Studies in Indian Place Names ISSN: 2394-3114

Vol-40-Issue-27-February -2020
(UGC Care Journal)

Evolution of business communities & its impact on business decisions

Author’s Name: Raju Varghese

Research Scholar,

Global Business School & Research Centre (GBSRC),

Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth,

Pune – 411 033.

Email: raju.varghese@dpu.edu.in

Name of Guide: Dr. Leena Dam

Global Business School & Research Centre (GBSRC),
Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth,

Pune - 411 033.

Email: leena.dam@dpu.edu.in

Abstract

“A nation’s wealth grows because of the skill, dexterity and judgment with which its labor is
generally applied………..” ( Smith, 1981)
- Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith believed that any nation becomes wealthy because of the skill, dexterity and
judgment of its labor force and also the part of the population engaged in productive work. The
prosperity of the nation thus depended on the skill sets of its people.
In India, the labor force engaged in business and other commercial activities had a unique
origin known as the “Chaturvarna System”. The first mention of the “Varna” system is in the
Rig-Veda. Further reference of the “varna” system is in the Gita (Hymns - 4.13 & 18.41-18.44)
which specifies that classification in the “varna” system is based on the concepts of ‘guna’ and
‘karma’.
In India the “varna” system had a deep rooted impact on the evolution of business

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communities. This paper attempts to understand the relation between the “varna” system and the
manner in which various Indian business communities & family businesses evolved and the
unique business practices adopted by various communities.
The period 1500-1800 also marks the genesis, evolution and growth of various business
communities like the Marwaris, Gujaratis, Parsis, Bohri Muslims, Tamil Chettiars, Kommatis
etc.

Keywords: Indian Business History, Business Communities of India, Caste System, Varna
System, etc.

Introduction
The basic objective of the current study can be best summarized in Harish Damodaran’s
words in his book, “India’s New Capitalists. Caste, Business and Industry in a Modern
Nation” which is as follows:- “ The interest in exploring business communities has an obvious
connection with the belief that economic behavior is embedded in concrete social relations
wherein actors are seldom atomized individuals or anonymous buyers & sellers with no past
record of interaction” ( Damodaran,2009). A business community in India had originated at a
particular time, evolved, adapted, developed business nuances and particularities, became experts
in trading, ventured in to overseas trade and so on. A business community wise study of India is
thus in itself a unique attempt to understand both business history and community wise
uniqueness in trading. The business community would be guided by both socio-cultural norms
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and religion specific characteristics, making it highly unique. Hence, the period 1500 to 1800 is
highly rewarding for students of business history.
This paper attempts to correlate business communities who have evolved as a
consequence of various social events in the Indian history and the unique nature in which they
conduct business even as on date.

According to the prominent economist Angus Maddison, by the end of the first
millennium, India had a GDP of approximately one-third to half of the total world GDP. India
had reached its “Golden Age” in the Gupta Dynasty (6th century CE). However this was
followed by the invasion by the Huns who destroyed Taksashila and subsequently General
Bakhtiyar Khilji burnt down Nalanda University. Invasions were a regular part of the Indian
History till the advent of the rule of Mughals and subsequently too. (Deodhar, 2019)

The vaishya system resulted in the creation of a very strong trading community in India
also known as the banias / vanis. Traders from other communities like the Parsis, Muslims etc.
also evolved during this phase. The nature of trade changed from the sea-route predominant ports
like Surat, Mumbai & Kolkata to inland cities with the development of roads and transport
systems. The first Industrial Revolution (1760-1830) also impacted trade, with numerous
inventions and discoveries, during this phase that spurred trade.

Finally the advent of the LPG system (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization) or the
New Economic Policy of 1991 in India, under Prime Minister Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao opened
up trade opportunities for India, reduced import duties, opened up the reserved sectors for private
players and devalued the Indian currency to increase exports.

Business would now not remain community specific but would open up for all with the
entrepreneurial zeal and drive. The traditional communities would always have the benefit of the
distilled wisdom of trading over centuries and the advantage of the subsequent learning’s.
Adam Smith’s theory on the wealth of a nation propounds that the wealth of a nation depends
on the industriousness of its population. With reference to India, this industriousness was shown
by various business communities.

Material & Methods

The history of India can be studied in three separate time zones with reference to business
communities.
1) The time period from ancient India to before 1500.
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2) The time period from 1500 to 1900.

3) The time period from 1900 till date.

Methods
The paper involves the study of the caste & varna system which was specific to India.
This part of the study is restricted to ancient texts like the Rig-Veda, The Gita, The Manusmriti
etc. to understand ancient Indian thought and ethos on the social strata that would exist in the
society, the reasons for the same, the roles and responsibilities of each varna, and ideal code of
conduct in the society and so on. This is also linked to the evolution of religions beginning from
Hinduism, and then progressing towards Buddhism & Jainism, followed by Christianity and
Islam to the advent of Sikhism. Some of these religions had an absolute Indian origin whereas
religions like Christianity and Islam had foreign origins. Seminal work on caste and varna
system can be seen through the work of Ghurye and Srinivas who helped demystify these ancient
Indian concepts.
The second part of the study investigates the evolution of the vaishyas. The vaishyas would
gradually evolve into business communities. These business communities were mostly engaged
in trade. Trade was not restricted to India but involved foreign trade as well. International travel
and explorations over the sea route led to the establishment of various continents and countries
thus bringing into focus the abundance and shortfall of commodities in these countries. This
would become the foundation of international trade. Meanwhile the business communities also
evolved. Some migrated from their parent states or places of origin to the remaining parts of the
country, in search of lucrative trading options. As their exposure to business increased, they
evolved in to communities specializing in business. This transition from being a part of a vaishya
community to becoming specialists in trade happened with time. It involved centuries of
learning’s handed over through the collective wisdom of trading activities ending up in creation
communities like the Marwaris, the Gujaratis, the Sindhis, the Chettiars, the Kommatis, the
Boharas etc. These communities in India were very unique and they had developed specific
characteristics depending upon primarily religion, years of experience in business, exposure and
adaptability to foreign rulers in India etc.
The second part of the paper explores such unique business practices of four communities
namely the Marwaris, The Parsis, The Boharas and the Chettiars, prominenet business houses
from these communities and their evolution to pre-independence stage. The paper finally ends
with the evolution of business communities in to family businesses.

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I. Time Period: Before 1500

In India there was a unique social stratification system that deeply impacted the
industriousness or the propensity of the population to do business. This system is also known as
the ‘Chaturvarna’ system or more simply as the genesis of the ‘varnas’. The first mention of the
‘varnas’ is in the Rig-Veda (1500BCE-1100 BCE) specifically in the ninetieth hymn of the tenth
mandala of the Rig-Veda also known as the “Pursusha Sukta”. (Deodhar) The ‘chaturvarna’
meaning four varnas were Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas & the Shudras. The Brahmanas
evolved from the mouth of Lord Brahma, the Kshatriyas from his arms, the Vaishyas from his
thighs and the Shudras from his feet. The Brahmanas were the priests, teachers, scholars. The
Kshatriyas were rulers / warriors. Vaishyas were agriculturists or merchants. Shudras were the
laborers or the service providers. (Shodhganga@Inflibnet)
Such social stratification systems were also known in ancient civilizations like Egypt.
According to the Herodontus, in ancient Egypt, there were seven classes which governed the
social strata. These were the priests, fighting men, herdsmen, swineherds, tradesmen, interpreters
and navigators. (Hutton,1946)
The “Chaturvarna” system had tremendous impact on the socio-cultural fabric of the nation.
Migration into other ‘varnas’ was seriously contested. The scope of the present paper is restricted
to the community engaged in business i.e. the Vaishyas. The ‘varnas’ or the caste system went on
to define the occupations of people. The system was so unique that it also specified the items that
were not to be traded for e.g. sesame seeds. Further mention of the “Chaturvarna” system is in the
Gita which defines people by their ‘gunas’ and not necessarily by birth. The Brahmanas are calm
and exercise self-control, the Kshatriyas are known for their valor, the Vaishyas for their
agriculture and cattle herding and finally the Shudras for their services.
The ‘varna system’ gave rise to specific communities trading in unique commodities or
services. A brief example of the varna system and the occupations of some of the communities are
as follows:-
Table No.1 Table of certain Vani’s / Baniyas with their place of origin and their professions.
Sr. Name of the Group Place of Origin Profession
Nos.
1 The Jat Punjab Cultivator

2 Kisan Northern India Cultivation

3 Lodha or Clod Hopper Central Provinces
4 Gauli Central Provinces Cattle herding
5 Sonar Central Provinces Gold Smith
6 Barhai, Tarkhan, Tachchan, Sutar Central Provinces Carpenter Caste
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7 Lohar, Tambat, Kasar, Thatera Central Provinces Work on Iron,

Copper, Bell metal &
Brass
8 Bunkar, Joria, Tanti, Koshti, Patva, Central Provinces Weaving Castes
& Sale
9 Kumbhar Central Provinces Pot Maker

If ‘varna’ indicates caste, then the sub-caste is defined as ‘jati’. ‘Jati’ consists of a group of
people deriving their livelihood from a specific occupation.
According to Ghurye, there were two distinct features of the varna system, as follows:-
1) Membership of any caste was only by birth and not wealth like other societies.
2) The varna system created deep rooted hierarchical divisions within the society giving the
Brahmins precedence over the other varnas. (Ghurye, 1969)
Discussion on caste cannot be complete without considering the work done by M.N. Srinivas
in his epic work, “Social Change in Modern India”. Srinivas introduced a concept known as,” as
“Sanskritization & Westernization”. Sanskritization is a process that had occurred throughout
Indian history wherein people who represent the lower caste seek mobility to the upper castes and
this still continues to occur whereas westernization involves changes in the Indian society that
have occurred after the introduction of the British rule. The caste system was highly rigid with
migrations possibly taking up to one or two generations for a final acceptance. ( Srinivas, 1972)
Weber contended that the concept of karma i.e. the Indian concept of doing something without
expecting anything in return and the rigid immobility amongst various castes, made the concept of
business (profit-motive) less attractive. However, Weber’s contentions were also challenged by
authors like Dwijendra Tripathi who contended that there was extreme industriousness in the
business communities of India. (Kudaisya & Ng,2014)
This period is also marked by the evolution of religions like Buddhism and Jainism, on the
basis of the teachings of Gautam Buddha and Mahavir. The Vaishyas supported these anti-
brahminical sects. (Deshpande, 2010))
After the advent of the other ‘younger’ religions like Christianity and Islam in to India, the
impact of the ‘caste’ system still prevailed. For e.g. there were in certain parts of southern India,
Christians who would be proud of their brahminical ancestry and similarly there would be
Muslims who would be associated with the caste of the ‘Rajputs’. ( Bayly, 2001)

II. Time period: 1500 -1800

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It is necessary to understand the happenings in the world during the period 1500 – 1800 to
understand the evolution of the business communities. Some major happenings were the advent of
the Mughal Empire with Emperors Akbar and Aurangazeb having a reign of almost 50 plus years,
the establishment of the British East India Company, the reign of the Maratha King Shivaji, the
uprising of 1857 also known as the Sepoy Mutiny, the Industrial Revolution and the two world
wars followed by the partition of India and the exit of the British Empire from India.
Sea route travel for trade & commerce activities started gaining prominence. This period also
saw the evolution of port cities like Surat in Gujarat as a major business hub. This is well
documented in the book, - “Indian Merchants and the Decline of Surat: C. 1700-1750” by Ashin
Gupta
An important feature during the period of the Mughal rule was that the relation between rulers
and traders relied on taxes paid. There was never a major interference from rulers in trade.
Secondly, even the fact that traders followed separate religions, never deterred trade.
(Ghosh, 2012)
The East India Company was established on 31st December, 1600 and ceased operations on
1st June, 1874. The company was primarily engaged in international trade and opium trafficking.
The company dealt with products like cotton, silk, indigo dye, saltpeter etc.
Om Prakash in his paper titled, “The Indian Maritime Merchant -1500-1800” writes about the
prominence of the Indian Merchant Class. According to his paper, the Hindu Bania community of
Bengal was described by Mijdrecht as early as 1657, as follows.
“The merchants… are especially quick and experienced….They are always sober, modest,
thrifty and cunning in identifying the source of their profit, which they are always at pain to
maximize. In general they are people whom one could get along well so long as one is on one’s
guard.”
One characteristic feature of the trading community is the early indoctrination of children in to
business at a very young age under the tutelage of the father, thereby making them astute business
men at a nascent age.
Banias, Jains, Marwaris & Khatris were prominent traders in Northern India whereas Chetis
and Komatis were active in Southern India. The Banias were most prominent merchants in North
India accommodating almost 84 Jain & Vaishnavite Vaishya clans. They were involved in land
revenue collection, procurement of grain and were also prominent money lenders to various
zamindars( large sum of money was extended as credit to zamindars as against the expected
revenue to be received from peasant proprietors).These were also called as the saraf
establishments. The most prominent saraf establishment to have evolved during this period was
the Jagat Seth family. The Jagat Seths were Marwaris originating from Marwar in Rajastthan.

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Ship owning merchants who were prominent in this period were Khem Chand Shah and
Chintamani Shah who operated from Balasore.
Another trait that can be seen from the study of the prominent merchants during this time is
that they enjoyed a wide range of prosperity but at the same time their private lifestyle was
marked with frugality. Spending was restricted to marriages and traditional thanks giving meals
offered after the death of an elder family member. Investment in ornaments was another
characteristic feature which may have been considered as an investment or also to escape
harassment from government officials. (Prakash, 2004)

Time Period: 1947 to 1960 (The Nehru Phase)

Major Industrial houses or business communities that survived the tumultuous period of
history involving the two world wars, the partition of the country and the genesis of a fresh new
Indian Government were as follows:-

Table No.2 - Prominent Business Houses just after India became Independent
Sr. Group Company / Industry
No.
1 The Tatas TISCO, TELCO, Tata Chemicals, Tata
Power, Tata Airlines, New India Assurance Co.,
Tata Finlay ,TCS etc
2 The Birlas HINDALCO,TEXMACO, Hindustan
Motors,
3 The Thapars Greaves Cotton ( Crompton Greaves),
Ballarpur Industries Ltd.,
4 The Mafatlals NOCIL, PIL, etc.
5 The Kirloskars KOEL, Kirloskar Oil, Kirloskar Pneumatic,
Kirloskar Cummins,
6 The Lalbhais Textiles
7 The Walchands Premier Automobiles, Ravalgaon
Confectionaries etc.

The Shaporjis, Khataus and the Seshayees showed marginal growth or declined during this
phase. The Dalmia-Sahu Jain family had a tremendous growth phase during the first decade after
Independence, but went out of business subsequently due to issues related to tax evasion.

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Table No.3 Business Groups that emerged post-Independence

Sr. Group Company / Industry
No.
1 The Bajajs Electrical applications, 2 / 3 wheelers
2 The Mahindras Manufacture of Jeeps etc.
3 The Godrejs Security equipment, soaps, refined oils etc.
4 The Singhanias Chemicals, Synthetics, Manmade fibres, sugar, paper etc.
5 The Bangurs Bengal Coal, Bengal Paper etc.

Table No.4 Major Business Groups that emerged from scratch post Independence
Sr. Founder Company / Industry
No.
1 Shri Dhirubai Ambani Reliance
2 Shri Mammen MRF Tyres
Mappillai
3 Shri Brij Mohan Hero
Munjal
4 Shri Ramanbhai Patel Cadila
5 Shri Raunaq Singh Apollo Tyres
6 Shri Mohan Singh Oberoi Hotels
Oberoi

The Goenkas, Kalyanis, Khaitans & Ruias along with Chowgules, Salagaonkars & Dempos
from Goa already existed as traders in the pre-independence stage and would subsequently scale
up their operations post-independence and also enter into the manufacturing sector. (Tripathi &
Jumani, 2007)

Comparative analysis of four major business communities

I) Marwaris-
These are traditional merchants from the ‘Marwar’ area of Rajasthan. Some of the
members of these communities are the Aggarwals, Maheshwari and Oswal Hindus. Marwaris
predominantly follow the Jain faith. This community is characterized by the following traits -

 Extremely Industrious.
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 Well travelled beyond Marwar to different parts of the country.

 Exposed to trading primarily and later in the post – independence phase into the
manufacturing sector as well
 High Risk Taking Propensity and excellent financial acumen.
 Involved in trading & commercial activities since generations.
 Some of them migrated to Bengal immediately after the collapse of the Mughal Empire.
 Street smart traders with a sharp acumen for selling and excellent understanding of the
market.
 Prominent among Marwari business communities include the houses of Birlas, Goenka,
Singhania, Bajaj etc. (Timberg, 2014)
II) Parsis
‘Parsi’ means Persian in the Persian language. The Parsis are a Zoroastrian community.
They had migrated to India during the period CE-636-651 from Persia. This was the period of
the Muslim conquest of Persia. The unique features of this community are as follows:-
 Strong familial and intercommunity ties.
 Role of Parsis were aligned to British Business Houses.
 Initially started as ship builders.
 High English language literacy levels so the British have a greater ease of interaction with
this community.
 Prominent among Parsi business communities, Tatas, Cama, Banaji, Dadabhoy,
Readymoney, Jejeebhoy etc. (Hinnels & Williams,2012)

III) Bohra Muslims

The Boharas enjoyed positions of power with the Mughals and were well known in trade
and were also known for their literary quests. This community is characterized by the following
traits: -
 Popular merchants of Gujarat following the Muslim religion.
 They migrated to Hallar in Saurashtra, Kutch and Surat respectively.
 Predominantly ‘Hardware’ Traders as on date.
 Migrated from Surat to Mumbai.
 Close Knit Shia community.
 Highly educated.
 Prominent among Bohra community business leaders are Azim Premji, Habil
Khorakiwala, etc.

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IV) Chettiars ( Nagarathars)

The Tamil Chettiars originated from the Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. They had
migrated to Burma and Malaya as well. The unique features of this community are as
follows:-

 Natives of Chettinad and Ramanad district.

 In between 1896 & 1930 their assets rose from 1 to 8 hundred million rupees.
 Predominantly in the indigenous banking business.
 As a community they owned ¼ of the total cultivable land of Burma in 1937.
 Successful due to financial acumen, psychological cohesion, and caste discipline.
 Follow Indian joint family system becoming an independent unit when they marry w.r.t.
business
 Prominent business families from this community include the Somasundaram Group, the
Rajah Sir group, The Kurumuthu group and the A.M.M. group. (Ito, 1966)

Transition of business communities to family businesses

The erstwhile vaishyas and the subsequent banias / vanis had numerous advantages with
respect to trading as compared to other communities. They became specialists in trading starting
off from simply animal grazing to emerging as evolved traders. They also became skilled in
certain arts like carpentry, pottery, blacksmiths, bangle-making etc. so much so that their
community would be known by the skill set of the trade that they excelled in. Initially, it was
considered norm to earn livelihood only by pursuing these trade’s that one’s community
specialized in.
As a community and then subsequently as a nation the Indian citizens were exposed to
innumerable external attacks which deeply impacted the Indian socio-cultural norms. These
external influences would come in the form of foreigners who attacked the country during various
phases of its evolution all the way from the Huns to the Mughals and finally culminating with the
British, the Dutch and the French attacks.
The Mughal rule extended from the period 1526 to 1857. The most impactful period was the
first 200 years from the reign of Humayun to Aurangazeb. The next major impact was the rule
under the British Empire. This involved the earlier presence of the British as the East India
Company and subsequent rule of India as a British colony. The company rule was from the years
1757 to 1858 and the British Raj was from 1858 to 1947 which collectively is about 200 years.
A serious contradiction to the Weber’s theory that Indian merchant class was dormant and
simply dependant on the Indian concept of karma was grossly wrong. The Indian merchants were
always a lively trading unit, taking advantage of various business opportunities and engaging in
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speculations and risks when absolute information was not available. There were innumerable
incidences of such ‘gut’ decisions taken by various businessmen that had either led them to be
tremendously successful or on the contrary had eliminated them completely as business liabilities.
The spirit of adventure amongst traders prevailed with their trying to explore new markets,
migrating, adapting and slowly developing themselves in to successful business units and
corporate entities. Another major contradiction to Weber’s theory is that most of the business
communities survived under one or the other foreign rule and still managed to retain its utility,
identity and existence.
However, the impact of their Indian upbringing by been a part of a specific community cannot
be ruled off even as on date as it is this upbringing that gave a distinct character to each business
community in terms of their risk-taking, the items that they traded in, the general rules for conduct
of business, the profit sharing, being socially conscious, ethical, been a part of major joint family
and a party to joint decision making and also divisions within the family hierarchy on who would
handle which vertical of a particular business were features that were unique and by nature very
Indian. This was the “Business DNA” that is unique to Indian business communities.
Naming this specific identity of Indian businesses as “Business DNA” is also a misnomer as it
would be more correctly called the “ the Indian DNA”. Business was a way of life. Good business
practices were a part of the social upbringing. Business was not to be considered separately, but as
part of life. Life’s lessons were the business lessons and vice-versa. Even if business involved
competition, Weber would be more corrected to incorporate the teachings of “karma” in the
manner in which business was done and not an excuse or reason for not doing business. Karma
never advocated inertness but accountable actions. That forms the foundation of the Indian
Business Communities.

Results
As expected each business community shows characteristic features. Some communities
have travelled and engaged in trade for centuries like the Marwaris and the Gujaratis etc. This led
to the development of certain traits of doing business that is community specific. Some
communities were exposed to the environment of business to a larger extent resulting in
developing certain attitudes towards risk taking, handling of finances, succession planning and so
on. Other communities did not develop much either due to their geographical remoteness like the
North eastern parts of India or their abundance in specific raw materials meaning they would
specialize in trade of such natural commodities.
With the advent of the LPG policy as explained above, the industriousness of the
entrepreneur would become the sole driving force behind business ventures and not the
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community link. In such a situation too, the erstwhile business communities had numerous
advantages like exposure to trading and experience. As on date, what is paradoxical is that a
KPMG study of 2013 indicates that two thirds of India’s GDP and approximately 90% of gross
industry output are contributed by various family businesses in India. (Kota & Singh, 2016).
Majority of the family businesses originated and evolved from the erstwhile ‘Vysyas’. The
Marwaris and The Gujarati communities still control a major portion of Indian businesses.

Discussion
In order to summarize the discussion so far, we have gone through the concept of caste /
jati to the evolution of business communities in India. These communities go on to further evolve
in to successful Family Businesses. A family business in the Indian context is characterized by the
following-
 These businesses start off as small entrepreneurial ventures.
 They grow in size gradually with the involvement of more family members.
 Initially there is no distinction in between the family and the business w.r.t. funds or
manpower.
Family business develops differences within its members when it grows further and members
are perceived to contribute separately in terms of time, energy and efforts. Finally, the father
figure or the karta starts waning in his influence which can also compound issues.
Despite having such a a rich tradition through the varna system, family businesses can face
issues with respect to the following aspects:
 Succession Planning
 Transition from small units to professional business entities.
 Dilution of the Value System. . (Ramachandran,2015)
The concept of varna explains the origin of business communities. The exposure to business
created strong business centric communities. The paradox is they further evolve into major family
businesses wherein some survive and grow generation wise and others get eliminated.

Acknowledgment
The author wishes to acknowledge the efforts of his Ph.D. guide, Dr. Leena Dam, Global
Business School & Research Centre (GBSRC), Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, for her
insightful guidance during the process of writing this paper.
The author also humbly acknowledges the stellar work done by authors Ghurye and Srinivas
in trying to understand the concept of caste.
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Finally, the work on business communities cannot be complete without acknowledging the
work done by authors Dwijendra Tripathi, Jyoti Jumani, Ashin Gupta, Medha M. Kudesiya,
Tirthankar Roy, Harish Damodaran & S.Y. Deodhar. The detailed research in these publications
in itself is a major motivator for students pursuing work on business communities.
Lastly, the author also would like to thank Kavil Ramachandran for his seminal work on
Family Businesses in India which was very insightful during the course of this study.

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