Mica Kings

Panna Tarway was an orphan girl child who had lost her both parents when she was hardly 5 or 6 years of age. However, she was related to the family of business magnet of Mica Kings. Mica Kings refer to a business house, which took shape in the early twentieth century, in Koderma, Jharkhand state, India. This business house, at one point in time, controlled the largest share of mica mining and export activity in the world. At that time, two simple, innocent and very young Mahuri Vaisya boys, hardly having any schooling and not directly related to each other, but having a common surname, Bhadani – one, Chhattu Ram Bhadani, and the other, Horil Ram Bhadani joined hands with only 500 pieces of British India One Rupee Silver coins about 5 KGs of silver, present valuation hardly 350 USD or 200,000 INR) and commenced building a mica mining and exporting venture.  This business venture within a short span of 2 decades, from the period of the First World War (1914–1919), and the intervening period, till the Second World War (1939–1945) had emerged as a Business Empire, which, at a point of time, controlled the largest share of mica mining and exporting activity in the World.

This growth attracted attention of the then-elite business circle of India.  CH had properties all over India, i.e., Bombay, Kolkatta, Benaras, Otty, and Delhi, but surprisingly just a small part of the “original” exists today. About 7 of 8 years before, CH owned property in Cumbala Hills (one of the top 5 most expensive residential area's to live in India), Mumbai, which housed Belgium consulate was disposed of for a whopping sum of about xxx crores INR to the Jindal Group. That Business Empire, over a period of time, could not sustain growth as they were not successful in any other venture (like running cotton mills in 

Ahmedabad and other places), and declined on account of several factors, including downturn in the business cycle.  But, the fact remains that such a business growth has remained a rare phenomenon in the economic history of Jharkhand state, India. Later on, mica mining business was moved to government corporations sometime in 1973-74 through a government venture called  Bihar Mica Syndicate which was having Mica mines in Sapahi (once owned by the CH and this mine was like a gold bowl of mica), 40 km from Jhumri Telaiya and located in the forests of Rajauli Ghat.  This government venture was renamed as Bihar State Mineral Development corporation (BSMDC), which is now known as Jharkhand State Mineral Development corporation (JSMDC), after the formation of a new state of Jharkhand. Mica mining through government corporations went on well into the mid 1990s and slowly succumbed to lack of demand and political willpower and changing times due to business dynamics. 

© Haripanna Associates, Ranchi (Jharkhand, India)