<p>Continuing our series on India’s merchant classes, it is important to remember that the country’s freedom movement was not sustained by politics alone. Behind the speeches, marches and negotiations stood business families who reliably supplied money and logistics to the nationalist cause. This was hardly accidental. Merchant communities had long understood the relationship between political power and economic freedom. They had built commercial networks across the subcontinent long before modern India existed. They understood instinctively that colonial policy constrained Indian enterprise. Political freedom and economic freedom were tied at the hip.</p><p>Among the most important figures was Ghanshyam Das Birla. Mr Birla was not merely an industrialist. He became one of Mahatma Gandhi’s closest associates and supporters. As he later wrote in his book ‘<em>In the Shadow of the Mahatma</em>’, enterprise was not merely about profit, but about service to the nation. Mr Birla helped fund Congress activities, supported nationalist publications and often acted as a bridge between Indian political leaders and sections of the British establishment. Jamnalal Bajaj represented an even deeper fusion of business and nationalism. He financed educational and rural initiatives and provided organisational support to the Congress movement. Other business families too contributed by financing newspapers and political campaigns, providing transport and legal support.</p><p>Yet perhaps no industrialist represented the economic ambitions of nationalist India more vividly than Walchand Hirachand. He believed political freedom would mean little unless India developed the capacity to build ships, aircraft, automobiles and infrastructure for itself. At a time when India remained under colonial rule, that was a remarkably ambitious idea. Mr Hirachand founded the Hindustan Construction Company in 1926 and undertook major engineering projects including railway, tunnels and dams. He established Scindia Steam Navigation to challenge British dominance in shipping. Most significantly, he founded Hindustan Aircraft in Bangalore in 1940, the enterprise that would later evolve into Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. He also promoted automobile manufacturing through Premier Automobiles. There is an irony here that modern India rarely acknowledges.</p><p>The very business families that helped finance the freedom movement and build Indian industry were, after Independence, constantly treated with suspicion by the state. The political mood after 1947 increasingly favoured state control. Private enterprise was tolerated, but rarely trusted. The Licence Raj came to define Indian business life. Banks were nationalised in 1969, coal mining in the 1970s and several industries gradually moved under state control. The real issue was attitude, as wealth creators came to be viewed as profiteers. Suspicion replaced partnership.</p><p>The economic consequences were profound and growth remained constrained for decades. Despite its deep mercantile traditions, the country restrained the very entrepreneurial energies that had historically powered its commerce. That may be the greatest irony of all. India’s freedom movement was sustained not only by political idealism, but really by commercial confidence. Merchant families funded causes they believed would create a stronger and more self-reliant nation. Industrialists such as Birla, Bajaj and Walchand did not merely accumulate wealth. They attempted to build national capability. Independent India inherited that capability, but for many years remained uneasy with the people who created it. Today, as India once again speaks the language of entrepreneurship, manufacturing and economic ambition, it may be worth remembering an older truth. The country’s merchant communities were never merely traders. At crucial moments in history, they were financiers of freedom and builders of modern India.</p>
<p>Continuing our series on India’s merchant classes, it is important to remember that the country’s freedom movement was not sustained by politics alone. Behind the speeches, marches and negotiations stood business families who reliably supplied money and logistics to the nationalist cause. This was hardly accidental. Merchant communities had long understood the relationship between political power and economic freedom. They had built commercial networks across the subcontinent long before modern India existed. They understood instinctively that colonial policy constrained Indian enterprise. Political freedom and economic freedom were tied at the hip.</p><p>Among the most important figures was Ghanshyam Das Birla. Mr Birla was not merely an industrialist. He became one of Mahatma Gandhi’s closest associates and supporters. As he later wrote in his book ‘<em>In the Shadow of the Mahatma</em>’, enterprise was not merely about profit, but about service to the nation. Mr Birla helped fund Congress activities, supported nationalist publications and often acted as a bridge between Indian political leaders and sections of the British establishment. Jamnalal Bajaj represented an even deeper fusion of business and nationalism. He financed educational and rural initiatives and provided organisational support to the Congress movement. Other business families too contributed by financing newspapers and political campaigns, providing transport and legal support.</p><p>Yet perhaps no industrialist represented the economic ambitions of nationalist India more vividly than Walchand Hirachand. He believed political freedom would mean little unless India developed the capacity to build ships, aircraft, automobiles and infrastructure for itself. At a time when India remained under colonial rule, that was a remarkably ambitious idea. Mr Hirachand founded the Hindustan Construction Company in 1926 and undertook major engineering projects including railway, tunnels and dams. He established Scindia Steam Navigation to challenge British dominance in shipping. Most significantly, he founded Hindustan Aircraft in Bangalore in 1940, the enterprise that would later evolve into Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. He also promoted automobile manufacturing through Premier Automobiles. There is an irony here that modern India rarely acknowledges.</p><p>The very business families that helped finance the freedom movement and build Indian industry were, after Independence, constantly treated with suspicion by the state. The political mood after 1947 increasingly favoured state control. Private enterprise was tolerated, but rarely trusted. The Licence Raj came to define Indian business life. Banks were nationalised in 1969, coal mining in the 1970s and several industries gradually moved under state control. The real issue was attitude, as wealth creators came to be viewed as profiteers. Suspicion replaced partnership.</p><p>The economic consequences were profound and growth remained constrained for decades. Despite its deep mercantile traditions, the country restrained the very entrepreneurial energies that had historically powered its commerce. That may be the greatest irony of all. India’s freedom movement was sustained not only by political idealism, but really by commercial confidence. Merchant families funded causes they believed would create a stronger and more self-reliant nation. Industrialists such as Birla, Bajaj and Walchand did not merely accumulate wealth. They attempted to build national capability. Independent India inherited that capability, but for many years remained uneasy with the people who created it. Today, as India once again speaks the language of entrepreneurship, manufacturing and economic ambition, it may be worth remembering an older truth. The country’s merchant communities were never merely traders. At crucial moments in history, they were financiers of freedom and builders of modern India.</p>
