FINAL ADIEU: Birla was among the rare breed of industrialists who learned their trade the hard way despite inhering it
Basant Kumar Birla, a doyen of Indian industry and Birla Group patriarch, passed away due to age-related ailments on Wednesday. He was 98.
Born in 1921, the youngest son of legendary Ghanshyam Das Birla, and grandfather of Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, the Birla Group patriarch breathed his last at his Mumbai residence. He was survived by two daughters, Jayshree Mohta and Manjushree Khaitan. His only son Aditya Vikram Birla, father of Kumar Mangalam, died in 1995, while BK's wife Sarla passed away in 2015, at the age of 90. BK married Sarla in 1945, who he was introduced to by Mahatma Gandhi,
His body would be taken to his Kolkata residence at Birla Park and the cremation will take place on Thursday.
AN ERA ENDS
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- Birla had business interests across industries such as cotton, viscose, polyester, nylon yarns, paper, shipping, refractory, cement, tea
- He was chairman of Krishnarpan Charity Trust, which runs an engineering college BK Birla Institute of Engineering at Pilani
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Birla was among the rare breed of industrialists who learned their trade the hard way despite inhering it. At a tender age, he was asked by his uncle Brij Mohan Birla to earn his own pocket money and was exposed to handling risks on his own, without impacting his studies. As he was slowly roped into the family business, he realised the responsibility entrusted to him to upkeep the family values, which were built over decades.
He had business interests across industries such as cotton, viscose, polyester, nylon yarns, paper, shipping, refractory, cement, tea, spun pipes, chemicals to name a few, and was the chairman of Century Textiles and Industries, Century Enka, Jayshree Tea and Industries, Kesoram Industries among several other Birla Group companies. He was the chairman of Krishnarpan Charity Trust, which runs an engineering college named BK Birla Institute of Engineering & Technology in Pilani, Rajasthan, the Swargashram Trust, which runs a Sanskrit school in Rishikesh. He also established Birla Public School in Qatar, and Birla College of Arts, Science & Commerce in Kalyan near Mumbai. He was the patron of 25 educational institutes across the country and author of several books, including an autobiography titled Svantah Sukhaya.
After the death of his son, BK Birla laid out his succession plan. He handed over the responsibilities of the educational institutes, temples and bungalows spread across the country to his family members.
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 "Basant Kumar Birla")
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