , on 16 th April 1968

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F o r the benefit o f the workers at M odinagar and people of neighbouring villages he has established a full fledged Post-G raduate College, two Intermediate colleges, one Ju ­nior H igh School, a Women’s Training College and a chain o f Prim ary Schools which are providing education to 8,000 students. H e has also established a num ber o f charitable trusts and has constructed Dharamshalas a t various centres o f Pilgrimage. Shri Modi has rendered immense service in prom oting social welfare with the zeal of an industrialists.”

The coveted aw ard was followed by more honours. In April1968, a public reception was arranged in his honour by the citi­zens o f Bombay. H e was nominated Chairm an o f the In ter­national A rbitration Council and his services were co-opted for various governm ental bodies including the Planning C om ­mission, the Central Excise Advisory Board, and the U tta r Pradesh Planning Board.

In July 1968 the Governor of U ttar Pradesh convened a meeting to discuss the cause of widespread poverty in the state. In that meeting M r. M odi gave a very clear and forthright analy­sis of how the per capita income in U. P. had gone down as com pared to the all Ind ia average and how the system o f sales- tax and pow er tariffs as devised by the State G overnm ent were working to the detrim ent of industrial development and had led to the m igration o f industries to other States. This clear analysis was widely appreciated by those present a t the meeting. In October 1968 M r. M odi presided over the meeting o f the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry at K anpur, the industrial town of U ttar Pradesh.

The last achievem ent o f Mr. Modi in the industrial field was the setting up o f an autom obile tyre and tube factory under the nam e o f M odi R ubber Ltd. in technical collaboration with Continental Gummi W erke A. G. Hannover, West Germ any, the world famous m anufacturers of tyres and tubes. It was

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formally inaugurated by Mr. Fakhruddin Ali Ahm ed, the then President o f India, a t M odipuram , another tow n founded by him. 9 lcms beyond M eerut. It is now fast developing as a model town. The plant covers 70 acres o f land and incorporates the most modern and sophisticated m achinery and W est German technology to ensure the production o f quality tyres best suited to Indian road conditions. It has a licensed production capacity of 400,000 units annually. It has been designed to process 16,000 tons o f rubber compound into tyres and tubes per annum. On achieving its full rated capacity the p lan t will con­tribute Rs. 220 million per year to the Central Exchequer and will provide employment to 3,000 persons. It is an im portant land­m ark in the economic growth of U. P. and th a t o f the country. It will help resolve the transportation bottleneck in the country caused by immense shortage o f tyres.

Towards the end of the year M r. M odi received a delegation of Japanese businessmen. This provided him an opportunity of exchanging ideas on the development o f industries in India. In December, he m et Mr. R obert M cN am ara, Chairm an o f the World Bank, when he had another opportunity to discuss how other countries could extend their cooperation to the develop­ment o f industries in India. Exchange o f ideas on industrial growth continued a t the international level when he attended the deliberations o f the International Investm ent Seminar. These deliberations a t national and in ternational levels provided him with excellent opportunities to express his opinion on numerous problems of industrial developm ent in the country.

S h ri G u ja r m a l M odi and Shri Fakhruddin A!i Ahm ed a t th e M ultan im al Modi P o s t G raduate C ollege C onvocation in 1968.

ChapterNine

THE LAST DAYS

After 1972 Mr. M odi became more and more interested in social Welfare activities and religious pursuits. He was a pious man who never touched alcohol nor did he frequent clubs even during his trip abroad. A m an o f austere habits, he also had a well regulated daily routine. He regularly went to the Laxmi N arayan temple at M odinagar in the m orning and listened to religious discourses late in the night. He kept fasts and havans were a routine activity in his house. Sadhus, Saints, Mullahs and Church priests always surrounded him, for they found in him a ready and willing helper o r donor to their reli­gious projects like renovation of ruined temples, mosques, guru- dwaras and churches, for he believed that all religions were essen­tially one. As mentioned earlier, while in London, he celebrated his b irth day in a church in London and during his stay a t Ajmer the next year he had visited the famous D argah to pray on his birthday. In fact, he believed in the synthesis o f all religions. His visits to Haridwar and the ashramas o f the well-known Sadhus in the Himalayas became more frequent

The source of his strength and inspiration was his wife, Daya- wati. Gentle and compassionate, she was devoted to her husband and he on his part was her life. In his absence she did no t get a m om ent’s ease. She regarded him as the bestower o f bliss and one who dispelled her distress and sorrows. She spent m ost of her time looking after him and the family, and after his death she became absorbed in social welfare activities or satsang, H um ­

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ble and affectionate, Dayawati M odi literally worshipped and adored her husband. They both seemed to understand each other perfectly an d Mr. M odi’s devotion to her was also complete. He regarded her as Laxmi, for since she had come to his family, business had prospered. He was a doting husband and was most conscious o f his duty to her. He was always seen with her not only in his evening walks a t K rishna Ashram , bu t also at every social function at M odinagar and elsewhere. If, he could not attend a function owing to certain unavoidable reasons, he would send his wife to attend it. In fact, he trained the simple unsophisticated girl o f 17 to take her place am ong the leading women of his community. M other o f 11 children, with a large household to look after, the President o f a chain of primary and m iddle schools a t M odinagar and in the neigh­bouring villages and of charitable institutions like M ahila Samaj Kalyan Parishad, she is a wom an o f rem arkable qualities of head and heart.

Mr. Modi delighted in meeting people and exchanging ideas with them. He could meet and com m unicate with people of eminence and the downtrodden and needy with equal ease. A daily morning w alk along the railway track was part o f his routine. While th e officials o f M odi Enterprises m et him at appointed places, the needy and the miserable would wait at various spots to get an opportunity to talk to him. Seeing them he always stopped and talked to them. He also helped them if he found that their need was genuine. One incident will il­lustrate this point. One m orning while walking towards the railway crossing near M odipon, the railway gateman stood before him with folded hands. He tearfully told M r. M odi that his daughter’s leg was fractured and he had no money for medical treatm ent. Mr. M odi at once granted him Rs. 200. A villager with h is bullock cart laden with sugarcane who had been watching the scene from a distance, came upto him and said, “ How is it th a t you are helping this m an? He is no t your

Shri M odi w ith his wife Sm t. D ayaw ati M odi

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employee.” P rom pt cam e the answer, “This man is a resident o f Modinagar. M oreover, his need is genuine.” He was liberal in making donations tow ards marriages and funeral expenses of the poor and the needy.

Mr. M odi had a keen sense of humour and could share a joke with persons o f all classes on certain occasions. A t home he was always relaxed. T o pass a humorous rem ark in a light hearted vein was a hab it with him. Once his old classmate M aster Badri Prasad called on him after Mr. Modi had a heart attack. He had just then aw akened from his afternoon nap. The friend enquired as to w hat he had done to himself. He answered in a characteristic, frank an d humorous manner that he had only been carrying out an experiment. When M asterji said that he should no t carry o u t such “great experiments” , his reply was that “ G reat persons do great experiments.” Such lively remarks always punctuated his conversation. Mr. M odi as the head of a family ruled over it like a patriarch, whose will dom i­nated over one and all in his extensive household. To his subor­dinates and servants he was both a master and a generous friend. His family always bow ed to his judgement knowing well that he would readily grant any reasonable request.

Ever since his re tu rn from his foreign tour, he had been ail­ing and experiencing th e effects of growing age. I t was simply through his strong will that he had continued to lead a life o f intense and varied activity. However, in December 1975 all the ailments which he had never taken seriously m ade a concerted a t­tack on him. Foreign doctors and specialists in India who exa­mined him diagnosed th a t he was suffering from jaundice and that his kidney, lungs an d heart were seriously affected. He was advised to go to Bom bay for medical treatm ent, but he was unwilling to leave M odinagar. A staunch believer in destiny, he felt that the trip an d treatment would be futile, bu t his family prevailed upon him. In Bombay he was operated upon a t Jaslok Hospital. Till the tim e o f his operation, he had been drinking

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Gangajal, the holy water o f the river G anga, and was constantly muttering ‘K rishna K rishna.’ He did no t survive the operation and breathed his last with G od’s name on his lips a t 4.30 a. m. on22ndJanuary 1976. His last words were: “ Pray and have faith.” Then he slipped into blissful peace.

The news of his passing away plunged the town o f M odinagar into deep sorrow. His relatives, friends and employees had been praying for his recovery for weeks, but all in vain. People in thousands from Punjab, H aryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and U.P. went to the Palam A irport in Delhi to receive the body on its arrival by a chartered plane. Everyone o f them m ourned for him as one would for a beloved father. They rushed to the plane when it touched down the runway at 2.30 p. m. on the same day. Unmindful of the rules and regulations o f the airport authorities they all wanted to be the first to have the last glimpse o f the great man. From Palam the cortege was taken to M odinagar on a vehicle decked with flowers. It was followed by five rows of vehicles upto one mile and there was a virtual stampede for an hour a t Modinagar. His body was taken to Shri Laxmi Narayan Temple and placed on a bier in the Sankirtan Bhawan of the temple where tens of thousands o f people had gathered to pay their last homage. It was a veritable ocean o f hum anity. The cremation ceremony began a t 7 p. m. The sandal wood pyre was lit by his eldest son, Krishna K um ar. According to the last wishes of the Rai Bahadur, the last rites were perform ed in the premises o f the temple, which he had built and which he daily visited when he was at M odinagar, as he always wanted to be near his Creator.

On hearing the news, the great Saints and M ahatm as— Swami Vishnuasramji, Swami K rishnanand G ovindanand Ji, Jagat G uru Goswami Purushotam Ji, paid hom age and perform ed K irtan and Pravachan for the peace o f the departed soul. Shri Anandmai M a wrote to his wife:

T H E L A S T JO U R N E Y

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“I heard on the radio o f the sad news. Creation and its dis­solution are in the hands of the Almighty. G od summoned Modi Baba. In obedience to His Will, he left this world. Have patience and rem ain composed at this hour. He has not gone anywhere. His soul and your soul are one. He is with you in spirit. Baba built Laxmi N arayan Temple at M odinagar and liked to be near his Creator. Condolence to you and to all the members o f M odi Family. Pray.” (English rendering)

Mr. M odi devoted his life to the social and industrial advance­m ent o f the nation. M odinagar will stand as an imperishable m onum ent to his life an d work. It is not often that a m an o f such stature is born. H e departed but his ideas and w ork re­m ain as a perm anent contribution to the growth and development o f India.

ChapterTen

RETROSPECT

Mr. Gujarmal M odi struggled hard for the m ajor p a rt o f his life. W ith perseverence and firm determ ination he succeeded in attaining his objectives and rose to heights o f eminence. In times of crisis he never lost heart bu t with faith in G od and in himself fought his way through. M oreover, as he prospered in business, his hum anitarian and philanthropic zeal also increased.

He was convinced that the key to the country’s prosperity was its industry, w ithout o f course neglecting the agricultural sector. Ploughing back profits from running concerns to enlarge them or to establish new industries was a passion with him. He did not view his enterprises as money-making ventures but made them sources o f capital for more and more industries. He was thus able to build up a vast netw ork o f small and big industries in M odinagar, a township which he built from scratch through his sustained personal efforts. He was o f the view that the final objectives of the Governm ent and the business com m u­nity were the same. As he observed in his presidential address at the 42nd annual session o f the Federation o f Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in 1969: “ We both aim a t a faster rate of development. We both wish the country to have a better standard o f living. We both want full employment for our people.”

A n industrialist with a dynamic and progressive outlook, Mr. Modi realised th a t harmonious relations with labour were necessary for success in an industry. Long before welfare policies became an accepted norm in India, he built pucca houses for

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workers near the places of work and provided educational and other facilities for their dependents. He forestalled the concepts o f workers’ participation in management by setting up W orks Committees in his factories as long ago as 1947. T hat employees and employers should bilaterally sort ou t their m utual problem s w ithout involvement o f extraneous elements was the crux o f his outlook on industrial relations.

In 1946 there was a strike in one o f the M odi mills. I t lasted a fortnight w ithout a settlement in sight. M r. M odi then called a meeting of representatives o f the workers. After lis­tening to them for a brief while, he dictated a note in U rdu, which was to form the basis of the settlement. W hen the w or­kers heard the contents of his award they were satisfied and readily agreed to call off the strike. M r. M odi’s words to them at that time, though simple, are memorable. He said : “ We are all members o f the same family and the mill is our hom e.”

Similarly in 1956, owing to heavy losses, when there was another strike by workers fo r higher wages and bonus, the lea­ders o f the strikers adopted all kinds o f tactics to brow beat the management. They did not want the m anagem ent to have a direct dialogue with the workers. But Mr. M odi ignored their wishes and advice. He sent his officials to the workers’ m eet­ing and later went there himself. H e calmly advised them to approach him directly for the redressal o f their grievances, if they had any. This bold and direct approach helped to clear much o f the misunderstanding that existed between the m anage­ment and the workers. He often acted as an arb itra tor a t the instance o f workers themselves between the workers and the m anagem ent and his decisions were always fair to the employees who accepted them whole-heartedly.

Being an enlightend employer Mr. M odi appreciated the need for responsible trade unionism for healthy industrial relations and played a big role in establishing a Rashtriya M azdoor Sabha. But as an employer he believed in a personalised approach to

labour relations. It was indeed his policy of regarding and treating his workers as his own to w hom he was nearer than any one else which formed the bed-rock o f happy industrial relations at Modinagar.

Invariably every year when M r. M odi’s birthday was cele­brated, workers held meetings and felicitated him. He accepted their good wishes w ith folded h an d s and he would announce various measures o f public welfare to show his love and concern for the workers and the inhabitants o f the town. F o r instance, in 1966 the workers felicitated him in the W orkers’ Club o f the Textile mills and placed before h im the problem o f admission of their wards to schools. While acceding to their dem and for another school he laughed and said that they were increasing the population at such a speed th a t he had to open a new Ju­nior School every year to meet the increasing educational re­quirement o f their wards. He, th en , enjoined on them to res­trict their families. A s a m easure o f encouragement he announced Rs. 100 with seven days leave w ith pay to the worker who got himself sterilised. In 1967, he distributed 115 radio sets to those who went for Vasectom y operation. Thus much before the Governm ent realised th e dangers o f a population explosion and em barked upon a fam ily planning campaign, Mr. Modi encouraged the small family norm am ong his workers. He anticipated that sooner or later th e G overnm ent will have to adopt it as a national program m e to take advantage o f the rapid strides made by India in the agricultural, industrial, scientific and economic fields.

On each birthday, while Mr. M o d i was at M odinagar, he used to plant a sapling as he believed th a t the trees were the nation’s wealth. It is indeed his inexhaustible interest in tree- plantation that hundreds o f plants a re grown in the M odinagar colonies and lawns. H e advised th e people o f M odinagar to exercise utm ost control in the felling o f trees. He also made provision for replacement o f old trees felled down. As an encou­

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ragem ent he himself planned and planted an o rchard o f mango trees at M odinagar known as ‘Sikri Bagh’ where different birds chirp and twitter and have made it their home. In th e season the ‘Bagh’ becomes a veritable nest o f singing birds.

M r. M odi was also religious-minded like his fa ther a n d fore­fathers. This trait in him deepened and developed as h e pros­pered in business. Whenever he could spare time, he w en t out on a pilgrimage to perform his religious duties as well a s to get the much-needed respite from ceaseless work. The in itia l im­pulse for pilgrimage, however, was provided by the vision o f the M ahatm a which had several times come to his aid w hen he was faced with the various problem s in his early industrial career. He had ever since been keen to seek out that holy person. O n his first pilgrimage in 1951 he decided to go to B adrinath. A bout this pilgrimage there is an interesting story. M r. M o d i had gone to M eerut to attend a tea party where he m et D r . R. K. Caroli, the famous cardiologist. On his way back home D r. Caroli accompanied him. He discovered th a t M r. M odi was having some difficulty in breathing. He diagnosed th a t his heart valves were defective. He advised him n o t to go to the hills because climbing heights would strain his heart. B u t Mr. M odi was determined to go, and so his reply was tha t i f he died a t the feet of God, he would be fortunate, bu t if he survived it would be proved beyond doubt that his faith was genuine and G od desired to keep him beyond harm ’s reach. H e w en t on the pilgrimage and returned hale and hearty. Such was his faith in the will of God.

In his second pilgrimage in 1953 when he w ent to G angotri, he met Swami Krishnashram ji M aharaj who he a t once rea­lised was the living em bodim ent o f the figure o f th e visions th a t had haunted him in his dreams. H e becam e h is disciple and thereafter pilgrimages to holy places a t intervals becam e his routine. He visited practically all well-known holy shrines in the north and south o f the country a t different tim es in his

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lifetime.Mr. M odi was a God-fearing man with a devotional bent o f

mind. He built a num ber o f temples in the lab o u r colonies o f Modinagar, besides the shrine o f Bhagvati Devi a t Shukratal in Muzaffarnagar D istric t o f U. P. and Lord Shiv T em ple a t Patiala in Punjab. He also built the magnificent Laxmi N aray an temple a t M odinagar. It is a marvel in red sandstone, a trium ph o f the architect’s im agination, where the soul inspiring saga o f our ancient religion is beautifully carved. The design o f the temple was prepared by M r. M. L. Roy, the famous arch itect o f K anpur who had earlier designed the building o f the w ell-know n Birla Temple in Delhi. T h e temple is an exquisite s tructu re an d stands in the heart of M odinagar. It is a source o f a ttra c tio n for pas- sers-by and visitors. G ay parks and fountains a ro u n d the temple encourage people to spend time in its lawns. He was later cremated in the law ns o f this temple where a m arb le samadhi is to be constructed.

Mr. Gujarmal h a d boundless faith in G od. He strongly believed that he was a mere instrum ent of the D ivine Will and that his efforts w ould succeed only if God willed them to.

Mr. M odi was a lso a great philanthropist. H e established the R. B. M ultanimal M o d i Charitable Trust and the Sainik Bhawan at Patiala. He established a Sadhu Ashram at Patiala.

However, his single biggest contribution to th e cause o f pub­lic welfare is the Eye H ospital and Ophthalmic R esearch Centre a t M odinagar to w hich he contributed Rs. 3 m illion. I t is now working in collaboration w ith the National Society fo r the Prevention o f Blindness. Its foundation cerem ony was perfor­med on 26 April 1975 by the late President o f In d ia , M r. Fakh- ruddin Ali Ahmed. T h is R esearch Centre is an in teg ra ted centre for promotive, preventive, curative and re-habilitative care backed by education and research. I t will not only endeavour to pre­vent eye disease an d blindness through appropria te m ethods o f publicity media, conduct surveys in schools and colleges, indus­

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trial workers, ru ral population and continuously evaluate the community needs o f the changing society but will also have a mobile un it fully equipped with instrum ents and medicines fo r giving immediate relief to patients at their door-steps. I t will help to collect statistics on the incidence o f eye diseases in ru ra l and industrial areas to help the government to plan various ophthalmic health program mes. Mr. Gujarmal Modi realised the dire need o f such a centre in the country. He was deter­mined to m ake the centre a m odel institution to control blind­ness. He had also m ade up his mind to create em ploym ent opportunities for the blind.

Mr. M odi prom oted the welfare o f women by establishing a Samaj K alyan Vibhag. The Samaj Kalyan Parishad organises tailoring and em broidary classes for women. There is also an adult education centre under its charge. It ensures employ­ment for widows and has also arranged some widow-mar- riages. N ow this organisation runs under the patronage o f his wife Mrs. D ayaw ati M odi, who like her husband takes keen interest in all philanthropic activities.

Mr. M odi also m ade substantial contribution in rehabili­tating displaced persons when the partition o f India took place. He constructed G ovindpuri Colony consisting of 500 houses and 25 small scale industries. All those persons who were rehabili­tated were provided em ploym ent either in M odi enterprises o r in small scale industries set up in this colony.

As a philanthropist, he also contributed greatly to the cause o f education. He established a chain o f schools and colleges a t his birth place, M ahender G arh, a t Patiala and at M odinagar He supported higher education by giving grants to established institutions like Banaras H indu University, colleges in M eerut and other places. There is an interesting story behind the es­tablishment o f the M. M. M odi Degree College at M odinagar, which is one o f the prestigious educational institutions devoted to higher education in U tta r Pradesh. In 1957, Mr. M odi w anted

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a nephew to be adm itted to the B.Sc. class in M eerut College, o f which he was a generous patron. A t this, the Principal is said to have rem arked that if Mr. G ujarm al was so keen on col­lege education, why didn’t he establish a college in M odinagar? M r. M odi did no t take the remark as an affront. On the other hand, it sparked off a desire in him to establish a college at M odi­nagar. The following year the college began to function in righ t earnest. I t was named M ultanimal M odi Degree College after his father. It is now a full fledged post-graduate institution im parting education in 13 subjects of Science, A rts and Commerce and is regarded as one o f the best colleges affiliated to M eerut University. I t also has an extensive students’ hostel construc­ted a t a cost o f Rs. 5,00,000 and was inaugurated on 16 January1961. A W om en’s Training College and N urses’ Training Centre a t M odinagar in 1965 was also set up by him . All these institu­tions provide education to more than 16,000 students. Depen­dants o f the w orkers of different M odinagar industries get free education o r train ing in these institutions. M onetary help and stipends are also available for students going in for higher educa­tion in India and abroad.

H e also established a High School and a Sanskrit Pathshala a t M ahinder G arh, h is birth place and a degree college at Patiala, also nam ed after h is father.

H e was interested in scientific research and development. H e contributed Rs. 2.5 million for the establishm ent of the Modi Science F oundation at M odinagar in 1975. I t has a cotton developm ent scheme to train cotton growers, and use the latest m ethods o f producing high yielding varieties o f natural fibre.

M r. M odi also inspired his younger b ro ther M r. Kedar Nath M odi to found a public school named after M r. Gujarmal M odi’s wife, M rs. D ayaw ati Modi. Herself a great patron o f education, she is President o f th e Public School. It is affiliated to the Cen­tra l B oard o f H igher Secondary Education. It is housed in a

tw o-storcy building with 30 spacious class room s and well-equip­

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ped laboratories. A grand auditorium is a special feature of the school. The Principal's lodge and the staff quarters are complete. A self-contained hostel, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a G ita Bhawan and a horse-riding track are also under construction to complete the school com plex.

Mr. Modi had a m ulti-faceted personality. He was a born administrator. An arden t believer in God, he was never after power. He led very sim ple life and believed in sharing all that he had with every one a ro u n d him. Throughout his life, he helped a num ber o f people. He also helped his relatives, friends and refugees by setting up industries for them. He was particu­larly sympathetic tow ards th e poor and the needy, who, there­fore, loved and respected h im . He won respect and esteem of one and all because o f his inim itable capacity to distinguish bet­ween right and wrong an d to stand up fearlessly for what he regarded as his m oral duty. M odinagar is a tangible expression o f his untiring efforts for an d dedicated service to the cause o f India’s industrial developm ent. Less tangible though, but equal­ly abiding, is the place he h a s carved out for himself in the hearts of thousands o f men and wom en who knew him. He was in­deed a great hum anitarian even more than a great industrial mag­nate.