‘Mahindra & Mahindra’

Three weeks ago, popular chronicler of Indian automobile history, Adil Jal Darukhanawala, was in city. He was here to release ‘Timeless Mahindra’, a coffee-table book about the iconic Indian auto-maker “Mahindra & Mahindra.” I borrowed a copy of the book, glanced through it, like most people do a coffee-table book, when I chanced upon the story I had long forgotten, a story worth recalling in these times of communal strife and chaotic democracy. 

Many may not know that the second ‘M’ in ‘M&M’ was Mohammed.  Initially, the company was established as ‘Mahindra & Mohammed’ until loyalty to a new nation and financial compulsion changed it to ‘Mahindra & Mahindra.’ 

As Adil informs us, “two dashing entrepreneurs Kailash Chandra Mahindra and Ghulam Malik Mohammed, an engineer and an economist respectively set up in 1945, Mahindra & Mohammed Limited to try and break into the market for motorised transport which would be top priority for an emerging nation trying to stand on its own.”  It seems these two had sensed that full independence was inevitable and came together to prepare to rule the roads of an independent India. But alas…

After India got independence and Pakistan was carved out, Ghulam Malik Mohammed chose Pakistan. This meant that the company’s name would have to be changed to just one ‘M’ — Mahindra as the other ‘M’ had become a Pakistani. But then…

 A lot of office stationery with M&M logos on them were already procured and paid for and in those financially difficult times they could not afford to discard these items so they went ahead and named other ‘M’ as another Mahindra. Also it was only appropriate as, two Mahindras were involved in the business — K.C. Mahindra and his brother J.C. Mahindra. 

 Of course, we know how far M&M has come, but whatever happened to the original ‘M.’ Ghulam Malik Mohammed went on to become Pakistan’s first Finance Minster and Governor General. He did visit India later as a politician attending the 1955 Republic Day Parade. At this time, Mahindra and Mahindra had entered into a joint venture with Willy’s to produce the famed CJ-3B jeep in India. Even more interesting, the company Mohammed left behind built the most crucial logistic support for the Indian army, which helped defeat Pakistan, the vehicle — Mahindra CJ-3B. 

Ghulam Malik, a brilliant man, died young and is today remembered unkindly by the nation that he left India for. Pakistani historians see him as the man whose actions left Pakistan in the hands of the military. 

 Interestingly in his book Adil mentions a statement made by Chatterji, Executive Director of M&M’s Tractor Division, about K.C. Mahindra, where he says, “If he (K.C. Mahindra) had accepted the Ministerial post which was offered to him, rather than choosing to stay on with us, he may well have made a brilliant and a sound Prime Minister”! Chatterji is wrong. Thank God K.C. Mahindra didn’t join politics for he may have ended up like Gulam Malik and we may not have had a prosperous indigenous auto-maker, employing thousands of Indians. 

 The story of Mahindra and Mohammed, the original M&M, in a way reflects the story of how two nations, India and Pakistan, turned out. One joined politics and died bitterly remembered for leaving behind an unprogressive military State. The other stayed away from politics, built a corporation employing thousands and died loved and remembered. That’s because one chose a nation built on religion, the other chose one built on liberalism. One ended up leaving behind a failed military State, another thrived in a chaotic yet robust democracy. Oh! If only Mohammed had remained in India, and if today’s toxic politics hadn’t got to them, what a beacon of harmony M&M would have been.

‘Jawa and Yezdi’

While Adil’s book on M&M is interesting, I personally, as a Mysurean, like Adil’s previous book ‘Jawa: The Forever Bike — The definitive history of ideal Jawa & Yezdi’.  A coffee-table book on Jawa bikes produced from Mysuru. 

Now, the origin of the name ‘Mahindra & Mahindra’ reminds us that the name Jawa too has a story.  Many believe that Jawa is derived from the first two letters of erstwhile king Jayachamaraja Wadiyar’s name as he had not only given them land to put up a factory but also had 20% stake in it. But the fact is JAWA Moto was established back in 1929 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic, when a businessman Frantisek Janecek bought over the motorcycle division of Wanderer.

Jawa is named after the first two alphabets of Janecek and  Wanderer — JAWA.

Adil’s book on Jawa and Yezdi is filled with anecdotes and stories such as how a Government regulation forced Jawa to exit Pune because of which it ended up in Mysuru or about how Jawa became Yezdi, named after a place called Yazda in Iran, where the ancestors of the founders of Yezdi, the Iranis, hailed from. 

Though I am not much of an automobile enthusiast, Adil’s book on Jawa with its narration and photographs got me hooked. And so in 2019 when I visited the Czech Republic, the birthplace of Jawa, I decided to visit the Jawa Museum. 

Jawa Museum in Czech Republic

The Jawa Museum is located in a small town called Konopiste and is around 1-hour drive from Prague, the capital. One has to take a train and then a bus to get to the town. When you reach the location, you won’t even find the museum, until you ask around and then they will point you to a small door. The door looks like it opens into a janitor’s closet but it opens into a dingy space of gloom. 

The long rectangular room has well-preserved Jawa bikes, posters and trophies from floor to ceiling, literally. But there was hardly any information about them, even if there was it was not in English. The room felt like very sombre, melancholic and uninviting. 

The only excitement I personally felt was when I opened the guest book. I was glad to see that my fellow Mysurean, driven by nostalgia like myself,  had taken the trouble to visit the Museum. In fact, the only information about the glorious run of Jawa in India and the existence of its manufacturing in India was in the guest book and it was penned by a fellow Mysurean named Sheshadri H.R., who seemed to have visited the Museum in 2018. He had written a full page summary about Jawa’s presence in Mysuru and even ended it with, “Long live Jawa, thanks to Czech authorities for transfer of technology.” For a moment I felt like I was reading a letter in the Voice of the Reader column in Star of Mysore. Thank you Mr. Sheshadri. 

In the end more than the Museum I ended up enjoying the visit to the Konopiste Castle, which is a quick walk up the hill close by. It is the last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination in Sarajevo triggered World War I. 

So, if you are in Prague, you have the time, you love Jawa motorcycles and you have the patience to take a bus and then a train…then do the same journey back, may be it’s worth visiting Konopiste, else you are better off buying Adil’s book and take a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Oh! I must warn you, like most well-produced, heavy coffee-table books, this too can be a bit heavy on your pocket. But if you are a motorcycle enthusiast and a nostalgic Mysurean, it’s worth investing in this book as its value is forever like the ‘Forever Bike.’

PS: The title of the book ‘Jawa: The Forever

Bike’ is inspired from the famous tagline from Jawa motorcycle print advertisements which read “Forever Bike, Forever Value.”

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