THINK!

Corporate India incorporates two distinct groups of business establishments in the country. The first group of entrepreneurs belong to the pre-independence ventures and the second group belongs to the post-independence businesses. The dominant group at the time of independence was neither of the two. Multi National Corporations (MNC) held the power of Corporate India till early 1960s. Nehru and his socialist friends presided over the demise of this very powerful group. These MNCs were either nationalized or indianized. Many were taken over by native business houses like Tatas and Birlas. The remaining were taken care of by Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi and later by George Fernandes of Janata Party government in 1977-80.

Barring a few exceptions most of the companies in Corporate India started as trading companies. These family-owned companies later developed into full-fledged manufacturing enterprises. Hero Honda is no exception to that legacy of home-grown corporate sector. What is significant about Hero is that this group emerged despite a tortured story from a strife-torn region. The Munjal brothers belonged to the Lalpur district of undivided Punjab where they started a traditional business of vegetable trading. Soon the young siblings ventured into trading of bicycle components in Lahore, now in Pakistan. Destiny intervened and they decided to shift their base from Lahore to Amritsar in 1943, well before the slaughter of Partition could engulf the business! Four years later the business was shifted to a much secure environs of Ludhiana. This city provided the Munjals with skilled labor and other inputs.

Brijmohan Lall Munjal and his brothers established Hero Cycles Limited in 1956 at Ludhiana, Punjab. By 1975 it became the largest manufacturer of bicycles in India. The Munjals introduced a Moped in 1978 and established Majestic Auto Limited. The Hero Group formed a joint venture in 1984 with Honda Motors of Japan. Hero Honda set up its first assembly plant outside Ludhiana and Punjab because of the ‘Khalistan Movement’ in 1984 and produced 100 cc Hero Honda motorcycle at Dharuhera, Haryana. Punjab’s loss became Haryana’s gain and Corporate India expanded its manufacturing footprint. Nothing is more important for Corporate India than to diversify its manufacturing facilities in all 610 districts of India. Too much commercial concentration in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and West Bengal is fraught with danger for a simple reason of national security. India can afford to litter its industrial map to the length and breadth of this great country.