Dr. Sarla Birla (1923 – 2015), daughter of Indian independence activist and writer Brajlal Biyani, was a member of the Birla family. She was married to Basant Kumar Birla, a third-generation member of the Birla Business Empire, thus becoming a part of the family. After marriage, she joined the business and became an educationist as well. She was an art collector and social worker. She was the daughter-in-law of Ghanshyam Das Birla, a well-known industrialist and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi. Her son Aditya Vikram Birla and grandson Kumar Mangalam Birla carried forward the family legacy and expanded their business empire.
Dr. Sarla Birla – Businesswoman Belonging to the Birla Family
Sarla Birla was born in Kuchhaman, Rajasthan. Later, the family lived in Akola, Maharashtra, where she grew up. Her marriage to Basant Kumar Birla happened via Mahatma Gandhi and Jamnalal Bajaj, who introduced her to the Birla family. The Birla family, especially her father-in-law, Ghanshyam Das Birla, had a good relationship with Mahatma Gandhi in those days. In fact, Gandhi lived his last three months in the Birla family, before he was assassinated. After marriage, she fully supported her husband’s business and philanthropic activities and also co-founded 45+ educational institutions. Both were fully involved with their profession till their last years, and both lived a long life of 90+ years.
Sarla Birla – Some interesting and lesser-known facts
1. She outlived her son Aditya Vikram Birla for exactly 20 years. Aditya passed away in 1995 in his middle ages due to prostate cancer, giving responsibility of the family business to less-experienced Kumar Mangalam Birla in his 20s.
2. Her daughter-in-law, Rajashree Birla, is a philanthropist, businesswoman, and Padma Bhushan recipient.
3. Present generation (6th) of her family members includes Ananya Birla – a singer and Aryaman Birla – a cricketer, and both stay away from business.
4. Rameswar Das Birla, Baldeo Das Birla, Krishna Kumar Birla, Ganga Prasad Birla, Chandrakant Birla, and Yasovardhan Birla are some prominent figures of the Birla family belonging to different generations. Most of them were associated with business and well-known industrialists.
5. Seth Shobharam, grandson of Seth Bhudharmal, who lived in the early 19th century, was the first one from the Birla family who got into trade and business. He was a local trader. It was his son, Seth Shiv Narayana in the second half of the 19th century, who ventured into business outside their hometown, Pilani, now a part of Rajasthan. The Birla industrial family has flourished since then.
6. Well-known industrialist Krishna Kumar Birla was her brother-in-law.
7. Her niece Shobhana Bhartia (daughter of Krishna Kumar Birla) is perhaps the most prominent female member of the Birla family (Rajashree Birla and Sarla Birla being daughters-in-law). She is the Chairperson and Editorial Director of the Hindustan Times Group, which she inherited from her father.
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