Birla family

The Birla family is a family connected with the industrial and social history of India.

The main branch of the Birla family are descendants of Seth Shobharam, grandson of Seth Bhudharmal a member of the Maheshwari Marwari community from Pilani in the westerly state of Rajasthan . Shiv Narain (1840–1909) was the son of Shobharam. Shiv Narain Birla, traded in cotton and laid the foundation of the family's future business success by moving to Bombay in 1863 and establishing Shivnarayan Baldevdas a trading house in Bombay in 1884. His son, Baldeo Das Birla moved to Calcutta set up Baldevdas Jugalkishor in 1887. Baldeo Das was succeeded by four sons – Jugal Kishore, Rameshwar Das, Ghanshyam Das and Braj Mohan.

Baldeo Das was awarded the Raibahadur title in 1917. In 1920 he retired from business and started living in Banares pursuing religious studies. In 1925 he was awarded the title of "Raja" by the government of Bihar and Orissa. He was awarded D. Litt. by Beneras Hindu University.