User:Jethwarp/Ramkrishna Dalmia

Ramkrishna Dalmia (7 April 1893 - 26 September 1978 ) was an industrialist, founder of Dalmia Group and philanthropist from India. At one point of time he was one of the top three industrialist of India

Early life
Ramkrishna Dalmia was born 7 April 1893 in the small village of Chirawa in Rajasthan. He belonged to a family of vaishnava devotee. He shifted to Calcutta with his parents at an early age where he learned Bengali.

When Dalmia was only about 18 years of age, his father died leaving no property. After this, the entire burden of supporting his mother, grandmother, his wife and younger brother Jaidayal fell on him. His maternal uncle, Motilal Jhunjhunwala gave him a job in his bullion business which enabled him to earn just enough to support his whole family. Later he earned himself handsome amount of money by speculation in bullion. Dalmia started a trading business in 1930s at Dinapore near Patna in the State of Bihar.

Business life
The Dalmia Group of companies traces its origins to Ramkrishna Dalmia and Jaidayal Dalmia. The two brothers were born in the present-day Rajasthan in Agarwal family,the name Dalmia comes from the name of their ancestral village in present-day Haryana. The Dalmias established a group of businesses in East India during the first half of the 20th century. These businesses included a sugar mill in Danapur and a commodity trading business in Calcutta. In 1932, Ramkrishna Dalmia's daughter married Shanti Prasad Jain of the wealthy Sahu Jain Family. Subsequently, Shanti Prasad and the Dalmia brothers worked together to expand the business, resulting in the formation of the Dalmia-Jain Group. By the end of 1940, the group was operating several sugar mills, cement plants, chemical factories, engineering plants and a paper mill.

The Dalmia-Jain Group challenged ACC's monopoly in the Indian cement industry by setting up cement factories all over India (including the present-day Pakistan). The Group also ventured into other businesses; its subsidiaries included Bharat Bank, Bharat Fire and General Insurance, Lahore Electric, Govan group of companies, two cotton mills, a dairy, and three Andrew Yule jute mills. In 1946, Ramkrishna Dalmia bought out Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., the publisher of The Times of India; which was later sold to the Jains after a split in the Dalmia-Jain Group.

Sugar factory
During the time when he was staying in Dinapore, he mooted the idea of establishing a sugar factory at Bihar in Patna District. This was done under the joint management of himself and Nirmal Kumar Jain of Arrah, a well-known local Zamindar. Simultaneously he set up another sugar factory at Dehri (Dehri-on-Sone), Bihar. This place became known as Dalmianagar.

Cement Industry
His greatest contribution was in the emergence of the Indian Cement Industry. He entered this field in the year 1936 as a challenge to the monopoly of existing firms, mainly the powerful combine of Associated Cement Company, which had till then been in complete control of the industry. Facing stiff competition from them, he set up several cement factories at different places like Dalmianagar in Bihar, Karachi in Pakistan, Dalmia Dadri in Haryana, Dandot in Punjab, Dalmiapuram in Tamil Nadu and Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan.

Dalmia & Jain group controversy
By 1948, differences had developed between the Dalmias and the Jains. On 12 May 1948, the two families worked out the details of a split at the family house of the Jains in Mussoorie. On 31 May 1948, the Dalmia-Jain Group was dissolved, splitting into what were colloquially known as Dalmia Group (divided between Ramkrishna and his brother Jaidayal) and Sahu Jain Group. However, this split was not official: there was no legal document to this effect. Vivian Bose remarked that the Dalmia-Jain Group's affairs "were so interlocked and complex because of black money and secret, undisclosed assets and undetermined income tax liabilities, that this (dissolution or partition) was not found to be easy".

After the split, Jaidayal Dalmia gained control of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd., established in 1939 and Orissa Cement Ltd., established in 1949. Later, his sons Jai Hari Dalmia and Yadu Hari Dalmia took control of Dalmia Cement. Three other sons - Ajay Hari Dalmia, Mridu Hari Dalmia and Raghu Hari Dalmia - took over the Orissa Cement business. In 1999, Ajay Hari Dalmia separated from Orissa Cement, and started his own line of businesses under the name Renaissance Group.

Court case & imprisionment
In 1956, the Government of India set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate alleged malpractices of the Dalmia-Jain Group of companies. The Commission was headed by Justice S. R. Tendolkar (and after his death, by Justice Vivian Bose). In 1962, Ramkrishna Dalmia was jailed for tax evasion, perjury and criminal misappropriation of funds. By the time he died in 1978, he had 17 children from 6 wives. These heirs fought several court cases for control of the various businesses owned by him. In 1983, these businesses were divided among his seven sons.