Shantanurao Laxmanrao Kirloskar (28 May 1903 – 24 April 1994) .
Shantanurao Laxmanrao Kirloskar was born as the eldest child to Laxmanrao Kirloskar and Radhabai in Sholapur, 220 miles southeast of Bombay. He was born in the Karhade Brahmin family of the Kirloskars.He was an Indian businessman who played a vital role in growth of kirloskar group.
S. L. Kirloskar was the son of Laxmanrao Kirloskar .He was one of the first successful entrepreneurs of India famous for his strong principles and having great business mind. Laxmanrao kirloskar established the kirloskar group and kirloskarwadi, which is near sangli district in Maharashtra.
S. L. Kirloskar completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.. He was the first Indians to graduate from MIT.He was universal thinker and was having ambitious personality who has confidence and potential to fight for his country before independence .
He often said, “Economic preparedness is as vital as military preparedness.” He viewed India as a part of the world and worked towards making India globally competitive. Mr.Kirloskar was the first president of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and a director of the Reserve Bank of India and of the Industrial Development Bank of India.
He had 3 childrens Chandrakant Kirloskar, Srikant Kirloskar and Sarojini Amin and his wife name was Yamunatai kirloskar. He returned back to India in 1926
After the end of World War II, he expanded the Kirloskar Group on a national level and later globally.In 1946, he established Kirloskar Electric Company and Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited at Bangalore and Pune respectively. In 1965, he received Padma Bhushan, which is the highest civilian award in India, for his contribution towards trade and industry.
He written an autobiography of title Cactus and Roses.In 1988, then the Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, launched a memorial postage stamp to honour the Kirloskar Group’s 100th anniversary.
In 2003, a memorial postage stamp was yet again released by the Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as a token of respect the birth centenary of Kirloskar. Today, the Kirloskar Group is India’s largest engineering conglomerate. The group, during that phase, exhibited an unbelievable 32,401% growth of assets.
- L. Kirloskar died on 24-04-1994 in Pune, Maharashtra, India at age of 90. The family clashes began around 1995, with the death of S L Kirloskar, the first son of Laxman Rao Kirloskar, who had dreamt of holding all the several units run by the brothers and their sons under one goal of a powerful Kirloskar group.
Author – Radhika Mor
Date – 13/05/2020