Jamnalal Bajaj | |
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Jamnalal Bajaj
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Born |
Kashi Ka Bas, near Sikar, RAJASTHAN (RAJPUTANA)India |
4 November 1889
Died | 11 February 1942 Wardha |
(aged 57)
Occupation | Social worker, political leader, freedom fighter, industrialist, founder Bajaj Group (estb. 1926) |
Spouse(s) | Janaki Devi Bajaj |
Children | Kamlabai, Kamalnayan Bajaj, Uma, Ramkrishna, Madalsa |
Parent(s) | Kaniram and Birdibai |
Jamnalal Bajaj (4 November 1889 – 11 February 1942) was an Indian industrialist, a philanthropist, and Indian independence fighter. He was also a close associate and follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi is known to have adopted him as his son. He founded the Bajaj Group of companies in 1926. The group now has 24 companies, including 6 listed companies. Besides Bajaj Auto Ltd, the other major companies in the group include Mukand Ltd, Bajaj Electricals Ltd and Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd. One of his grandsons, Rahul Bajaj, runs the family flagship company, Bajaj Auto. Several institutions in India bears his name, including the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. A locality, JB Nagar,in the sub-urban Andheri in Mumbai has been named after him. Jamnalal Bajaj Award was established in 1978 by the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation and are given away each year on his birth anniversary.
Jamnalal Bajaj was born into a poor Marwari family, as the third son of Kaniram and Birdibai, in a village named Kashi Ka Bas, near Sikar, Rajasthan. He was later adopted as a grandson by Seth Bachhraj and his wife Sadibai Bachhraj, a rich Rajasthani merchant couple of Wardha. Seth Bachhraj was a distant relative on his father's side, and was a well-known and respected trader in the British Raj.
Upon coming of age, under the guidance of Seth Bachhraj, Jamnalal got involved in the family business of his grandfather. During this period he acquired the know-how of being a tradesman—rigorous book keeping and buying and selling commodities—excelling in his work by the time Seth Bachhraj died. In 1926 he founded what would become the Bajaj group of industries.