Forty springs Birla had seen when the tides of 1934 began. He had become an iconic figure in riches. Due to the connections with the political leaders he had gained an image of a nationalist. Through Gandhiji he came into contact with other leaders like Rajaji, Rajendra Prasad and Sardar Patel. He had gained political acceptance as the president of the All India Harijan Sewak Sangha.
Daily ‘Hindustan Times’ of Delhi was becoming the most read newspaper and that brought him popularity and respect. For philanthropy Birlas were already a big icon. On the business front he and his brothers were diversifying fast and expanding the national industrial horizons. In 1930, they had moved into sugar, paper and insurance fields. G.D. had become a native industrial force.
Meanwhile, he had got disenchanted with politics. For big national industries his name had become a symbol. The Congress Committee used to negotiate with British the matters of industrial policy through Birla. Thus he had unwittingly become a part of Congress politics. He did not consider himself a politician. He preferred to be called just a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. For the Congressmen he was a economic wizard and commanded a great respect.
In this context one other Marwari had got deep into the Congress politics. Jamnalal Bajaj was his name. For two decades he served as the treasurer and had great influence in the Congress party. Infact he was the one who had introduced Gandhiji to G.D. Birla. The two had worked for the Gandhian ideology. The closeness of Bajaj and Birla can be understood by the fact that whenever Bajaj was sent to jail for his Congress politics Birla acted as an advisor for the Bajaj enterprises and saw to it that they continued to run smoothly.
In 1935, G.D. Birla appointed Devdas Gandhi on the post of the Editor-in-Chief of ‘Hindustan Times’. He was the son of Mahatma Gandhi. Devdas remained on that post till his death in 1957.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad was also one of the close ones of G.D. Birla. Birla had met him when he was merely a 4th grade Mukhtar in a district court. But like a true judge of character Birla noted that the person was a genius and would rise high in future. In 1936 Rajendra Prasad suffered financial reverses. He sold his property to pay off debts but he was still in financial mess. He looked at Bajaj and Birla for help. Birla helped him with a sum of Rs. 45000 but it was recorded as a loan from Bajaj to avoid controversy in Congress party because Rajendra Prasad was then a member of Congress Working Committee. So was Bajaj. Later Dr. Rajendra Prasad helped in setting up of educational institutions in Pilani.
Similarly, Birla had family member like relationship with Sardar Patel. Patel often demanded money for political campaigns. In this regard Birla reminisced :
‘Often I would get telegram from Sardar Patel with a brief message ‘Come At Once’. On going to Patel I would learn what he wanted. It was always money for some political purpose. Once I said to him Gandhiji did not approve of his collecting money from businessmen for national causes. Patel told me not to bother about it because Gandhiji was a Mahatma and he was not. He had to make things work and succeed’.
Whenever national leaders came to Delhi they would invariably stay in Birla Bhavan. His residential facilities in Mumbai, Kolkata, Ranchi, Mussoorie resort and Shimla houses were also homes for the Congress leaders. Gandhiji mostly stayed in Birla Bhavan. Congressmen held meetings and negotiations in Birla Bhavans. Once the Private Secretary of the British Viceroy noted—‘India’s real capital is not only Delhi but Birla Bhavans where Gandhi and other national leaders stay and hold working committee meetings and major decisions are taken’.
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