Premchand was known as ‘Cotton King’ and could speak English, French and Spanish; his partners were Dwarkadas Dharamsey, Mathurdas Vissani, Ghanshyamdas Khatau (All Hindu Kutchi Bhatia counted as Gujarati) and Dinsha Pittit (A Gujarati Parsi).
By Bramesh Bhandari
The history of Mumbai would be incomplete without mention of Premchand Raichand, a Gujarati malletujar, who was a leading businessman of the nineteenth century. Premchand, originally from a Jain family from Surat, was the only businessman in Mumbai at that time who could speak fluent English with the British, French with the French traders and Spanish with the Portuguese.
Premchand Raichand Jain was born in 1832 in a Porwal Baniya family. He was the son of Raichand Dipchand Ji Jain. The Raichand family moved to Bombay when Premchand was a young boy. He was educated at Elphinstone College.
It is said that in those days when cotton was planted all over Gujarat and when all the ripe goods reached Mumbai, Premchand Raichand was the only buyer! Premchand Raichand was called Cotton King as he bought half of the total cotton production in the country.
The city of Manchester in England was considered the main center of cotton mills. As many as 180 cotton mills were thriving in Manchester in the nineteenth century, and most of them were supplied by Premchand Raichand.
Premchand Raichand as an international player of Roo started Roo Satta in Mumbai. In which Dwarkadas Gokaldas, Mathurdas Harjivan, two Shethiyas of Kapol Vanik caste were also partners of Premchand. These partners started speculating in commodity products. Initially, Premchand used to gamble in the compound of his bungalow in Bychalla. But the number started increasing gradually so he changed the venue.
Initially a total of 25 traders joined the exchange, out of which 18 were Gujarati, 4 Marwari and 2 South Indian and 1 Punjabi. The number increased to 318 in the first month itself. Common people called them as Chataiyas as mats were spread out in the open under banyan trees.
Horniman Circle near Churchgate had a Town Hall in those days. Today, the place has become a big park. There, under a banyan tree, speculation began systematically under the guidance of five prominent mill-owners named Premchand (Gujarati Jain), Dwarkadas Dharamsey (A Hindu Kutchi Bhatia, counted as Gujarati), Mathurdas Vissani (A Hindu Kutchi Bhatia counted as Gujarati), Ghanshyamdas Khatau (A Hindu Kutchi Bhatia counted as Gujarati) and Dinsha Pittit (A Gujarati Parsi). It framed rules with a view to bringing discipline along the British lines. One rupee as membership fee for participating in the auction was decided and the organization was named the Native Share and Stock Brokers Association. The same organization is today’s Bombay Stock Exchange.
Initially a total of 25 traders joined the exchange, out of which 18 were Gujarati, 4 Marwari and 2 South Indian and 1 Punjabi. The number increased to 318 in the first month itself. Common people called them as Chataiyas as mats were spread out in the open under banyan trees.
The organization that grew under the banyan tree has become the banyan tree of the economy today
There is grandeur in every talk of the Bombay Stock Exchange. The amount of deals done here, the presence of the country’s top companies, millions of families involved in the economic upheaval, Bombay Stock Exchange enjoys the status as a model financial institution not only of India or Asia, but of the entire world.
Bombay Stock Exchange is the 11th largest stock exchange in the world with a market cap of Rs.148 lakh crore. It ranks 5th in the world in terms of the number of daily transactions.
More than 5000 companies are registered in Bombay Stock Exchange. It is number one in the world in terms of this number.
The World Federation of Exchanges has been formed to regulate stock exchanges around the world, with headquarters in Paris. Bombay Stock Exchange also occupies a prominent position among the major stock exchanges which are employed for the management of this institution.
Today, the stock exchange building is a symbol of the whole of Mumbai, but 144 years ago, it started under a banyan tree on the same spot.
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Bramesh Bhandari has been actively trading the Indian Stock Markets since over 15+ Years.
Courtesy: BrameshTech Analysis – Source: From the diary of Rajnil Dave (Posted on March 29, 2023) and Wikipedia
Thanks to Vimal Shah for sharing the information and links. Mr. Shah is based in Mumbai, India who is follower of Jainism by birth. He is Computer Engineer and holds Diploma in Jainology from Mumbai University. He is studying various subjects of Jainism.
