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2021-10-27T20:50:04Z

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{{refimprove|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Karam Chand Thapar
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| birth_date = 1900
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| death_date = {{Death year and age|1962|1900}}
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| nationality = [[India]]n
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| alma_mater =
| occupation = Founder of [[Thapar Group]]
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| children = {{Collapsible list|titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title= 7||Inder Mohan|Brij Mohan|[[L. M. Thapar]]|Man Mohan | Raj | Prem | Janak}}
| parents =
| relatives = [[Gautam Thapar]] {{small|(grandson)}} <br> [[Varun Thapar]] {{small|(great-grandson)}}
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'''Karam Chand Thapar''' (1900–1962) was the founder of the [[Thapar Group]] of companies.

He was originally from [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]]. He started his career in 1920 as a coal trader in [[Calcutta]], and built up the family fortune through Karam Chand Thapar and Bros. He then started [[JCT Limited]] that is into textiles as well as [[molasses]] and alcohol. He also took over the [[Oriental Bank of Commerce]], and ventured into paper manufacturing with the [[Ballarpur Industries Limited]].

In 1956, he started [[Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology]] which was given the status of Deemed University in 1985 and renamed as [[Thapar University]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thapar.edu/page-uni.asp?mainId=1&masterId=1 |title=Thapar University |access-date=19 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108041143/http://thapar.edu/page-uni.asp?mainId=1&masterId=1 |archive-date=8 January 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Biography ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2019}}
Thapar established Karam Chand Thapar & Bros. Ltd. - the parent company of Karam Chand Thapar & Bros. (Coal Sales) Ltd. (KCT). Having gained some experience of the coal industry in his youth, Thapar set out to establish his own coal trading business based out of the Jharia coalfields in 1919. Soon thereafter, he realized that the epicenter of the coal business was not where the mines were located, but in Calcutta, the then established base of all the large European owned mining companies.

A year later, in 1920, he set out for Calcutta, the erstwhile capital of India. That same year, he started a successful coal distribution business based out of Calcutta. As a leader, Thapar managed to consolidate a diverse group of investors and contractors, and incorporate them into his coal distribution network.

Thapar did not focus on coal alone but also ventured into other fields like paper, textiles, chemicals, sugar as well as banking (Oriental Bank of Commerce) and insurance (United Indian Insurance). In 1929, the flagship parent company of the Thapar Group, Karam Chand Thapar & Bros. Ltd., was formed. In the course of time, various companies owned and/or managed by KThapar were brought under its umbrella.

== Personal life ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2019}}
Born in 1900, Thapar died in 1963<ref>{{cite news|title=Karamchand Thapar's death: Condolence Meeting|newspaper=The Indian Express|date=2 April 1962}}</ref> and was survived by four sons: Inder Mohan Thapar, Brij Mohan Thapar, [[Lalit Mohan Thapar]], and Man Mohan Thapar.

Following Thapar's death, his third son Lalit was made head of the business, with the undertaking that the latter would ensure that Inder Mohan's son would be given the reins after Lalit turns 65, and that all of Lalit's brothers would be given their due share of the family business.

Lalit stood by his word to his dying father and did over the years divide the group among his brothers; the fact that he was a life-long bachelor with no children was helpful in this. However, Lalit gave the reins of the bigger part of the company to [[Gautam Thapar]], son of Brij Mohan, and gave the chemicals division to Vikram Thapar, the son of Inder Mohan.

Karam Chand was survived by four sons, named above, and by at least one daughter, Mrs. Surinder Lal. The latter is the mother of two daughters: former bank CEO [[Naina Lal Kidwai]], a former bank CEO, and of Nonita Lal Qureishi, whose husband, Faisal Qureishi, is a [[Pakistani people|Pakistani]] golf champion.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061113042531/http://www.hrfolks.com/knowledgebank/businesshouses.htm Business Houses list]
* [http://archive.today/j4Ou5 Businessweek mention in 1997]
* [http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060616/asp/business/story_6359623.asp Telegraph India article on family division]
* [http://www.jcttextiles.com/Thapar.htm JCT textiles website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050207212225/http://www.tiet.edu/ Engineering college website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110319025618/http://www.kctcoalsales.com/about-us.asp KCT website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070222220104/http://www.biltpaper.com/ Bilt website]
* [http://www.economist.com/business-finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15869456 The Economist article]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thapar, Karam Chand}}
[[Category:Businesspeople from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1963 deaths]]
[[Category:Thapar family|K]]
[[Category:People from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Indian businesspeople in textiles]]
[[Category:Indian businesspeople in coal]]
[[Category:Indian businesspeople in mining]]
[[Category:Indian industrialists]]
[[Category:Indian bankers]]
[[Category:Businesspeople in the sugar industry]]
[[Category:Founders of Indian schools and colleges]]

Karam Chand Thapar - Revision history

->Rlink2 at 20:50, 27 October 2021