S.L. Khanna

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

S.L. Khanna
Born
Shanti Lal Khanna

Punjab Province, British India
Diedc. 1980s
Delhi, India
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • dentist
SpouseVidya Khanna
ChildrenRavi, Vipin and Vinod
RelativesKhanna family

Shanti Lal Khanna (d. c. 1980s) was an Indian businessman and doctor. Khanna was born in Punjab Province, British India. He initially established a dental practice before founding a manufacturing company in Lahore, which became the sole authorized manufacturer of weights and measures in Punjab Province.[1][2] While living in Lahore, Khanna also had business interests in the travel and agriculture industries.[3]

After the Partition of India in 1947, Khanna resettled in Delhi.[2] Although he lost his earlier wealth during the Partition, he later founded Delhi Small Scale Industries in the 1950s.[4] The company manufactured various products and also had an import-export business.[5][6] He also held positions on the Bureau of Indian Standards' product specification committees, leadership posts in textile associations, and was a high-ranking Freemason.[7][8] Khanna died at an unknown date in the 1980s.[9] He was the first notable member of the Khanna family.[9][10]

Background and early career[edit]

Shanti Lal Khanna was born in Punjab Province, British India, in a Punjabi Hindu family. Initially in his career, Khanna worked as a dentist and operated his own dental practice in Gujranwala, Punjab Province, from at least 1925 to 1939.[1] In 1939, he left his successful dental practice and used the funds he earned to begin a manufacturing company in Lahore, which specialised in manufacturing weights and measures.[2] Khanna's company became the only weights and measures manufacturing company in Punjab Province to be authorized by the provincial government.[2]

Khanna also served as the managing director of The Holiday Careers & General Assurance Co., based in Lahore, which focused on promoting travel and holidays, and supporting career starts that concentrated on enhancing rural and agricultural industries through, at the time, modern cooperative farming initiatives.[3] However, in the wake of the Partition of India in 1947, Khanna, along with his family, fled from Lahore and resettled in Delhi, India.[2] Khanna lost his wealth as a result of the Partition, forcing him to start anew in Delhi.[2]

Career in Delhi[edit]

In Delhi, Khanna restarted his business career. In the 1950s, he founded Delhi Small Scale Industries, a company engaged in manufacturing and the import-export industry.[11][4] The company's factory was located in an industrial estate in Okhla.[12] The company produced a diverse range of products, including buttons, nylon, rayon, silk cords, fabricated steel, webbing equipment, blankets, pile fabrics and soap.[5][13] The company also exported the products it manufactured.[13] In the 1960s, Delhi Small Scale Industries received an import licence for various products, including roller bearings, bronze wires and reduction gear motors.[6] In 1962, the company received regulatory approval to become distributors of carbon steel and spring steel.[14] In 1963, Delhi Small Scale Industries received approval to distribute wool yarns and cotton yarns.[15] From 1963 onwards, the company was also a supplier to the Ministry of Defence.[16] In 1969, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted an inquiry into the products that Delhi Small Scale Industries had supplied to the Ministry of Defence; however, Khanna's company was cleared of any wrongdoing.[17][16]

During his career, Khanna was part of various product specification committees under the Bureau of Indian Standards, and represented both his company Delhi Small Scale Industries, and the Ministry of Defence on these committees.[18][19] The product specification committees that he was part of included the committees for buttons, fasteners, platinum electrodes and silver anodes.[7][20][19]

In the 1960s, Khanna served as President of the Textile Manufactures Association and in the 1970s, he served as the General Secretary of the Amritsar Textile Mills Association.[21][22] In 1969, he was part of a travel business delegation that included other prominent Indian businesspeople.[23] In 1975, Khanna gave a reminiscential talk about Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, on the All India Radio.[24] He was also a member of the Freemasons and, at some point after India's independence in 1947, served as the Worshipful Master (Eastern Chair) of a Masonic lodge in India.[8]

Personal life[edit]

Khanna was married to Vidya Khanna.[10] Vidya's father, Bhagat Ram Sahni, founded the Arya Samaj movement in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, and was awarded the Rai Sahib title of honor during the British Raj.[9] Khanna and Vidya had three sons: Ravi, Vipin and Vinod.[10] Ravi was a Lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army's Brigade of the Guards regiment.[25][26] Ravi was also among the first graduates of the Joint Services Wing, which later became the National Defence Academy but was initially part of the Indian Military Academy.[25][26] Vipin was initially an army officer, and later became a businessman and financier.[10] Vinod also became a businessman.[9] Khanna died at an unspecified date in the 1980s.[9][26] His descendants, who are members of the Khanna family, also achieved success and notability in various fields.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b All-India Dental Association (1925). Indian Dental Journal. Vol. 1. Indian Dental Journal. p. 96. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "History". K Group India. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b Thacker’s Indian Directory Embracing Whole of The Indian Empire 1936. Calcutta: Thacker’s Press & Directories. 1936. p. 207.
  4. ^ a b Lok Sabha Debates: Appendix. Delhi: Lok Sabha Secretariat. 1958. pp. 28–29. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b Lal, Sham (1969). The Times of India Directory & Yearbook: Including Who's Who. New Delhi: The Times of India Press. p. 563.
  6. ^ a b Gazette of India, 1969, No. 373 (in English and Hindi). New Delhi: Directorate of Printing, Government of India. 3 May 1969. p. 1547.
  7. ^ a b "IS 4798: Safety Pins". Internet Archive. Bureau of Indian Standards. 1968. p. 2. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  8. ^ a b Free Masonry [i.e. Freemasonry] in India. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). New Delhi: G.S. Gupta. 1991. p. 64. Archived from the original on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e Gupta, Kanta, ed. (1986). Yoga Nidhi (in Hindi and English). Yoga Mandir Prakashan Delhi. p. 202.
  10. ^ a b c d Committee on Public Undertakings (13 December 1967). "Fifth Report on Contract Entered into by State Trading Corporation of India Limited (with M/s Oval Industries Inc., New York for Import of sulphur) pertaining to Ministry of Commerce" (PDF). Parliament Digital Library. Lok Sabha Secretariat. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  11. ^ Thought. Vol. 17. Delhi: Siddharta Publications. 1965. p. 14. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  12. ^ Industrial Establishments in India. Vol. 6. New Delhi: Manager of Publications. 1966. p. 172. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  13. ^ a b Directory of Indian Exporters. New Delhi: Department of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Government of India. 1972. p. 107. Archived from the original on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  14. ^ Government of India (10 January 1963). Notices and other matters published by the Heads of Offices of the Delhi Administration. Miscellaneous matters not included in preceding section. Delhi: Delhi Administration. p. 24.
  15. ^ Government of India (24 October 1963). Notices and other matters published by Heads of Offices of the Delhi Administration, Miscellaneous matters not included in preceding sections. Delhi: Delhi Administration. p. 25.
  16. ^ a b "Lok Sabha Debates (Ninth Session)" (PDF). Parliament Digital Library. Lok Sabha Secretariat. 24 December 1969. pp. 255–256. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Written Answers: M/s Delhi Small Scale Industries" (PDF). Parliament Digital Library. Lok Sabha Secretariat. 20 August 1969. pp. 71–72. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  18. ^ "IS 4066: Metal Hooks, Clips and Eyes". Internet Archive. Bureau of Indian Standards. 1967. p. 2. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  19. ^ a b "IS 1953: Methods of chemical analysis of silver anodes". Internet Archive. Bureau of Indian Standards. 1973. p. 2. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  20. ^ "IS 6882: Platinum electrodes". Internet Archive. Bureau of Indian Standards. 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  21. ^ Reed, Sir Stanley, ed. (1961). The Times of India Directory and Year Book Including Who's who. New Delhi: Bennett, Coleman & Company. p. 1288. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  22. ^ Productivity News. Vol. 15–16. New Delhi: National Productivity Council of India. 1976. p. 7. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Lok Sabha Debates (Eighth Session)" (PDF). Parliament Digital Library. Lok Sabha Secretariat. 7 August 1969. pp. 98–99. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  24. ^ "Akashvani". Akashvani. XL (48). New Delhi: All India Radio: 2285. 7 December 1975. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  25. ^ a b "1st Course JSW". National Defence Academy. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  26. ^ a b c "The Green House: About Us". IndiaMART. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=S.L._Khanna&oldid=1222508927"