City, Caste and Business: A Study of Khatris in Amritsar

Abstract

The paper takes into cognizance the social character of Indian business by arguing that though the engagement in business and trade in India has been the preoccupation of certain communities, yet there has been a specific character according to the region. Taking city as the social as well as economic milieu the argument in this paper is based on the empirical study conducted in Amritsar – a city with history. For the purpose, Chaarjati khatri - Kapoor, Khanna, Mehra and Seth - who are prominently placed at the top of the Khatri intracaste hierarchy have been studied. They are also popularly known as Lahoria Khatri owing to their migration from Lahore in the early 19th century to Amritsar. An attempt has been made to explore the trans-generational business and gradual transformation these Khatri have experienced in trade, business and manufacturing activities in the wake of technological development and economic liberalisation. Divided into two sections the first section covers the economic growth of the city by virtue of entrepreneurship of few communities, caste groups, and families interwoven with the history of Amritsar city in five phases of its development. It also explains that how Khatri as a community has evolved over a period of time. Also how do the traditional traders, businessmen and industrialists have been adapting to the changing features of the city? In the second section, an empirical exploration into their interfamily dependence and intrafamily relationships significant to run the business activities have been discussed and analysed.