S. L. Kirloskar

Who was S. L. Kirloskar?

Shantanurao Laxmanrao Kirloskar was an Indian businessman of Maharashtrian Karade Brahmin family. He was instrumental behind the rapid growth of the Kirloskar Group.

Kirloskar was the son of Laxmanrao Kirloskar, who established the Kirloskar Group and the township of Kirloskarwadi. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.. He was also the among the first Indians to graduate from MIT.

Kirloskar was a global thinker and an enterprising person who had the courage and the confidence in the potential of his own country even in the pre-independence era. He often said, "Economic preparedness is as vital as military preparedness." He viewed India as a part of the rest of the world and worked towards making India globally competitive.

After the end of World War II, the Kirloskar Group grew rapidly under the leadership of S. L. Kirloskar. In 1946, he established Kirloskar Electric Company and Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited at Bangalore and Pune, respectively. He is credited with developing the manufacture of diesel engine indigenously as an import substitute after India attained independence. He penned an autobiography under the title Cactus and Roses.