Ramnath Goenka
| Ramnath Goenka | |
|---|---|
Ramnath Goenka in 1942
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| Born |
22 April 1904 Darbhanga, Bihar, British India |
| Died | 5 October 1991 (aged 87) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Occupation | Media businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Moongibai Goenka |
Ramnath Goenka (1904–1991) was an Indian newspaper publisher. He launched The Indian Express and created the Indian Express Group with various English and regional language publications. In 2000, India Today magazine, named him amongst their list of "100 People Who Shaped India".
Ramnath Goenka was born on 22 April 1904 in Darbhanga, Bihar,.
He joined the business of his maternal uncles, Babu Prahlad Rai Dalmia and Babu Sagarmal Dalmia, in Calcutta and was sent to the firm of Sukhdevdoss Ramprasad, the largest Indian business dealing in yarn and piece goods. In 1922, he moved to Madras as the agent for Sukhdevdoss Ramprasad on a salary of Rs. 30/- and took shelter with a family named Chaudhry which hailed from a village near to his native Mandawa, at 23 Peria Naicker Street.
Subsequently, in 1925, Goenka entered into a business partnership with Murliprasad Mohanprasad of Hyderabad, India. Their business was as piecegoods merchants in Madras and it continued until around 1932–1933. In 1926, Goenka was also nominated as member of the Madras Legislative Council by the Governor.
Goenka joined the Bombay Co. Ltd. as chief salesman, a post he held till the end of 1936. A keen horse racing enthusiast in his younger days, he gave up the pastime in 1935–36 and took to journalism in earnest.
In 1932, he had taken over the loss-making Madras edition of The Free Press Journal, driving the delivery van himself to dispatch the papers. He founded The Indian Express in 1936, and in 1941, he was elected President of the National Newspaper Editors' Conference. Following this, both The Indian Express and Goenka himself openly challenged the British Raj.
In 1936: Goenka gave Promissory Note of Rs. 500,000 ( Rs.Five Lakhs ) on 1 September 1936 in favour of Raja Mohan Prasad of Hyderabad his Financing Partner. The Promissory note still remains unpaid even after 75 years. Goenka also gave a declaration in 1936 that he was a trustee of all the properties purchased in his name including the debentures of Free Press of India (Madras) Ltd. and were purchased out of the monies of Raja Mohan Prasad Murliprasad Mohanprasad of Hyderabad,India.[1]
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