Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd

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The Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd. is an Indian sugar company headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Established on 21 September 1934, it is one of the oldest continuously operating companies in India, and is the namesake of the Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce.

Founded by Chandrashekhar Agashe as a limited liability company through crowdfunding, the syndicate was initially supported by sugar manufacturing policies of the Bombay Presidency and by some princely states of the Deccan States Agency between 1934 and 1938, with its first factory being operational by 1939. During the Second World War, the syndicate planting food crops as demanded by the British Raj. Following Indian independence in 1947 and up until Agashe's death in 1956, the syndicate received criticism from its competitors for its business administration and Agashe personally for his management style.

Beginning in the 1950s, the syndicate was managed in a decentralised system until the maturity of Agashe's heirs Jagdish and Dnyaneshwar Agashe, and lost significant portions of its agricultural land to the socialist land nationalisation policies of the Indian government in the 1960s. In the 1970s, the syndicate was one of the first companies to manufacture Indian-made foreign liquor after the Government of Maharashtra repealed prohibition, until it sold its liquor manufacturing arm to Radico Khaitan in 2013. Operating as a cooperative since 1988, the syndicate has also ventured into manufacturing veterinary medicine, health care products, and Ayurvedic skincare products directly or under its subsidiaries since the 1990s.

History

Under Chandrashekhar Agashe: 1934–1956

In 1933, the Governor of Bombay, The Lord Brabourne promoted the production of indigenous sugar, having had increased the import tax on the commodity shipping in from Mauritius.Template:Sfn This enabled Chandrashekhar Agashe to found the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd. on 21 September 1934,Template:Sfn as a limited liability company after two years of crowdfunding campaigns,Template:Sfn with funds collected from amongst the Maharashtrian middle classes.Template:Sfn The syndicate was headquartered in Pune.Template:Sfn

Between 1934 and 1936, Agashe envisioned opening a factory branch of the Syndicate in his hometown of Bhor, and began cultivating 2,000 acres of land for the plantation of sugar cane. In 1935, he began employing tenanted farmers of the local gentry and independent farmers as producers or transportation workers of the sugar cane for the syndicate in the village of Bhorgaon. By 1936, he had licensed or purchase 12,000 acres of farm land to support the syndicate, being lauded for reviving the local economy and consequently receiving further land grants from bankers in Akluj and several politicians in the Bhor State.Template:Sfn

After Agashe established the syndicate's headquarters at the Commonwealth Building on Laxmi Road, the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture declared the sale of 300,000 shares of the syndicate, with the first share going at Rs. 25 in January 1935.Template:Sfn Between 1935 and 1937, Agashe toured several states and jagirs within the Deccan States Agency, promoting the syndicate at several village gram panchayats.Template:Sfn In July 1937, C. E. Aitken, the superintending engineer of the Deccan Irrigation Circle raised concerns about the syndicate's factory to Sir Geoffrey Thomas Hirst Bracken, reporting that the syndicate had sanctions, although they had the machinery, and were practicing the open pan system of sugar cultivation and were growing from their own seeds.Template:Sfn By 1937, the syndicate's factory produced 35 hundredweights of sugar.Template:Sfn

In November 1937, Agashe ordered sugar cane processing machinery from Škoda Works in Czechoslovakia before the outbreak of World War II. Following Adolf Hitler's rise to power and the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Agashe considered retracting his order, but received the ordered machinery before the Reichswerke Hermann Göring took over Škoda.Template:Sfn He began construction for the first factory in April 1938, and finally established the syndicate's first sugar cane processing factory in the village of Bhorgaon in March 1939,Template:Sfn further purchasing an estate and the surrounding lands as a means to look after his own sugar plantations,Template:Sfn with the syndicate's principal factory soon producing 150,000 sacs of sugar per annum by 1940,Template:Sfn selling the sugar under the trademark Shree, with the village panchayat renaming the town Shreepur.Template:Sfn

In 1943, Agashe's donation to the Deccan Education Society led to the establishment of the Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce in Pune, named after the syndicate.Template:Sfn That same year, the Bombay Presidency decreed the plantation of food crops as mandatory for private sugar manufacturers to support British troops during World War II. Agashe formed a farmers union so as to not disrupt the syndicate's sugar processing and at the same time meet the food demands of the British Raj, although this move was unpopular with the farmers due to low profitability.Template:Sfn

After Indian independence in 1947, Agashe was able to expand the syndicate's production to 1000 tonnes of sugar cane processed per annum by 1950.[1] In 1950, the University of Bombay surveyed the syndicate's labour conditions.Template:Sfn By 1953, there was strong opposition to Agashe's role as the managing director of the syndicate from his critics, with the syndicate involved in several allegations of duping shareholders and depositors in the early 1950s.[2] Agashe, in response, published a 400-page report criticizing his detractors of corruption and factionalism based on evidence that his critics were backed by his competitor Karamshi Jethabhai Somaiya, who had previously shown interest in purchasing the syndicate.[3]

In 1954, the syndicate advertised in the publication of the Mahatma Phule Museum, where Agashe was on the board.Template:Sfn In July 1955, the syndicate was among the several other sugar factories that filed appeals with the Labour Appellate Tribunal, Bombay, to settle matters between it and the worker's unions regarding the high rate the court had decreed for the sugar factories' to pay towards the provident funds of its employees.Template:Sfn Agashe died in June 1956.[4] He was survived in business by his sons Panditrao Agashe and Dnyaneshwar Agashe.Template:Sfnm

Under S. L. Limaye, K. V. Champhekar and G. S. Valimbe: 1956–1970

Agashe left the syndicate in a strong position.Template:Sfn With a decentralised management, S. L. Limaye took over as chairman of the board of directors of the company, serving from 1957 till 1990,Template:Sfnm while K. V. Champhekar took over as managing director of the company from 1957 to 1962,Template:Sfn followed by G. S. Valimbe from 1963 to 1969,Template:Sfn until Agashe's sons Panditrao and Dnyaneshwar became joint managing directors in July 1970.Template:Sfnm

The several senior managers of the company aided Panditrao Agashe, given his considerable youth when he joined the board of directors in 1957.Template:Sfnm By 1958, the syndicate also maintained a permanent office in Solapur and Shreepur, Maharashtra,Template:Sfn with the syndicate celebrating its silver jubilee in 1959.Template:Sfn Between 1958 and 1966, the syndicate financially aided several farming communities around the Malshiras taluka, including those regions affected by the Panshet dam flood in 1961.Template:Sfn

The later half of the 1960s saw the syndicate battle the Government of Maharashtra's socialist land acquisition schemes, which they ultimately lost, relinquishing several thousand acres of syndicate owned land to the Government of India.Template:Sfn Between 1961 and 1963, the syndicate had also decreased its trade credit percentage of liabilities with the Bank of Maharashtra.Template:Sfn In 1964, the syndicate had employment disputes regarding the reduction of staff in its civil engineering department.Template:Sfn By 1966, Panditrao's brother Dnyaneshwar Agashe joined him on the board of directors of the syndicate,Template:Sfnm with both the brothers becoming joint managing directors in July 1970.Template:Sfnm

Under Panditrao Agashe and Dnyaneshwar Agashe: 1970–2009

Beginning in the 1970s, under Panditrao and Dnyaneshwar Agashe, the syndicate manufactured liquor in Shreepur, Maharashtra,Template:Sfn specialising in whisky production under its several flagship brands.[5] The syndicate was one of the first companies to produce a range of government-approved liquors after the Maharashtra state prohibition,[6] called Indian-made foreign liquor.[7] In 1978, Panditrao retired as joint managing director leaving Dnyaneshwar as the sole managing director.Template:Sfn

By the early 1980s, the syndicate also briefly engaged in the business of metal printing.[8] In October 1980, the syndicate was surveyed on its impact on Maharashtra's rural economy by the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics.Template:Sfn Under Dnyaneshwar, the company launched a brandy in partnership with Camus Cognac.[6] In 1984, the company sponsored a sports tournament in Dadar.[9] In 1986, the company sponsored a squash tournament.[10] In 1988, the company shifted to being a cooperative.Template:Sfn By 1989, the syndicate was considered a leading manufacturer of alcohol in the country.Template:Sfn

In 1990, Dnyaneshwar took over as chairman of the board of directors for the syndicate upon the death of S. L. Limaye,Template:Sfn a position he would serve until his death in January 2009.[11] In 1991, a test plant developed from research funded by the United States Agency for International Development was installed at the syndicate which controlled pollution during the manufacturing of industrial alcohol.Template:Sfn That same year, Dnyaneshwar's son Mandar Agashe joined the syndicate's board of directors,Template:Sfn going on to become a joint managing director with his father by 1994.Template:Sfn Dnyaneshwar's younger son, Ashutosh Agashe, was appointed to the board of directors in 1996.Template:Sfnm

By 1998, the syndicate began marketing ayurvedic medicines, health care products, and bulk raw materials.[8] It was also involved in the manufacturing of food products and veterinary medicine.[12] That same year, the syndicate hosted cricket tournaments in Pune.[13] In 1999, Mandar resigned as joint managing director,Template:Sfn going on to found the syndicate's subsidiary company Brihans Natural Products Ltd. in 2000.[6] The syndicate began promoting ayurvedic skincare products made by Brihans Natural Products Ltd.[14] That same year, Ashutosh was appointed as joint managing director.Template:Sfn

By 2002, the syndicate also manufactured alcohol-based chemicals.Template:Sfn In 2005, the syndicate entered a partnership with Howling Wolves Wine Group of Australia which planned to set up a wine production base in India.[15] The partnership was made with Baumgarten & Walia Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the syndicate.[16] That same year, Radico Khaitan signed an agreement with the syndicate for acquisition of their liquor brands Brihans Napoleon Brandy, Brihans Premium Whisky, Brihans Grape Brandy, Tropicana White Rum, Calcutta Dry Gin, Lord Nelson Rum and Red Russian Vodka in line with their domestic growth plan.[17]

Between 2004 and 2009, the syndicate allegedly faced difficulties in hiring workers for its growing and harvesting seasons at its factory, as backlash for the controversial elections at the Board of Control of Cricket in India in 2004 involving Agashe and Sharad Pawar, whose Nationalist Congress Party controlled the Government of Maharashtra at the time.[18]

Under Ashutosh Agashe: 2009–present

In 2009, upon Dnyaneshwar Agashe's death, Ashutosh Agashe was appointed chairman and managing director of the syndicate.Template:Sfn In 2013, the syndicate sold its liquor manufacturing arm to Radico Khaitan.[19] In 2014, the syndicate was involved in a dispute concerning the trademark 'Tango' with the Brihan Karan Sugar Syndicate Private Limited (BKSSPL).[20]

In May 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, Ashutosh and the syndicate donated oxygen concentrators to hospitals in Shreepur, Maharashtra.[21][22] In 2022, the syndicate commissioned Nandan Phadnis to do the English to Marathi translations of Chandrashekhar Agashe's 1992 biography authored by Shakuntala Karandikar, and Dnyaneshwar Agashe's 2002 festschrift. Both translated works were published by the syndicate on the birth anniversaries of their respective subjects that same year.Template:Sfnm

References

  1. ↑ [{{{url}}} कारखाना सुरु होता यामुळे जाहिरातीने भेट घ्यावी लागत होती]. Kesari(30 May 1950).
  2. ↑ Multiple sources:Template:Bulleted list
  3. ↑ Multiple sources:Template:Bulleted list
  4. ↑ पुण्यस्मरण. Maharashtra Times(9 June 2017). Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  5. ↑ Multiple sources:Template:Bulleted list
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 A New High. Business India({Template:Date).
  7. ↑ Radico Khaitan to buy Brihans's IMFL brands. The Times of India(4 October 2005). Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Bloomberg
  9. ↑ Brihan's sponsor Dadar tourney. The Times of India(6 April 1984). Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  10. ↑ Brihans to sponsor squash tournament. The Times of India(14 November 1986). Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  11. ↑ Friends recall royal Agashe despite taint. The Indian Express(4 January 2009). Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  12. ↑ The Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd. – Company details. ZaubaCorp.com(11 July 2021). Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  13. ↑ Rain hampers Brihans Cup proceedings. The Indian Express(28 September 1998). Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  14. ↑ Quadrant, Pune, wins Brihans Natural's Clean Comb. Agency FAQs(11 July 2001).
  15. ↑ Multiple sources:Template:Bulleted list
  16. ↑ Now, Australian wine for India. The Times of India(30 May 2005). Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  17. ↑ Multiple sources:Template:Bulleted list
  18. ↑ Multiple sources:Template:Bulleted list
  19. ↑ Radico Khaitan to acquire Brihan's IMFL brands. Business Standard(25 January 2013).
  20. ↑ Bombay high court relief to Tango country liquor maker. Daily News & Analysis(21 May 2014).
  21. ↑ [{{{url}}} आशुतोष आगाशे श्रीपूरकरांच्या मदतीला धावले]. Tarun Bharat(9 May 2021).
  22. ↑ [{{{url}}} आशुतोष आगाशे यांच्या कडून श्री. सेवा हॉस्पिटलला ऑक्सिजन कंसन्ट्रेटर]. Surajya(12 May 2021).

Bibliography

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  • Selected Writings{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Brihans Group(21 October 2022). ISBN 9798987233429
  • आगाशे कुलवृत्तांत{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Surbhi Graphics(2006). ISBN 978-1-5323-4500-5
  • बापट कुलवृत्तांत{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(2007)
  • पुत्र विश्वस्ताचा : गौरव ग्रंथ : ज्ञानेश्वर आगाशे षष्ट्यब्दीपूर्ती निमित्त{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Jñāneśvara Āgāśe Gaurava Samitī(17 April 2002). ISBN 978-1-5323-4594-4
  • Technology projects target Indian firms. Frontline({Template:Date).
  • Putra Vishwastacha: A Festschrift to Dnyaneshwar Agashe{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. The Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd.(17 April 2022). ISBN 9780578292250
  • Oral Evidence recorded during enquiry on the Sugar Industry: Local Government, Associations, Chambers of Commerce, Individual firms and persons{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Indian Tariff Board(1938)
  • Written Evidence recorded during the enquiry into the Sugar Industry: Replies received from the Local Governments and Indian States{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Indian Tariff Board(1939)
  • Business India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. A. H. Advani(1982)
  • Defence Management{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Institute of Defence Management(1989)
  • विश्वस्त{{#if:Karandikar|, Karandikar}. Śrī Prakāśana(1992). ISBN 9781532345012
  • Vishwasta – The Trustee: The Life of Industrialist Chandrashekhar Agashe{{#if:Karandikar|, Karandikar}. The Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd.(14 February 2022). ISBN 9780578355863
  • Kothari's Economic and Industrial Guide of India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Kothari & Sons(1978)
  • Kothari's Economic Guide and Investors' Handbook of India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Kothari & Sons(1969)
  • Large Industrial Establishments in India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Indian Labour Bureau(1958)
  • The Indian Civil Liberties Bulletin{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Servants of India Society(July 1955)
  • Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Solapur{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Director of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State(1977)
  • Socio Economic Development in Solapur District{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(2014). ISBN 978-1-312-37394-5
  • Museum Education{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Tata Day Publications(1954)
  • Poona: Look and Outlook{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Pune Municipal Corporation(1951)
  • Handbook On Chemical Industries (Alcohol Based){{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Asia Pacific Business Press Inc.(7 February 2002). ISBN 978-81-7833-067-9
  • Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute(1955)
  • Silver Jubilee Souvenir{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Bank of Mysore(1967)
  • The Maharashtra Government Gazette{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Government of Maharashtra(1964)
  • Year Book & Directory of Indian Sugar Factories{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Sugar Technologists Association of India(1973)

Academic theses

Business reports

Template:Refend

Further reading

Template:Refbegin

  • Financial Trends in the Sugar Industry{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Association of Indian Trade and Industry(1957)
  • List of Factories and Other Large Industries in India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Indian Labour Bureau(1958)
  • Major Companies of Asia and Australasia: South Asia{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Graham & Whiteside(2007). ISBN 978-1-86099-489-0
  • Sugar Y Azúcar Yearbook : Directory of Cane Sugar Mills{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Mona Palmer(1967)
  • The Times of India Directory and Year Book including Who's Who{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Bennett, Coleman & Company(1983)

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