To Sir, with love

Anuj Kumar speaks to Govind Hari Singhania, who has just co-authored the biography of his illustrious father, Sir Padampat Singhania

May 25, 2011 07:13 pm | Updated 07:13 pm IST

Govind Hari Singhania. Photo: S. Subramanium

Govind Hari Singhania. Photo: S. Subramanium

In the times of Antilla and 2G, it is difficult to use adjectives like nationalist and philanthropist for an industrialist. But once upon a time there were tycoons like Sir Padampat Singhania, with whom compassion came naturally. The magnate from Kanpur who built the vast J.K. empire is brought to life all over again with a lucid biography by his sons Govind Hari Singhania and Dr. Gaur Hari Singhania.

Edited excerpts from an interview with Govind Hari Singhania, director, J.K. Organisation:

Though not intended, the biography gives you a sort of guideline about the course correction that Indian industry requires.

It depends on how you take it. We have tried to depict his life. How he lived it. He always thought of the welfare of society. He believed that a portion of the profits must go to society. He believed in trusteeship, that you are not the owner but a caretaker of the wealth of the society. You are lucky that you have got a business to look after. He used to say people come to you because they know that you have the capability to help them.

That perception of business houses is no longer the same.

Not every business house. Even in Kanpur there are many rich business houses; I don't remember anything built by anybody except for my father. That's why the people of Kanpur remember him. It depends on how much a group thinks about the society. It is about your sanskar . Everybody doesn't believe in philanthropy.

But in popular culture the image was different. In the 1970s and 80s, almost every other well-dressed urbane Bollywood villain was called Singhania.

Perhaps they thought this is a surname that people would know (laughs). I don't remember anybody like that in my family. But we didn't mind. It happens with Louis Vuitton. There are lots of fake products available in the market. I asked the local Louis Vuitton man (Tikka Shatrujit Singh) how he manages. He said, ‘Sir, we try to check to the best of our availability but we can't keep track of somebody doing something in some remote corner.' It may be fake and of inferior quality but it popularises the brand.

While reading the book one gets an impression it was easier to run a business during the British rule.

It appears so to me too, because the speed with which my father started one business after another it seems it was not very difficult. I am told there was no licensing. It was introduced the moment we got Independence. Why it was done, I don't know but, yes, establishing business became difficult. Still, things were not that difficult during the times of Pandit Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri, as there was no corruption. It took root in the 70s and things were never the same again.

I'll tell you a story. We established a cement plant. We produced much beyond capacity. We congratulated our managers but we got a show-cause notice from MRTPC asking why we produced beyond our capacity. At the same time we got a letter of appreciation from the Industry ministry for rising to the need of the hour because that year there was a shortage of cement. So two departments of the government were speaking in different voices! I congratulate Dr. Manmohan Singh for initiating a liberal policy.

Business houses began to be seen affiliated with parties, like you faced difficulty in Bengal when the Left came to power as the JK group was considered close to the Congress.

When the Left government came into power in West Bengal, it became difficult to run a business in Bengal. We had so many businesses there but we had to close them one after the other. We established the first aluminium factory in India where Indian bauxite was used without the support of any foreign company. But it was not because we were considered close to the Congress. It was because the Left's policy was such. I know of at least 10 business houses that shifted based. Bengal has suffered because of this. Now Mamata Banerjee will face the challenge.

Still, businessmen don't find support of the common man because of the splurging some business honchos indulge in.

Whatever you earn, you invest in the system and that contributes to the growth of the economy. That's why we have 8 to 9 per cent growth. Mukesh Ambani won't take his 30-crore building with him. It might become a monument one day. I don't think it's a waste of money. He must have bought cement, iron for the construction. Dealers must have made money, labour must have got employment. So, ultimately, the money comes back to the society.

We are talking of perception. Doesn't it amount to show-off in a country where for many two square meals is still a luxury?

I agree. We call it stunt. It's much more in the neo rich. Last year somebody married off his daughter in Florence. It is just a way to make headlines. My father always kept only four pairs of shirts and trousers at a time in the wardrobe and used pencils till it became impossible to hold them.

What is happening to the Marwari script, mundiya?

We no longer use it. Some people in Kolkata might still be using it but it is largely out of business and no attempt is being made to revive it.

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