The Textile Legend unravels the story of his own empire

New Delhi, July 18 (UNI) Relationships are as important as capital in entrepreneurship, according to one of the pioneers of textile industry in India, Dr Rajaram Jaipuria.

In his just-published autobiography- 'Textile Legend Unravels' Dr Jaipuria mentions about their deal with Japanese giant Mitsubishi where the Jaipuria family left their claim despite suffering a loss in order to win a relationship for long term.

A chronological account, the book talks about making, breaking and rebuilding of an industrial empire, which the Jaipuria family has owned for more than 70 years.

A recipient of the Melvin Jones award, the present Vice- Chairman and Managing Director of the Ginni group, Dr Jaipuria tells for the first time the story of one of the country's textile industry, passing through the different paradigms of political crisis of the oppressive colonial rule to the autocratic vandalism by the politicians even in the post-independence era.

The story focusses on how politics destroyed an assiduously built industrial empire and how Dr Jaipuria himself fought a long battle with intermittent failures to finally get his textile mills back. In the author's words, "..I fought a long but unsuccessful legal battle for getting my textile mills back ..and eventually succeeded in reinventing life..." The writer openly narrates his family's internal conflicts and outside influences. The description of patriarchal structure of family, commands given by father to be accepted without question and stress on simple living, despite being a leading industrial family, breaks myths about pre-Independence India society.

The story of his father Seth Mungturamji Jaipuria, who left his home at the age of 14 for Kolkata, and earned a reputation among business communities during the First World War with his sense of market, ability to inspire confidence and setting up a big empire of business houses is fascinating.

Dr Jaipuria describes how he followed in his father's footsteps, and strived hard to regain their enterprise but also expanded it to more than 25 business houses, that today includes textiles, collieries, sugar, synthetic fibre and many more industries.

Apart from business, the Jaipurias have also marked their presence in philanthropy, education, media and several other fields, by opening different charity organisations, management and business institutions and publishing houses in Kanpur, Lucknow and many other parts of the country.In this regard the story of their takeover of two very prominent newspapers, The Pioneer (English) and Swatantra Bharat (Hindi) and their 35 years of devotion to them serves as a great example of nationalism, as well as courage to take challenges.

Both these newspapers were on the verge of closure when the Jaipurias took them over. The Pioneer, though a very old newspaper, was at that time incurring huge losses. Though media business was not their area of core competence, the Jaipurias not only took them over when requested by Mr Sampoornand, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, but also mobilised the government to increase its newsprint quota and successfully turned it around.

Some instances are given in the book like the story of Henry Horsman selling 'Swadeshi Cotton Mills' to the Jaipurias which changed their status from a mere trader to industrialist, and 'deals' regarding 'Hundi paid in silver coins'.

UNI