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Contents
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Page No.
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Preface
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Foreword
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ix
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I did not have the privilege of knowing Sir Lallubhai Samaldas
as I was around two years old when he passed away. But our families were
inter-related and I later heard about him since he was a well known figure in
the world of business and in the public life of Bombay (now Mumbai) and also
of India in the first three decades of the last century.
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Introduction
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xiii
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Lallubhai Samaldas represented a kind of person rare in our
public life today. 2013 was his 150th birthday anniversary. Only two of his
grandchildren, Nikhil and I left by now, and so we felt that we should try and
capture the fading personal memories that no one else could provide.
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Bhavnagar and Lallubhai's Ancestors
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1
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Lallubhai was born on 14 October 1863 in Bhavnagar where his
father, Samaldas was Chief Justice. The birth of a second son, eighteen years
after the first, was celebrated with great pomp and ceremony.
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Service in Bhavnagar State
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17
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On 1 January 1881, at the age of 18, Lallubhai took up his
appointment in Bhavnagar state. His father, Samaldas, was Dewan and his elder
brother, Vitthaldas, was Chief Revenue Officer. Although the work given to
Lallubhai, at first, was one of making himself generally useful to the Dewan
and to the Maharaja, it was commonly believed that he was marked out to be in
time the chief administrator of the state.
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Bombay Phase
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26
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It was clear that there was no longer any scope for Lallubhai,
in Bhavnagar. The choice before him now lay between Bombay and Ahmedabad, to
which his wife's family belonged. The prospects of business in Ahmedabad were
better, but Lallubhai was drawn to Bombay and its many-sided activities.
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Co-operative Movement
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35
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The term urban co-operative banks, though not formally defined,
refers to primary co-operative banks located in urban and semi urban areas.
These banks till 1996 were allowed to lend money only for non-agricultural
purposes. This distinction does not hold good today.
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Economic Nationalism
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42
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The Partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon in 1905 led to an upsurge
of swadeshi sentiment in the country. The business community wanted to work
for liberating Indian industry, trade and commerce from foreign domination.
Lallubhai was among those inspired by these ideals and wanted Indians to
start and operate their own industries and financial institutions and had a
special vision of India's economic development.
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Politics and Public Life
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55
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Born in 1863, only six years after the Great Rebellion of 1857,
Lallubhai belonged to a generation of urban educated Indians who looked upon
British rule as a means towards modernizing India. Lallubhai belonged to the
'Moderate' school of politics and passive resistance and non-cooperation did
not appeal to him.
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Journey to England and Japan
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62
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Narottam Morarji, chairman of Scindia Steam Navigation Company,
suggested that Lallubhai should go to England to negotiate the building of
three or four ships and to place an order with some reputed ship-builder in
Glasgow. Previously, the company had purchased only second-hand ships.
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Father and Sons
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68
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Despite a busy public life, Lallubhai was deeply attached to his
family. He was an extremely affectionate husband and father. Unfortunately
his wife, Satyavati died at a very young age and so did his two daughters.
Once I asked my father as to what he felt about the loss of his mother when
he was just seven years old.
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Appendices
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I. Note on Indian Labour in Ceylon
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77
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When I agreed to carry out the instructions of my friend, Mr. K.
Natarajan, the Honorary Secretary of the Imperial Indian Citizenship
Association, to inquire into the present economic condition of Indian labour
on tea and rubber plantations, I did not realize the vastness of the problem.
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II. Dr K.M. Munshi's Tribute
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81
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Lallukaka'- The Portrait of a Perfect Gentleman
'Lallukaka" - I could never think of him as Sir Lallubhai Samaldas,
C.I.E. - was a bridge between the intrigue-ridden Kathiawad and the new age.
He had his roots in the old world of Gaga Ojha and flourished in the new
world of Gandhiji.
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III. Speech of Narayanbhai Desai
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87
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By inviting me here for the occasion, you have now 'officially'
included me in the extended and loving family of a perfect gentleman, and for
this I am grateful to three generations. I shall begin by the middle
generation. I was just talking with Kanubhai Jani, and he said to me that
'You are with the tradition of oral biography rather than any descriptive
history.'
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IV. Speech of Kumarpal Desai
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92
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Kavi Somdev has said in 'Katha Saritsagar' that 'Karunagrahi
sarvasya santo akarana bandhavah'. That is to say, a person who has the
sentiment of 'Karuna', or mercy, or compassion, foremost in his nature, is a
friend, or like a brother, to everyone, a friend without any reason, or
covetousness.
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Bibliography
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101
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Bagchi, Amiya, Private Investment in India, 1800-1947,
Cambridge, 1970
Bagchi, Amiya, The Presidency Banks and the Indian Economy: 1876-1914, Calcutta,
1987
Basu, Aparna, G.L.Mehta, A Many Splendoured Man, New Delhi, 2001
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Index
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103
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