Are Bengalis 'anti-business' by genetic makeup? Sanjeev Sanyal debunks longstanding stereotype

BT India @ 100: Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, recently debunked a longstanding stereotype against Bengalis. Sanyal, who is also a prolific author, said that this was as far from the truth as one could get.

He not only cited the city's geography but also went down the history lane to support his argument.

"In the 1980s and even till very recently, the narratives were somehow that Bengalis are anti-business by genetic makeup. Now that's utterly rubbish. I mean, just look at where Bengal is. It's a coastal state. Its entire history is about trade. India's, in fact, the world's biggest ports used to be in Bengal for most of human history," he said in a conversation with Business Today's Siddharth Zarabi during Business Today's India @ 100 event.

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Citing Chad Saudagar, a popular Bengali folklore character, Sanyal said that Bengalis also have merchant or artisan surnames just like the Gujaratis, such as Shaha, Boshak, Seal, Kormakor. "These are common surnames. This is who our forefathers were.  And this is not ancient history. Within living memory, a hundred years ago,  some of India's biggest businessmen were Bengali.  This is not understood by most people."

Businesses founded by Bengalis

Furthermore, he listed some of the biggest companies founded by Bengalis. These included Bengal Chemicals, Calcutta Chemicals,  and Mohini Mills.

"Incidentally, Mohini Mohan Chakraborty, who set up Mohini Mills, was my great-grandfather.  And Mohini Mills at the time of independence was one of Asia's largest cotton mills.  It happened to fall on the wrong side of the border, so we lost it. But I'm just telling you, Swapan Dasgupta's grandfather set up Calcutta Chemicals,  which was one of…  India's largest chemical companies."

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Top businesses founded by Bengalis

Some businesses founded by Bengalis are Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray), Boroline (Gourmohan Dutta), Bandhan Bank (Chandra Shekhar Ghosh), K.C. Das Granules (Nobin Chandra Das), DTDC (Subhasish Chakraborty), Senco Gold & Diamonds (Senco family), and P.C. Chandra Jewellers (Prabhat Chandra Chandra).

Modern startups founded in Bengal

Not just legacy businesses, Bengal also served as the foundation for modern startups. These include Wow! Momo, Teabox, StockEdge, mPokket, Arohan Financial Services, Nestasia, WishCare, Mihup Communications, NowPurchase, Snap-E Cabs, and Hulladek Recycling.

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Watch the full conversation here