In an era when India celebrates the call for an Atmanirbhar Bharat, we can’t ignore the archives of our industrial history to examine the life and times of a chemist who pioneered industrial self-reliance long before it became a state policy. Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, a professor-turned-entrepreneur, founded the Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works (BCPW) in 1892 with a paid-up capital of mere Rs 700. His efforts offer us a forgotten but profoundly relevant blueprint for today’s indigenous entrepreneurial surge. As India attempts to build its industrial strength amidst global supply-chain uncertainties, Ray’s experiment assumes a character that is more than a matter of historical nostalgia. It becomes a lens to examine what it truly takes to create a resilient, knowledge-driven, and socially conscious business ecosystem, whether from the periphery of an empire or, in today's case, from the constraints of global economic and industrial asymmetries. Ray’s story stands out among contemporary and leading enterprises for its fusion of science, swadeshi, and social justice into a coherent entrepreneurial vision.
Beyond Profit: Institutionalising a Moral Entrepreneurial Infrastructure
Unlike many modern startups chasing valuations and market capitalisation, Ray's idea of enterprise was rooted in a moral purpose and public good. He built BCPW not to profit from colonial markets, but to resist colonial dominance. His production of essential chemicals, including vital mineral acids, vaccines, anti-malarials, anti-syphilis drugs, and even early vitamin compounds, was driven by the desire to reduce India’s reliance on British imports. In this respect, Ray’s business philosophy appears to be in stark contrast to today’s often transactional models of entrepreneurship. His enterprise, on one hand, was an of chemopolitics, a direct assertion of indigenous sovereignty over knowledge, technology, & health, and on the other an effort to make valuable science to society. The idea of Swadeshi could be more complex and ambitious than its popular oversimplification as khadi, as Bengal Chemical demonstrated that Swadeshi could be rooted not in the idea of cultural purity but in the sovereignty of knowledge. An idea that was scientific, scalable, and export-ready. In building a chemical industry, Ray accepted Western science; he simultaneously adopted and adapted its devices to prioritise local interests. Thus, Ray’s genius was not in the factory he built, but in converting it into a symbolic infrastructure that gave Indians the right and the opportunity to reimagine themselves as producers of modernity, not just consumers of imported goods. As India aspires to become a global manufacturing hub, the Rays’ philosophy warns us not to undermine the laboratories where absolute self-reliance is born.
Co-Creation Before It Became a Buzzword & Business Innovation Before It Was Known
What is striking is that Ray preferred to promote an innovation-led collaborative management style, as is evident in the notes and minutes carefully preserved in the government archives in Bhubaneswar, a style that today’s business theory would euphemise as ‘co-creation’. He invited English-educated doctors, Ayurvedic practitioners, nationalist politicians, and even some reluctant colonial administrators to support or participate in his venture. He collaborated with rivals, shared formulae, and trained apprentices. He mentored young scientists like B.C. Guha, who went on to synthesise Vitamins in India and publish his findings in Nature way back in 1932. He could successfully integrate national strategies with business strategies to support capacity-building and knowledge democratisation. For today’s entrepreneurs, this is a valuable lesson beyond the MBA class on the ecology of trust and mutualism. In a global economic scenario, fraught with hyper-competition and IP battles, Ray’s business ideology reminds us that building business ecosystems is not about creating empires but about bringing sustainable impact.
Why is India afraid of its own business history? Business History as National Priority
The erasure of such stories from mainstream business education in India is truly unfortunate. Ray's firm was the first to manufacture many industrial chemicals in India and one of the earliest to export chemicals globally. And yet, few MBA students read about him, and Ray is missing from case studies, from strategy textbooks, and from startup incubator curricula. Fewer policy documents mention his name when discussing 'Startup India'. Business history is not about any hagiographic accounts; rather, it encourages institutional learning, so that the nation does not risk repeating the same vulnerabilities. It tells us how informal networks, local knowledge, bureaucratic negotiations, and moral values (un)shaped business, and why some survived the constraints while others didn’t.
Navigating the State: Policy Lessons from Colonial Tariffs & Bengal Chemical
Ray’s firm was no stranger to the confrontations with the state that was designed to extract the maximum from the colony. The government routinely changed tariff structures to favour British imports. On several occasions, BCPW’s raw materials and finished products were subject to duties higher than those of other local British or German firms. Ray fought back not with rhetoric but with facts, while constantly mobilising his idea that Swadeshi chemistry was not just an emotional overture but a competitive business process.
Today’s entrepreneurs often face regulatory uncertainties, from environmental clearances to data laws. One insightful lesson from Ray’s casebook is that the primacy of technical expertise, moral fortitude, and social engagement can help reform the hostile policy climates. This is especially critical as Indian startups move into deep-tech, AI, biotech, and pharma, the spaces where state approval is as crucial as venture capital. In this context, one significant lesson from P.C. Ray’s life stands out: entrepreneurship can be a form of public service. None of his formulas was patented, although he supported quality and standards. BCPW profits were used to promote public health decades before CSR became fashionable. In a time when many firms are scrambling to find their ESG identity, Bengal Chemical stands as a model of ethical enterprise, where social good was integral to the business model and didn’t follow only after it became successful.
Conclusion: Memory is the New Strategy
If India wants to be an Atmanirbhar Bharat, attempts to treat business history should not be treated as curiosities, but rather as repositories of entrepreneurial wisdom. BCPW did not epitomise the dream of a chemist or an entrepreneur, but it emerged as an organ of nation-building that successfully monetised the ideology of political and moral resistance. His story is not passé; it is merely understated.
It is time we bring his lessons back, not as a homage, but as a strategy.
Brief Bio for Dr. Himadri Roy Chaudhuri:
Dr. Himadri Roy Chaudhuri is a Professor of Marketing Area at XLRI Jamshedpur, known for his deep curiosity about how people live, consume, and find meaning in everyday life. He established XLRI’s Behavioural Lab, shaping it into one of the country’s finest spaces for consumer research.
His work spans themes of marginalisation, identity, and human experience and has appeared in leading international journals. A passionate scholar and mentor, he has co-edited notable books and special issues, regularly speaks at global conferences, and was recently invited as a Senior Research Fellow (Visiting) at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Driven by a belief in thoughtful, socially aware marketing, Dr. Chaudhuri continues to contribute actively to the global consumer culture community.
The above information is the author's own; Outlook India is not involved in the creation of this article.
