Page 24 - Gujar Mal Modi

prevailing conditions and his own nature combined to push Mr. Modi into the

field of public welfare activities.

The same year Mr. Modi founded the Chamber of Com merce and Industry at
Patiala. The spade work for organising the business and trade of the area under

the banner of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry was done by him almost
single-handed. It was inaugurated by Sir Fredrick Gauntlet who, at that time, was

the Finance Minister of the State, and had earlier held the position of the Auditor
General in the Government of India. Sir Fredrick was considered an authority

on economic issues. The speech which Mr. Modi delivered on this important oc-
casion clearly indicated the high esteem in which Mr. Modi was held in Patiala

because of his fearless character.

While engaged in his business pursuits Mr. Modi never allowed any compromise

with his sense of self-respect and national honour. In his early days in the prince-
ly states he saw that abject surrender and slavery to the British resident officers

was the established pattern of behaviour, and the ruling princes were deeply
immersed in the pursuit of sensual pleasures and in pleasing their British mas-

ters. They developed a sense of hatred and contempt for their subjects. During
his frequent visits to these rulers’ palaces in the company of his father, Gujarmal

Modi came to have fairly good idea of the kind of life these princely rulers were
leading. His heart pained to see the steep fall in moral values in their lives. He felt

indignant but there was no way to express it.

At last an opportunity to give vent to his feelings came in 1926. Mr. Turner, an
Englishman, was working as the super intending engineer in the garage of the

then Maharaja Bhupendra Singh of Patiala. His attitude towards Indian officers
was insulting and humiliating. In the year 1926 there was a public auction at

which Mr. Modi outbidded Mr. Turner. This hurt the Englishman’s pride and in a
fit of anger he started hurling abuses at Mr. Modi. “You, dirty Indian”, was one of

the phrases which hurt Mr. Modi deeply. It was impossible for this self-respect-
ing person to bear this insult to his person and his nation. He, at once, pounced

upon the automobile engineer, slapped him on his face and pushed him to the
ground. Mr. Turner used still more filthy language and this enraged Mr. Modi all

the more. The result was that Mr. Modi beat the automobile engineer so badly

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