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.
