Gujarmal Modi was born on 9 August 1902 in a Marwari family in Mahendergarh, Haryana. His childhood name was Ram Prasad Modi. His mother Chandi Devi died six days after his birth. After this he was brought up by his step mother Gujari Devi. In honor of his step mother, he changed his name from Ram Prasad to Gujarmal. In class X, Gujarmal did not pay the examination fees, due to which he lost one year. After this, the father put him in the family business at an early age. In this way, at the age of 17, he had entered the business world.
Left the house with 400 rupees
But he was not interested in the family business. He wanted to do something big. That’s why they left the house with only 400 rupees. With this amount, he started the business of vanaspati ghee/oil. Gradually the money increased and Gujarmal kept on expanding his business. He bought 100 bighas of land in Begumabad, 50 km from Delhi. From here his luck took a turn. In the year 1933, he brought machines from England. With these machines he started a sugar mill. After this Gujarmal returned to his old business in the year 1939. He again got into the vegetable business. In the year 1941, he started making soap from vegetable oil.
After soap, Gujarmal Modi included products like oil, cloth, paint and varnish, glycerine, lantern, biscuit, torch, rubber, steel and silk in his business. By the year 1963, Gujarmal’s business turned into Modi Group. The British government honored Gujarmal with the title of ‘Rai Bahadur’. He was given this honor for his business contribution and establishment of the luxurious township Modinagar. In the year 1968, Gujarmal was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the government. Modi group also opened many schools and colleges. The area of Begumabad is today known as Modinagar.
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beating the english
Gujarmal Modi is said to have defeated an Englishman in an auction in 1926. During that time there was English rule in the country. The British felt bad that an Indian had defeated them in the auction. The Englishman said to Gujarmal, ‘You dirty Indian.’ Gujarmal Modi got angry on this and he thrashed the same Englishman. Gujarmal Modi had done two marriages. His first marriage was to Rajban Devi. He married secondly in 1932 to Dayavati Modi. This resulted in his 11 children. Among them were five sons and six daughters.
Gujarmal Modi’s business was taken over by his son KK Modi. Lalit Modi is the eldest son of KK Modi. His company Modi Enterprises manufactures a variety of products. Also, this company works in the fields of consumer products, network marketing, education, entertainment, tea and other beverages, health, fashion, food and hospital. Apart from India, Modi Group’s business is involved in many countries like Middle East Africa, West Africa, South East Africa.
Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
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