Page 49 - Swatantrata to Atmanirbharta : Lokmanya Tilak’s legacy

proceeded to his native province of U.P. and purchased a sick
glass factory at Ambala which was run by traditional methods
depending on human labour and not machines. Varshneya
installed the latest machinery and activated it. He also started
another Greenfield Project in the small-time town of Bahjoi in
U.P. and named it as the ‘United Provinces Glass Works’. In
1918 his eldest son Bishambar went to Sheffield in U. K .and
joined his father. He made a wider diversification of products
like tumblers, plates, jars, tea sets, cutlery, dinner sets, flower
vases etc. Another son Harishchandra started ‘Seraikalla Glass
Works’ in Jharkhand. His grandson Premchand trained in
Ohio University and started the first Borosilicate Glass plant
for pharmaceutical operations in 1951.
Thus, Lokmanya brought in Swadeshi industries not only in
Maharashtra but also in North India, Central UP, Jharkhand
etc. Thus the ‘Paisa Fund Glass Factory’ became mother of
glass industry in India.

Ogales of famous ‘Prabhakar Lantern’

Shripad Ogale, son of a schoolteacher Prabhakar Pant was the
promoter and founder of Ogale wadi industries which started in
1916. His elder brother Gurunath used to make ‘Magic Lantern’
(early version of the cinema) and scientific instruments. He was
an engineering graduate from VJTI, Mumbai. He joined his
brother Shripad in Ogalewadi as an engineer. Mr. P.G Meade,
Director of Industrial Department of Bombay Government,
visited Ogale glassworks and was very much impressed by the
engineering talent of Gurunath and offered him an annual
scholarship of 200 Pounds. Gurunath went to Sheffield and
then Pittsburg University, U.S. He got advanced training in glass
industry and got practical experience by working in ‘Paisa fund
glass factory’. There he got a like-minded friend in Shri P.G.
Kale who was an employee right from its inception. He retired
to Ogalewadi and made a diversification of production. He got
a land on lease from Shrimant Bhavanrao Pant Pratinidhi of
Aundh state who was a follower of Tilak. Shripad had seven
brothers who became active partners in his enterprise and
Ogalewadi industrial complex grew by leaps and bounds!

47 Swatantrata to Atmanirbharata