Industrialist G.D. Birla bankrolled Gandhi’s ashrams and Congress work for life

Evidence

To honour the returning hero, G.D. Birla, a leading Indian industrialist (and a fellow Bania), organised a grand reception in Calcutta. The Birlas ran an export–import business based in Calcutta and Bombay. They traded in cotton, wheat and silver. G.D. Birla was a wealthy man who was chafing at the bit, offended by the racism he had personally encountered at the hands of the British. He had had several run-ins with the colonial government. He became Gandhi’s chief patron and sponsor and paid him a generous monthly retainer to cover the costs of running his ashrams and for his Congress party work. There were other industrialist sponsors as well, but Gandhi’s arrangement with G.D. Birla lasted for the rest of his days. In addition to mills and other businesses, G.D. Birla owned a newspaper, Hindustan Times, where Gandhi’s son, Devdas, eventually worked as managing editor. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 270

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Gandhi’s anti-industrial message was bankrolled by industrialists.
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Gandhi’s anti-industrial message was bankrolled by industrialists.