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Karamshi Jethabhai Somaiya | |
|---|---|
 Karamshi Somaiya's Statue atSomaiya Vidyavihar | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1902-05-16)16 May 1902 |
| Died | 9 May 1999(1999-05-09) (aged 96) |
| Spouse | Sakarben Karamshi Somaiya |
| Children | Shantilal Karamshi Somaiya |
| Alma mater | New High School inMumbai (now Bharda New High School) |
| Profession | Sugar industrialist |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (2000) |
Karamshi Jethabhai Somaiya (16 May 1902 – 9 May 1999) was an Indian educationist who founded educational institutes inMaharashtra state inIndia. He was awarded thePadma Bhushan for his service to society in 2000.[1] TheSomaiya Vidyavihar educational campus in Mumbai and several colleges in this campus are named after him. He was also an industrialist and founder of Somaiya Group of industries.
Karamshi Jethabhai Somaiya, born on 16 May 1902 in the remote village of malunja in shrirampur talukaAhmednagar district ofBombay Presidency,British India. Karamshi, after completing school at the New High School inMumbai (now the Bharda New High School) went back to his hometown inAhmednagar. Karamshi Somaiya engaged in looking after his father's small grocery business, would travel from village to village selling groceries and booking orders.
In the 1939 Karamshi Jethabhai Somaiya launched 2 sugar factories – in Sakarwadi and in Lakshmiwadi to mark the launch of his own sugar business. He soon came to be known as the Sugar King of India. Karamshi became a partner in a leading sugar trading firm of Shobachand Ramnarayan Khatod ofShrirampur inAhmednagar district. The Deccan canals were commissioned by theGovernment of India. He was the President of the Deccan Sugar Factories Association, the President of the Deccan Sugar Technologists Association.
Karamshi Jethabhai Somaiya bought a large area of land atGhatkopar. Karamshibhai laid the foundation forSomaiya Vidyavihar in 1959. In close to four and a half decades it has grown into a large educational complex with 34 institutions catering to diverse fields of education such as Humanities, Engineering, Education, Medicine, Management and Mass Communication, with more than 23,000 students and 1,500 teaching faculty on a 65-acre campus.Karamshi Jethabhai Somaiya established the Girivanavasi Pragati Mandal in 1974 in the tribal area ofDahanu, inThane District, 110 km fromMumbai. Mandal associated well known surgeons and physicians with the annual eye-cum-medical camps. The Mandal established a training centre and experimental farm for agriculture extension work. Karamshi founded a residential school to cater to the educational needs of children of the migrant
tribal population providing free quality instruction. He also built a 40-bed hospital with a resident doctor facility to cater to their health needs.
