Page 23 - Gujar Mal Modi

new venture under the name, M/s. Modi Oil Ginning Mills. In 1929 he planned to

start a Vanaspati (hydrogenated oil) factory at Patiala, but official permission for
this was not given and he had, therefore, to abandon his plans. ln 1930 he was

asked to set up a new cotton factory at Nabha for his uncle Mr. Girdhir Lal Modi.
This was a clear recognition of his organising capabilities.

Towards the end of the year 1930. the father of Mr. Gujarmal Modi resigned from

the post of Municipal Commissioner and the son was nominated in his place.
This provided to the son yet another opportunity to serve the common man.

The Deputy Commissioner in those days also used to hold the post of the ex-of-
ficio chairman of the Municipal Committee. One day at one of the meetings of

the Municipal Committee Mr. Modi put a question to the President which he
latter refused to answer. Mr. Modi insisted and when he saw that no answer was

forthcoming, he promptly brought forward a no confidence motion against the
chairman. This was a bold and courageous step as the members of the Municipal

Committee in those days were government functionaries. In this particular case
the chairman of the Municipal Committee also happened to be the brother-in-

law of the Maharaja and also the District Magistrate of the town. At that time,
the District Magistrate also used to be the Income-tax Officer of the area and

was, thus, in a position to exert his influence over the business community of the
area. But inspite of the risks involved in this step of which he was fully aware, Mr.

Modi remained firm on his daring stand. The members of the Municipal Com-
mittee were impressed by the fearlessness and the sense of justice of Mr. Modi.

Hectic consultations among the members took place and ultimately when the
vote was taken, the no confidence motion was carried and the chairman had to

bow out of office. It is remarkable that even the Police Chief of the area voted in
favour of the motion.

This was an unprecedented incident in the history of the Municipal Committee

and it gave a tremendous fillip to the rising popularity of the young industrialist.
He became, in the eyes of the common man, the champion of right causes. Peo-

ple now started showing courage in fighting for their rights and many used to
come to him to seek advice in cases of injustice and excesses against them. The

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