 |
This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (September 2009) |
The Scindia Steam Navigation Company was an Indian shipping company, one of the country's oldest. Founded in 1919 by
Contents |
History
Foundation and early years
In 1919, after the end of the First World War, Walchand Hirachand, with several of his friends, bought the steam ship SS Loyalty from the Scindias of Gwalior, a royal family. His underlying assumption was that the post-war years would also spell massive growth for the shipping industry just as the war years had done. However, British companies such as P&O and BI (British India shipping) were strong in the shipping industry and this combined with political inertia had caused most of the previous attempts to establish competing Indian companies to fail. Scindia's founders, Narottam Morarjee and Walchand Hirachand, formed the new company to take on the entrenched British interests and create India's own mercantile fleet. Equipped with a ship Walchand named his company The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. On 5 April 1919 the SS Loyalty sailed to the United Kingdom. This occasion was commemorated with the establishment of a National Maritime Day of India, celebrated for the first time on 5th April, 1964, and annually thereafter.
The company was recognised as the first Swadeshi shipping company in the true sense of the term and was referred to widely in Mahatma Gandhi’s columns in Young India and Harijan on the Swadeshi movement, the boycott of foreign goods and the non co-operation movement. The new company started with passenger services but quickly concentrated on cargo to avoid competition with P&O. The company barely managed to survive after entering into agreements on routes and fare wars with its foreign competitors. However, Walchand still supported new indigenous shipping ventures, as he believed that a strong domestic shipping industry was vital.
Expansion and competition
In 1923 the company signed a ten-year agreement with Lord Inchcape of P&O and British India, which restricted Scindia to coastal trade only, but still allowed the company to expand steadily. In 1929, Walchand became the Chairman of Scindia Steam and continued in the same position till 1950 when he resigned on grounds of ill health. By 1953, the company had secured 21% of Indian coastal traffic. The reservation of Coastal Shipping for Indian Nationals, though pressed for since 1928, only came to pass in 1951 when Scindia became part of the Indian Coastal Conference.
To able to survive against competition in the shipping market from British and other foreign businesses, Walchand had developed supporting businesses such as insurance. He also believed that there was a strong need for a shipyard in India and started work on one in 1940 at Visakhapatnam, named the Hindustan Shipyard Limited. Its first ship, the 8000-ton Jalusha was launched soon after independence by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1948. However, the shipyard came under government control a few months later due to the presumed importance of the project to country’s security and economic growth and was fully nationalised in 1961. The intervening years had been beset by harsh competition with the larger British shipping concerns. Passenger services were started with subsidiary companies, for the Burma trade and the Haj trade to Saudi Arabia. The war left a legacy of ships in poor condition, and a much smaller fleet.
Post war
Following Indian independence in 1947, Scindia, supported by the Government, entered the USA and UK passenger and cargo trades, and later traded to Australia and Singapore. Business was rationalized with many small subsidiaries being wound up. The government continued to support the company with loans for expansion plans, and in 1958 the National Shipping Board was formed, marking the progress made by the Indian shipping industry. In the 1960s cargo services went to Germany, the Pacific coasts, Poland and Canada, with increasingly large ships. Following the global slump in the 1980s Scindia ceased trading.
Flag
The company's house flag was a rectangular blue flag with a white disc in the centre bearing a red swastika, an ancient Hindu emblem of luck.
Legacy
The Government of India has launched a number of stamps commemorating the company or its ships.
References
Further reading
- http://openlibrary.org/a/OL1752330A
- The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Limited, Bombay, India 1919-1958. by Scindia Steam Navigation Company. (TheCompany, 1958)
- Saga of Scindia by Scindia Steam Navigation Company.(1969)
- Foundation stone laying ceremony of the Scindia Co's shipyard at Gandhigram, Vizagapatam by Scindia Steam Navigation Company. (Printed at Zenith Print. Works, 1941)
- The Scindia chronicle by Scindia Steam Navigation Company. (1953)
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
