The Indian thought leadership will strive to provide unique learning experiences based on artifacts, stories and lives from Indian business traditions of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation. My purpose is to inspire readers by letting know the modern thought leaders of India, and their traditions so as to help shape a better future !

1. 2017
RIJOGRATIUS
CochinUniversityof Science andTechnology
THOUGHT LEADERS OF MODERN
INDIA

2. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
Document Objective
The Indian thought leadership will strive to provide unique learning experiences based on artifacts,
stories and lives from Indian business traditions of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation. My
purpose is to inspire readers by letting know the modern thought leaders of India, and their
traditions so as to help shape a better future !

3. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
From the faculty desk
The simplest way to communicate Indian Entrepreneurship is by globalizing the Indian Thought. This
is more than just a vision- it is a cause that we aspire towards. Our cause is to create and amplify the
World Class India.
Best Wishes,
RIJO GRATIUS

4. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
MAKERS OF MODERN
INDIA

5. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
1 Syed Ahamed Khan 1817- 1898 The Muslim Modernist
2 Jatirao Phule
( 1827 -
1890) The Agrarian Radical
3 Tarabai Shinde 1850-1910 The Subaltern Feminist
4 Rabindranath Tagore 1861-1941 Rooted Cosmopolitan
5
Gopal Krishna
Gokahale 1866-1915 The Liberal Reformer
6
Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi 1869-1948 The renewed Agendas
7 Mohamed Ali Jinah 1876-1948 The Muslim Separatist
8 C. Rajagopalachari 1878-1973 The Gandhian Liberal
9 E.V. Ramaswami 1879-1973 The Radical Reformer
10 Jawaharlal Nehru 1889- 1964 The multiple Agendas
11 Rammanoshar Lakia 1900-1969 The Hindu Supremacist
12 Verrier Elwin 1902-1964 The Defenderof the Tribals
13
Kamala Devi
Chattopadhyay 1903-1988 The Socialist Feminist
14 Jayaprakash Narayan 1907-1973 The Indegenous Socialist
15 Hamid Dalwari 1932- 1977 The last modernist

6. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
MODERN BUSINESS
THOUGHT LEADERS

7. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
1. VIKRAM AMBALAL SARABHAI
Father of the Indian space program Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (V.A Sarabhai) was a creative scientist, a
forward thinking industrialist, an innovator, an educationist, connoisseur of arts, an entrepreneur of
social change, pioneering educator and more.
A science aficionado since childhood, he obtained his trips in natural science at Cambridge (UK) in
1940. He joined the Indian institute of science at Bangalore doing research in cosmic rays which he
completed as his PHD there at Cambridge.
One of vikram sarabhai’s greatest achievement was the establishment of the Indian apace research
organization (ISRO).He was strongly supported by Dr.Homi Jahangir Bhabha, the just rocket launching
station in Indiana Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram. Dr. Sarabhai was instrumental in the launch of
the satellite Instructional Television Experiment (ISITE) during July 1975 - July 1976, a result of which
the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian Cosmo drome.

8. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
Sarabhai was appointed chairman, Atomic Energy commoner in May 1961 after the sudden death of
Homi Bhabha. He simultaneously handled re responsibility as Director and professor of cosmic Ray
physics and as chairman of the Indian National committee for space research programmer. He was
the president of the Physics section of the Indian science congress (1962) President of the General
conference of the International Atomic energy ( J A E A ) Venue (1970)Vice-President, Fourth UN
Conference in ‘Peaceful uses of Atomic Energy’ (1971)
He spearheaded developments of rockets and space technology which he aimed to make useful for a
wide range of social and economic development activities. Sarabhai also forget new territories in the
pharmaceutical industry on India by being the first implemented Electronic Data processing and
operation Research Techniques in the Pharmaceutical Industry and making the industry self reliant.
Sarabhai was a great institution builder and among his multifarious credits consist the achievement
of establishing the Indian institute of management (I I M), Ahmedabad, the Ahmedabad textile
Management (ATIRA), The physical Research laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad and Vikram Sarabhai
space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.
2. JEHANGIR RATANJI DADABHOY TATA
The man for air Indian (1904-1993)
J R D Tata was a pioneer aviator, one of the frontline business men of India and visionary for ahead of
time.

9. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
In 1925, J.R.D Tata joined Tata and sons and in 1938 was elected chairman. For over half a century,
he guided the group to greater heights and newer ventures encompassing software, steel, power
generation, engineering and hotels, among others.
With immense interest in flying, he became Indians first plot and who formed the Tata Aviation
services in 1932. In 1948, he launched Air India International as India’s first international airline and
was appointed its chairman by the Indian government. He seven in aviators also earned him the title
of Honorary Air Commodore of Indian, the Tony Jannus Award in 1979, and the prestigious
Guggenheim medal for Aviator in 1988.
Alongside building an empire, he advocated and worked towards building approach encompassing
social change ,crusading for critical issues such as women’s education and spread of literacy. He
pioneered the establishment of Asia’s first cancer Hospital. The Tata Memorial Centre for Cancer
Research and Treatment, Bombay in 1941. He also founded the Tata Institute of Social Science, 1936
(TISS), The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 1945 (TIFR) and the National Center for
Performing Arts.
A peerless achiever, J.R.D Tata, was a recipient of the Bharat Ratna in 1992.He was also awarded the
Legion dehorner by the French Government in 1954 and the United Nations.
3. GHANSHYAM DAS BIRLA

10. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
1894- 1983
Founder of the Birla Empire
G.D. Birla was an outstanding architect of India’s Industrial growth. The founding father of
the Birla Empire he also established the Federation of Indian chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FICCI).
He migrated to Calcutta at the age of 16 and started a career as a jute broker along with his
brothers. It wasn’t long before his dent of hard work paid rich dividends and on 1919 he set –up
Birla Brothers Limited and thereafter a mill in Gwalior. He established a cotton mill in Sabzi Mandi,
Delhi followed by Keshoram Cotton mills and Birla Jute Mills around 1920. By 1939 Birla were India’s
13th largest managing agency firm.
Expansion was almost an unstoppable phenomenon with Gharshyam Das and in the decade
of the 30’s he set up sugar and paper mills, in the 40’s ventured into the automobiles, insurance and
air service industries. Post-Independence, he set upon aluminum plant ‘Hindalco’ near Mirzapur, and
the among decades continued to see the Birla Brothers among the topmost industrial homes of India.
4. ARDESHIR BLIRJORJI GODREJ
1868- 1936
The lock master
In the year 1897 a young man of 29 Ardesheri Blirjorji Godrej (Ardesheri Godrej) set up a
small factory at Lalbaug ( Mumbai) manufacturing locks metaphorically , it symbolized firmly
locking this small busmen to a process, which eventually was to lead to the foundation in a
flourishing business and a household name – GODREJ.

11. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
Unwilling to trust the truth in a particular wise s lawyer in Zanzebar in 1894, he preferred to
give up the profession regardless of the consequences. Soon Ardeshir found his calling in
manufacturing. Deeply influenced by the nationalist Dadabhai Naoroji , he believed that the
struggle for freedom was both political and economic .
In the year 1897 Ardeshir plunged headlong into the production of ace quality locks soon
to be followed by manufacture of safer Around 1910, Ardeshir planned a trip to England , France
and Germany in order to study the lock and safe making efforts of his competitors including hubb.
His experimental nature led to the introduction of the first vegetable oil soap in the year 1918
that soon found patronage among Indian nationalist leaders. Later in his life he turned his attention
to farming and set up a ‘Godrej Farm’ near Nasik in Maharashtra as a colony for young unemployed
Parsis , who by devoting themselves to agriculture and allied industries including dairy farming
and poultry breeding would have a means of livelihood.
5. Dhirubhai Ambani
1932-2002

12. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
---------Creator of Equity Culture-----
Dhirubhai Ambani , one of India’s most enterprising entrepreneurs, established India’s
largest private sector company Reliance India limited, the first Indian company to feature in Forbes
500 list.
Dhirubhai started his entrepreneurial career by selling “BHAJIAS” to pilgrims in Mount Girnar
over the weekends.
At the age of 16, after his matriculation Dhirubhai moved to Aden, Yemen where he worked
as a gas- station attendant, and a clerk in an oil company. He returned to India in 1958 with Rs.
50,000 and set up a textile trading company, which soon became India’s largest private sector
company, Reliance India Ltd.
Assisted by his two sons, Mukesh and Anil, Dhirubhai Ambani diversified his business into
core specialization in petro chemicals with additional interests in telecommunications , Information
Technology , energy , power , retail, textiles , infrastructure services , capital markets and loges tics.
Dhirubhai Ambani is credited with shaping India’s equity culture, attracting millions of retail
investors in a market till then dominated by financial insulations. With innovative instruments like
the convertible debentures, Reliance quickly becomes a favorite of the stock market in the 1980s. In
1992, Reliance became the first Indian company to raise money in global markets, It high credit-
taking in international markets limited only by India sovereign rating.
Dhirubhai Ambani was named the Entrepreneur of the 20th century of FICCI.

13. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
6. SHANTHANU LAXMANRAO KIRLOSKAR
1903-1994
The man behind the engineering industry
Shanthanu Laxmanrao Kirloskar(S.L Kirloskar) for short, ingenious businessman and a man of
unbending, principles successfully established a golden age for the Indian engineering industry.
His father Laxmanarao Kirloskar was the founding father of the Kirloskar Group, a venture that
started off with a small bicycle business and emerged as one of India’s flourishing business
enterprises. S.L Kirloskar completed his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical engineering from MIT,
Massachusetts in the US, being among the just batch of Indians to graduate from the reputed
Institute with expansive vision he created a business empire that enjoyed one of the highest growth
rates in Indian history. He skillfully steered the company from oil engines and electric motors to
machine tools and tractors to hotels and consultancy services. Soon, the humble Company that
began in 1988 in Belgaun as a tradi9ng term turned into a saga of 6300 crores. The Kirloskar Empire
today comprises eight group companies and is considered as the largest engineering conglomerate of
the country.
A businessman of keen tactical abilities and perspicacious understanding of business dynamics,
S.L Kirloskar drove the group into export. He is also credited with developing manufacture of diesel
engines indigenously as an import substitute in post independence India.

14. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
7. MOHAN SINGH OBEROI
1898-2002
The Icon of Hospitality
Widely regarded as the father of 20th century Indian hospitality industry, Mohan Singh Oberoi
(M.S. Oberoi) was the vision behind The Oberoi Group, the country’s first and best known
International hospitality companies, with 35 luxury hotels in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Egypt, Australia
and Hungary.
M.S Oberoi started his career in 1922 in Hotel Cecil, Shimla as a clerk. From a diligent worker
he soon acquired his first hotel. In 1934, he acquired the Clark’s hotel from his mentor and soon
created a trajectory of acquisitions in Calcutta, Shimla , Delhi, Lahore, Murree, Rawalpindi and
Peshwar that established him as the first Indian to ran the largest and finest hotel chain.
In 1959, the Oberoi group became the first group to start flight chartering operations in India.
In 1905,M.S Oberoi opened the first modern five star International hotel in the country .The Oberoi
international in Delhi his self-professed strident commitment to quality, exemplar sense of aesthetics
and personal experience of the best in the world led 13 Oberoi hotels to become members of the
leading hotels of the world.
It was his foresight that led to the establishment of the Oberoi School of hotel management in
1966, the first such institution in the country to be recognized by the international Hotel Associates
in Paris.

15. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
A man of remarkable achievements, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha twice in 1962 and 1972
and to the LokSabha in 1968. He was a recipient of numerous prestigious national and international
accolades. The most prestigious of them are the admission to the “Hall of fames” by the American
society of Travel agents (ASTA) “Man of the word” by the International Hotel Associates (IHA) New
York, “Order and the Republic” –First Clan conferred by the president of Egypt. Honorary Doctorate
and business Administration by the International Management Centre, Buckingham UK, the PHD CC,
‘Millennium’ award in 2000 and the Padma Bhushan’ award in 2001.
8. JAMNALAL BAJAJ
1884-1942
Founder of Bajaj group
Jamnalal Bajaj , founder of the Bajaj group, one of the oldest Indian Conglomerates was an
industrialist, a philanthropist and Indian independence fighter that India will always be proud of.
A healthy experience of trading in commodities under his foster father led Jamnalal to
successfully establish the Bajaj Group of industries in 1926.
Although, this would always be the biggest achievement Jamnalal life, beliefs and personal was
defined by his strong national consumers that found a voice through his deep involvement with the
Indian movement of Independence.
His political affinity and nationalism was defined by the sense of social responsibility which he
fulfilled by continuously stirring for the development of rural industries and promoting. The cause of
Harijan upliftment. He dug wells in his fields for their use and hut temple to promote their
assimilation into men stream among other relatives.

16. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
A socialist, rationalist and Industrialist leader, Jamnalal Bajaj has several institutions in India
named after him, including the prestigious Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management studies. He spent
his last days attending to castle according to Gandhiji’s advice but continued to impact his
environment. He continued to study new methods of cattle-rearing even organized. All India Goseva
Conference at Wardha inventing experts and delegates from all over the country.
9. THIRUKURUNGADI VENKA GARUSWAMY SUNDARAM IYENGAR
1877-1955
Paved the way for the TVS Group
Thirukurungadi Venka Garaswamy Sundaam Iyengar (T.V.Sundaram Iyengar) spearheaded the
foundation of the automobile transport industry in South India. It is through the visionary his service
he started in Madurai in 1912, that he paved the way for the genius of the T.V.S group.
After dabbling with Jobs in Law terms, Indian railways and a bank, he started the first ever
rural bus service in Madurai. This bus service led to the establishing of T.V Sundaram Iyengar and
sons Limited in 1923.
A man with a never-say-die attitude Sundaram Iyengar relentlessly pursued innovation and
powered every initiative with the sheer dust of perseverance and hard determination.
During the World War II, when Madras presidency met with petrol scarcely, Sundaram
Iyengar designed and produced the TVS Gas plant. He also established a factory for rubber
retreading, and two other concerns. Sundaram Motors Ltd., and the Madras Auto Services Ltd., the
largest distributors for general motors in the 1950s. In 1954, he floated Sundaram Finance, a financial

17. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
firm to facilitate finance of buses and trucks. TVS group is currently the largest automobile electronic,
finance and in IT solutions and services.
The little bus service he started has metaphase into a network of buses and truck under
Southern Roadway and the Group he captained has expanded manifold, becoming one of the most
important chapter of Indian Industry.
10. Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad
( 1941- 2010)
Prahalad’s ground breaking article ‘The end of corporate Imperialism’ won the 1998 McKinsey
prize at the year’s best article. It paved the way for launching a global movement towards private
sector solution for global poverty. Hindustan lever and Godrej came out with ultra small pouch of
everything from shampoo to gutka to oil to paste. Subsequently, retail revolution sparked.
His thought accelerated the process of inclusive growth. He always advocated that we have
to factor the pricing as an exchange of value than the cost of manufacturing.
He is famous as the father of the concepts of core competency and BOP - Bottom of the
Pyramid.
Indeed his 2004 book ‘The fortune at the balloon of the Pyramid. Eradicating Poverty through
profits, became New York Times bestseller and catapulted him to a rack star among management
thinker although he was already a strong business guru
by then.

18. EntrepreneurialDevelopment
In 2009, he was conferred Padma Bhushan ‘third in the hierarchy of civilian award’ by the
Government of India.
The late C.K. Prahalad was more than an academician; he was one of the foremost business thinkers
of our time. He was the Paul and Ruth Mc Gacken distinguished University Professor of corporate
strategy at the Ross School of Business, where he taught for more than three decades.
He was elected as the most influential living management thinker in 2007 and 2009 by THINKER 50,
compiled by the Times of London and Suntop media. During his long career, he wrote 5 seminal
Book on strategy.
His 1987 book, ‘The Multinational Mission’ (co authored with Yves Doz) set the
framework for understanding global business. His book with Gary Hamel, ‘Competing for the future’
was widely accepted as the best busmen book of 1994. First introduced the idea of ‘core
competencies’. He coauthored (with Venkat Ramaswamy) ‘The Future of competition’ in 2004.
Business week described it as a book ‘full of disruptive ideas’. Business week and strategy voted it as
one of the best business book of the year.