Sardarmal Lalwani

The Lalwani Family

The main branch of the Lalwani Family are descendants of Rai Seth Poonamchand whose father Hiralal had migrated from Merta City in the District of Naguar in Rajasthan to Bhopal in the early 1800s. Poonamchand was the foremost money-lender in Bhopal and traded in Grains thereby laying the foundation of the family's future businesses through a firm established under the name and style of M/s Poonamchand Hiralal. Poonamchand had two sons Moolchand and Motilal and a daughter Phoolkunwar. Rai Seth Moolchand was the father of Sardarmal and Dhannabai, (married to Sadasukh Parakh of Kolkata). Sardarmal Lalwani died on January 4, 2004 and is survived by his wife Smt. Mohna Lalwani, children and grand children.

Early Life and Education

Sardarmal Lalwani studied at the Christian College, Indore affiliated to the Allahabad University. Besides his formal education, he was an avid reader and studied a variety of subjects in depth - including law, medicine, philosophy and religion to include Osho Rajnish. Lovingly referred to as "Bhaiji', he was a great visionary and leader ahead of his time. He lived in the Lalwani Lane of Chowk, Bhopal and his ancestral home and residence was known as 'Haveli'.

Career

One of the leading entrepreneurs of his time, Sardarmal Lalwani brought to the State of Madhya Pradesh the first color printing press imported from Germany and ran the printing business under the name and style of Lalwani Litho and Typework Pvt. Ltd. since 1942. The road on which the press was founded is known as the 'Lalwani Press Road' till date. He also founded the Bhopal Construction Company Ltd (1944) which was commissioned for numerous Government and Private works of great magnitude including laying of Railway Tracks. The construction company also engaged in multiple projects of building construction. A landlord and agriculturist of repute he cultivated the Sarbati wheat which was sold in the Bombay Mandi and was the pioneer in bringing mechanized agriculture to the State of Madhya Pradesh. He was the leading grain merchant in Bhopal and ran businesses under the propriety firms of "M/s Poonam Chand Hiralal' and 'Subhash Dal and Flour Mills.' Other businesses included money lending, rum bottling, and the import and trade of foreign goods. He also founded a film company known as India Film Corporation Ltd. and was the first filmmaker from Bhopal. He has to his credit the production of "Nai Reet" a film made in 1948 starring Geetabali, Sulochna and Rajindar who were the leading stars of that era.

Political Presence and Career

Sardarmal Lalwani was the first member of the Legislative Assembly of the Jan Sangh from 1952 to 1957 in Madhya Bharat. He was also an Honorary Magistrate of the erstwhile state of Bhopal and a former member of the Municipal Corporation in the year - 1942. During World War II he was in charge for Bhopal of the 'Protection Force' for which his contribution was appreciated and he was awarded a medal. Sardarmal Lalwani was the R.S.S. President of the State in the year 1975 and was on the hit list of the Government during the Emergency. This did not deter him from remaining a staunch Rashtriya Svayam Sevak loyalist. His colleagues of RSS Included eminent personalities like Shri Guruji BabaSahib Devrus, Madhav Rao Sadashiv Govalkarji, and other dignitaries of R.S.S., who would always stay at his residence 'Haveli' during their visit to Bhopal. He was a good friend of Shri Shankar Dayal Sharma, the 9th President of India and Atal Bihari Vajpayee the 10th Prime Minister of India. Besides, he was very closely associated with Shri Prakash Chandra Sethi, Shri Virendra Kumar Saklecha, Shri Sunderlal Patwa all Ex - Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh. Babulal Gaur, Kailash Sarang, Kailash Joshi were amongst the upcoming members of the party then.

Social Outreach

He held innumerable posts in public life and worked untiringly for various organizations. He was the President of the Rotary Club in the year 1945 when Mr. A.E. Foot, Founder Headmaster of the Doon School visited him in Bhopal and urged him to send his sons to The Doon School, which he did. Sardarmal Lalwani was also the President of the Lions Club and was responsible for constructing the Lions ward in the Hamidia Hospital. As Founder President of the Bal Niketan Orphanage, he established the roots of an organization benefitting orphans and children of jail inmates. He was also the President of the Grain Merchants Association and the Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti, Chairman of Smt. Bishenjibai Kanstiya Trust, President Ratanbai Jain Mehnaut Trust, President, Bhopal Gaushala Association, President, Bhopal Tehwaar Sabha, and Founder President of Shri Jain Shwetamber Vidhya Mandir which runs a school in Lalwani Lane. He was elected President of Shri Jain Shwetambar Murti Pujak Sangh Trust for two tenures and also the President of Bhopal Jain Samaj where he made great contributions.

Farmers' Rights

Sardarmal Lalwani had an extraordinary legal acumen and fought a Public Interest Litigation on behalf of the farmers of Village Jamonia Chhir against the Government of India. The struggle yielded success and the farmers were awarded fair compensation for land which was declared to be under submergence by the Government and won the case in the Supreme Court benefitting all the farmers of the village.