Sarabhai family

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The Sarabhai family is a prominent Indian family active in several fields. The patriarch, Ambalal Sarabhai, was a leading industrialist. While he created significant wealth, his children interested themselves in a wide variety of other endeavours, and the family is better known for those activities, rather than for industrial enterprise, which is now all but defunct.

Family history[]

The Sarabhai family are major business family of India belonging to the Shrimal Jain community.[1]

Its twentieth century doyen Sheth Ambalal Sarabhai, was a Gujarati industrialist. He had five daughters and three sons who were involved in the family business as well as the Indian independence movement. After India's freedom, the family remained involved in developmental tasks undertaken by the government of India.

Ambalal Sarabhai was a prominent mill-owner and also interested in philanthropic activities. His wife Sarladevi Sarabhai was impressed by the Maria Montessori philosophy and in the year 1922, Montessori sent E. M. Standing to India for the homeschooling of Sarabhai children.

Sarabhai Enterprises branched out after India's independence and many pioneer ventures were made in fields dominated by foreign companies. The manufacture of drugs and pharmaceuticals, chemicals and intermediates, dyes and pigments, industrial and household detergents, soaps and cosmetics, industrial packaging and containers, and later engineering and electronic products.

Family members[]

Prominent members of the Sarabhai family include:

  • Ambalal Sarabhai. Patriarch of the family. Born into a family of tradesmen, he invested the family wealth into various industrial enterprises in the early 1900s, including Sarabhai Textile Mills at Ahmedabad, which was one of the largest in India at that time.
  • Anasuya Sarabhai (Ambalal's sister), a trade unionist, activist and freedom fighter. Married young, she never cohabited with her husband.
  • Saraladevi Sarabhai, wife of Ambalal and the mother of his eight children (three sons and five daughters)
    • Suhrid Sarabhai Sr. (Ambalal's son), industrialist
      • Manorama Sarabhai, wife of Suhrid Sarabhai, commissioned Villa Sarabhai
      • Anand Sarabhai (son of Suhrid Sr), molecular biologist, partner of Lynda Benglis, American sculptor and visual artist
      • Suhrid Sarabhai Jr (son of Suhrid Sr), industrialist
        • Asha Sarabhai, wife of Suhrid Jr, clothing designer
      • Sanjay Sarabhai (son of Suhrid Jr)
      • Samir Sarabhai (son of Suhrid Jr)
    • Gautam Sarabhai (Ambalal's son), industrialist and philanthropist
      • Mana and Shyama, daughters of Gautam sarabhai
    • Mridula Sarabhai (Ambalal's daughter), Indian independence activist and politician; unmarried
    • Vikram Sarabhai (Ambalal's son), co-founder of ISRO and IIM Ahmedabad.
      • Mrinalini Sarabhai. wife of Vikram Sarabhai and a danseuse.
      • Kartikeya Sarabhai (son of Vikram Sarabhai), educationist and environmentalist
      • Mallika Sarabhai (daughter of Vikram Sarabhai), a danseuse and activist; briefly married to Bipin Shah, a publisher
        • Revanta Sarabhai, son of Mallika Sarabhai and Bipin Shah; a dancer
        • Anahita Sarabhai, performance artist, co-founder of QueerAbad[2]
    • Leena Mangaldas (Ambalal's daughter), founder of Shreyas Foundation. She is married to Madanmohan Mangaldas Girdhardas, noted industrialist
      • Kamal Mangaldas (son of Leena Mangaldas), noted architect
        • Arjun Mangaldas (son of Kamal Mangaldas), architect
          • Leeza Mangaldas (daughter of Arjun Magaldas)
        • Abhay Mangaldas (son of Kamal Mangaldas), hotelier, founder House of MG
    • Gira Sarabhai (Ambalal's daughter), unmarried; founder of the National Institute of Design, the Calico Museum of Textiles
    • Gita Mayor, (Ambalal's daughter)
    • Bharti Sarabhai, (Ambalal's daughter), unmarried

Institutions built by Sarabhai family[]

  1. Calico Mills - Ambalal Sarabhai
  2. - Ambalal Sarabhai
  3. - Sarladevi Ambalal Sarabhai
  4. - Anasuyaben Sarabhai
  5. Jyoti Sangh - Mridulaben Sarabhai
  6. Vikas Gruh - Mridulaben Sarabhai
  7. Shreyas Foundation & School - Leenaben Mangaldas
  8. B.M. Institute of Mental Health - Gautam Sarabhai
  9. The Physcotherapy Study Group - Gautam Sarabhai
  10. National Institute of Design - Gautam Sarabhai and Gira Sarabhai
  11. Darpana Academy of Performing Arts - Mrinalini & Vikram Sarabhai
  12. Calico Museum of Textiles - Gira Sarabhai
  13. Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises, Baroda - Gautam Sarabhai, a commercial (corporate) venture
  14. Centre for Environment Education - Kartikeya Sarabhai
  15. VIKSAT - Kartikeya Sarabhai
  16. CHETNA - Kartikeya Sarabhai
  17. Sangeet Kendra - Geeta Mayor
  18. Darpana for Development - Mallika Sarabhai
  19. Mapin Publishing - Mallika Sarabhai and her husband Bipin Shah
    Gautam Gira Sarabhai Square, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Earlier known as Nayak Square.

Major Institution Building Efforts of Vikram Sarabhai (1947-1971)[]

  1. (ATIRA)
  2. Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad
  3. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
  4. (CSC), Ahmedabad
  5. Nehru Foundation for Development (NFD), Ahmedabad
  6. (AMA), Ahmedabad
  7. , Baroda
  8. , Baroda
  9. , Baroda
  10. Synbiotics, Baroda
  11. , Baroda
  12. , Baroda
  13. (ORG), Baroda
  14. (SRC), Baroda
  15. , Ahmedabad
  16. , Bombay
  17. , Calcutta
  18. Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), Trivandrum
  19. (SSTC), Trivandrum
  20. (SHAR), Sriharikota
  21. (ESCES), Ahmedabad
  22. (SCSD), Ahmedabad
  23. (ESD), Ahmedabad
  24. (MASEG), Ahmedabad
  25. (AVID), Ahmedabad
  26. (RSMD), Ahmedabad
  27. (ISSP), Bangalore
  28. Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), Ahmedabad
  29. (INSAT) Satellite Launching Vehicle (SLV) Trivandrum
  30. ,
  31. (FBR), Kalpakkam
  32. , New Delhi
  33. (VECP), Calcutta
  34. (EPEL), Bombay
  35. Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL), Hyderabad
  36. Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL), Jaduguda, Bihar

No.4 was renamed as the Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre after Dr. Sarabhai’s death in 1971. No.18 & 19 were merged under the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre after Dr. Sarabhai’s death in 1971. Nos.21,22,23,24,25 and 26 were merged under the Space Applications Centre after Dr. Sarabhai’s death in 1971. No. 31 was renamed as Vikram Earth Station after Dr. Sarabhai’s death in 1971.


  • Various photographs of Sarabhais collected/photographed by Nathan Hughes Hamilton (Squibb - Sarabhai Chemicals) in early 1950s, Baroda, Ahmedabad and Bombay

  • Vikram Sarabhai

  • Seated Gita Sarabhai Mayor , Vikram Sarabhai and Gira Sarabhai.

  • Gita Sarabhai Mayor

  • Gita Sarabhai Mayor

  • Gita Sarabhai Mayor

  • Mr. Pandya of Sarabhai, Gita Sarabhai Mayor and daughter Pallavi, Dorothy Waller, and Satyadev Mayor seeing off the Hamiltons,Bombay Airport, 1953.jpg

  • Seated 5th from left, Gita sarabhai Mayor

  • Ambalal Sarabhai can be spotted at the back close to the glass windows/doors.

  • Gita and Ambalal Sarabhai

  • Ambalal Sarabhai and Saraladevi Sarabhai (back towards the camera)

  • Gautam Sarabhai wearing half shirt and tie, third from the left standing next to his father Ambalal Sarabhai

  • A young Vikram Sarabhai

  • Ambalal Sarabhai third from left. First from left is Nathan Hughes Hamilton, an employee at Squibb- Sarabhai Chemicals, Baroda.

  • Gita Sarabhai Mayor in black saree wearing a bindi, on the right.

  • Gira Sarabhai probably at Calico Museum of Textiles

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Vikram A Sarabhai". Outlook. 19 August 2002. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  2. ^ "In Ahmedabad, two women are giving the queer community a safe space where they can ask questions".

External links[]

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