Discover India Before the Ambanis by Lakshmi Subramanian — a compelling journey through India’s business evolution from the 19th century to pre-liberalisation. Explore the legacy of pioneers like Tata, Godrej, and Kirloskar who laid the foundation for India Inc. A must-read on Indian economic history.
The book starts with the pre-modern era and brings its story to more contemporary times. Business was conducted even in the Mughal period, though was rudimentary in nature. It gained momentum and came to the fore with the entry of the British through the East India Company. Merchants, she points out, followed money all the way and hence were able to bring scale to business. Thus the so-called merchant capitalist existed for several centuries, though they metamorphosed to something significant only during the past two centuries or so.
The two hotbeds of business were evidently Calcutta and Bombay (going by the original names). The entry of the East India Company through Bengal probably gave it the advantage, while Bombay benefited from being a port in the early colonial times. The Anglo-Parsi collaboration started with Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy and was concentrated more in export trade and shipping where opium played an integral part. The Parsi tilt was then best exemplified by the rise of families such as the Tatas and Godrejs. If one juxtaposes the history of Birlas and Bajajs, the story gets even stronger.
The founder of Tata Empire, JN Tata, started with cloth and then went to steel and the creation of Jamshedpur city. Ardeshir Godrej had started with surgical instruments, which did not quite succeed. But the move to making locks, which seemed a low value product, became the main line of business. The call for swadeshi at that time helped to gain traction, which expanded to safes and cupboards, which still have a strong brand name. There was close alignment with the political landscape that was the Nehru vision of modern India. The author gives the example of the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board offices that were designed with Godrej products and became quite iconic in being minimalistic and modern. In the decades after independence, Godrej became a story of objects, notably storwel, office chairs, and the now extinct typewriter.
At a different level, the author also takes us through the concept of market or bazaar, taking a deeper look at the concept of money and its evolution. This is a critical part of trade. Here she talks a lot of the concept of the traditional bill called ‘hundi’. Its evolution was critical to the development of the money market and systems of payments that are in the most sophisticated form today. This concept also gave birth to the concept of negotiable instruments, which even today is the nucleus of the payments system.
On the engineering side she looks at two major enterprises that were set up. One is the Kirloskar family in Pune and the other was the TVS group. These stories are quite fascinating as they trace their beginnings several decades back. The engineering business goes ahead to encompass power and transport. Alongside there is the story of the Bajaj family with different businesses, though today it is synonymous with automobiles.
A question that the reader may pose is why is it that several other businesses have been excluded? This can be a fair point given that the title talks of India before the Ambanis and there are admittedly several other industrial groups that have made significant contributions. This book is probably not meant to be an omnibus as it picks up some stark stories that lay the foundations of India Inc. Hence it should be read keeping this in mind as all stories cannot possible be included.
What the author tries to bring out is that while each story is about eccentric drive and impulse, there are certain patterns that evolve, which probably is the main thrust of the narrative. In each case, the protagonist was focused on the production of a public good essential for the country.
Therefore, all examples given during the pre-independence time sought to make India self-sufficient. There was also a commitment to disseminate these core values down the ladder to successors who turned out to be effective captains of industry. They worked keeping in mind the independence of India and their vision was to partner with the government in making India great.
Interestingly, the author points out that it was only with the successor generation that there was some angst against licence raj and the plethora of controls that were imposed by the government under the banner of being socialistic. This new generation also put a lot of focus on education and technical expertise. A blend of paternalism and professionalism created this new entrepreneurial culture that helped survive family feuds and wrangles, and, more importantly, protect their reputation. This can be seen even today for family-owned businesses, which do not carry the vestiges of what they were decades or centuries back.
This book is a quick read on the history of Indian business and should resonate with the reader. It is written well and keeps the reader engaged, which is the USP of the narrative.
Madan Sabnavis is chief economist, Bank of Baroda
Book details:
Title: India Before the Ambanis: A History of Indian Business, Money and Economy
Author: Lakshmi Subramanian
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Number of pages: 320
Price: Rs 699
No comments:
Post a Comment