Page 34 - Gujar Mal Modi

finance himself. Mr. Modi readily agreed. He acquired practically the whole of

Begumabad village and started developing it. What was once a desolate area
infested with reptiles and dangerous criminals, soon became the nucleus of an

industrial township, humming with new life. That was the birth of Modinagar 45
years ago.

Within a few months’ he raised the money required to put up a sugar factory,

which was set up in 1933. However, nature and man, both seemed to be pitted
against him. In the very first year of the launching of the factory, the sugarcane

crop was poor hecause of an indifferent monsoon. The landlords in the area were
angry because their agricultural labour was being weaned away by better op-

portunities for work in the newly started factory. Undaunted, Gujarmal set out
to overcome the problems. He convinced the landlords that industrialisation of

the area would be to their advantage as the value of their landed property would
appreciate. With the development of roads in the area their markets would in-

crease, he told them. By offering secure round-the-year employment he released
landless labour mostly harijans, from veritable bondage. He exhorted the small

traders of Hapur and other nearby towns to invest their money in industry for
national development as well as personal advancement, instead of indulging in

speculation. He brought them together under an association for that purpose.

Strange as it may sound, the industrial magnate in the making went around on

a bicycle for these missions. Visiting villages far and wide, he individually carried
to the people his message of prosperity through industry. He persuaded his re-

lations everywhere to buy shares in the industry he was establishing. Though
less discernible, this kind of spade work he had put in at the personal level was

as much responsible as his business acumen and managerial skill in developing
Modinagar into what it is today.

Acquisition of land for the factory presented several complex problems, but

these were tackled smoothly by the tactful hand ling and the sympathetic at-
titude adopted by the young indus trialist. He obtained the land on hire and

on lease. The first man with whom he developed intimacy there was Mr. Ram
Sarup, whose brother was the honorary magistrate of the area, and who helped

him a lot by driving home to the village-folk the importance of industrialisation.

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