Kasturchand Daga

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Sir, CIE, KCIE, Diwan Bahadur

Kasturchand Daga
Statue of Kasturchand Daga, Nagpur - panoramio (cropped).jpg
Statue of Kasturchand Daga in Nagpur, which was unveiled by then Governor Sir Frank Sly in December 1924
Born1855
DiedJanuary 21, 1917
OccupationBusinessman, Philanthropist & Owner of Rai Bahadur Bansilal Abirchand (RBBA) Company
Spouse(s)Amritbai Daga
Parent(s)
  • Rai Bahadur Abirchand Bansilal Daga (father)

Sir Seth Kasturchand Daga, CIE, KCIE, Diwan Bahadur (1855-1917) was a businessman, landlord, philanthropist, and a pioneer who had conceptualised and implemented the hub-and-spoke model of trade. He was from Nagpur.[1] He was made Knight Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire by King George V at the 1911 Delhi Durbar Honours.[2]

Kasturchand started his entrepreneurial and banking journey from Nagpur and expanded his banking business from Lahore (now in Pakistan) to Yangon (then in Burma), with transactions extending up to Europe.[1]

He was the founder of several textile mills in the then Central Provinces including the Model Mills of Nagpur, and Daga mills at Hinganghat and Badnera (now in Maharashtra). His company, Rai Bahadur Bansilal Abirchand (RBBA) Company, which had over 22 ventures in different sectors, was worth several hundred crores in those times.[1]

He served as a Khazanchi to the Bank of Bengal and Chairman of Nagpur Electric Light and Power Co Ltd.[3] Sir Kasturchand Daga died on January 21, 1917.[4]

Philanthropy[]

The Kasturchand Park in Nagpur is named after him. He had organized Nagpur's second industrial exhibition in the park by depositing Rs 25,000 on November 12, 1908.[5]

Daga was a philanthropist and had constructed works of Public utility such as tanks, wells, schools, hospitals, Dharmshalas and markets. He established Daga Hospital in Nagpur, which is now under the Nagpur Municipal Corporation.

The land for Kasturchand Park was also donated by him. Lady Amritbai Daga College, a women's college, located in Nagpur, which was named after his wife, Amritbai Daga, was one of his contributions at the time when women's education was the last priorities in the society.[1]

Kasturchand Daga had donated Rs 3.7 lakh, which facilitated the construction of the first railway line in Bikaner.[1] He alone advanced a loan of Rs 3.46 lakhs towards the expansion of the railway network in Rajasthan.[6]

Honour & titles[]

Reference[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Deshpande, Vivek (December 17, 2017). "100th death anniversary: Nagpur recalls contributions of Sir Kasturchand Daga". Indian Express.
  2. ^ "No. 28559". The London Gazette. 8 December 1911. pp. 9355–9366.
  3. ^ a b c The Indian Biographical Dictionary. 1995. pp. 110, 111.
  4. ^ a b Arnold Wright (1920). The Bombay Presidency, the United Provinces, the Punab, Etc: Their History, People, Commerce, and Natural Resources. Foreign and Colonial Compiling and Publishing Company. p. 537.
  5. ^ Anparthi, Anjaya (December 13, 2011). "Kasturchand Park goes commercial". The Times of India.
  6. ^ D.K. Takne (2016). The Marwari Heritage. p. 119. ISBN 9781942322061.

External links[]

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