{"id":21278,"date":"2024-05-13T01:24:36","date_gmt":"2024-05-12T17:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianhalloffame.sg\/?page_id=21278"},"modified":"2024-05-13T22:12:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T14:12:40","slug":"hardial-singh-bajaj","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/indianhalloffame.sg\/?page_id=21278","title":{"rendered":"Hardial Singh Bajaj"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1658507093882{border-radius: 10px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”21291″ img_size=”large” css=”.vc_custom_1715609558136{margin-top: 100px !important;margin-left: 120px !important;}”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1715534673537{margin-top: 100px !important;margin-right: 120px !important;margin-bottom: 100px !important;margin-left: 120px !important;border-right-width: 10px !important;border-left-width: 10px !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

Hardial Singh Bajaj<\/h2>\n

IHFS EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

The life of S. Hardial Singh Bajaj<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. The struggle <\/strong><\/p>\n

As the old adage goes, \u201cHard times create strong men, strong men create good times.\u201d This saying accurately encapsulates the life of S. Hardial Singh Bajaj. His childhood was riddled with uncertainty. At the tender age of 17, he was forced to leave India in search of work to repay the family\u2019s compounding debt back home.<\/p>\n

As destiny would have it, he arrived in Ipoh, Malaysia, where he collected tennis balls at the Padang for a mere fifteen cents a game. With the conviction that, \u2018the food you eat must be of your own toil,\u2019 Hardial Singh and his brothers worked hard, saved, and soon made enough to dispatch back to India and pay off their debts. Even when they found the original debtors to have passed, they paid the children instead.<\/p>\n

With the family honour restored, and with his conscience cleared, Hardial Singh ventured south to Singapore in 1934 where he set up trade in textiles and foodstuff.<\/p>\n

2. Gian Singh & Co <\/strong><\/p>\n

There he founded Gian Singh & Co \u2013 a renowned department store. Competing with the likes of Robinsons, John Little\u2019s, Aurora and Whiteaways, this three-storey shophouse on 4 Battery Road was also a wholesale office, a trading office, and living quarters. Later, Gian Singh & Co changed locations to Raffles Place, opposite the Robinson & Company Limited department store, against which it competed successfully.<\/p>\n

The company, worth $20 million, set up shop across Asia, from Japan to Indonesia and Thailand. Hardial Singh also traded in Shanghai, before and after World War Two. The name Gian Singh & Co grew large across South-East Asia, and not just for its spices, grains, and foodstuffs but also for importing and distributing Hindi and Tamil films in the region.<\/p>\n

To juggle it all, Hardial Singh kept a\u00a0 disciplined lifestyle.\u00a0 In fact, his late son S. Pritpal Singh once commented on his habits, saying, \u201cMy father was fit. He would get up at 4am for meditation and then go for long walks.\u201d Many a time, these long walks were spent going round the Sri Guru Nanak Sat-Sang Sabha Sikh temple in Wilkinson Road, of which he was a founding member and its first president.<\/p>\n

3. Serving the Community <\/strong><\/p>\n

But it was not just discipline that helped. When asked, \u201cWhat is the key to your success?\u201d Hardial Singh duly responded saying, \u201cBy serving those who serve the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charity was a key pillar in his ethos. Like clockwork, he would set aside 10% of his profits. This amount would often fund the Sikh community\u2019s religious and social affairs. Other communities also witnessed his benevolence.<\/p>\n

In the early 1940s, during the Japanese Occupation in Singapore, the British incarcerated at Changi Prison would often buy their foodstuffs from Gian Singh & Co. When they could not pay, Hardial Singh made an exception, delaying collection until after the war ended.<\/p>\n

Additionally, as the President of the Indian Chambers of Commerce between 1949 and 1951, he helped the wider Indian community in Singapore grow their businesses. And as the minister of Trade and Supplies under the revered Subhas Chandra Bose (\u201cNeta Ji<\/strong>\u201d) \u2013 the commander of the Indian National Army \u2013 Hardial Singh was a trusted companion. During the war, he was entrusted to keep some of Neta Ji\u2019s gold safe. When the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru visited Singapore in 1953, Hardial Singh duly returned the gold to him.<\/p>\n

Now, to commemorate his long list of contributions to humanity, Hardial Singh is being conferred the IHFS Excellence Award for Lifetime Achievement, joining the ranks of the late CV Devan Nair and SR Nathan.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”10em”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1658507093882{border-radius: 10px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”21291″ img_size=”large” css=”.vc_custom_1715609558136{margin-top: 100px !important;margin-left: 120px !important;}”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1715534673537{margin-top: 100px !important;margin-right: 120px !important;margin-bottom: 100px !important;margin-left: 120px !important;border-right-width: 10px !important;border-left-width: 10px !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”] Hardial Singh Bajaj IHFS EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT   The life of S. Hardial Singh Bajaj 1. The struggle As the old adage goes, \u201cHard times…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":13046,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width.php","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-21278","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nHardial Singh Bajaj - Indian Hall of Fame Singapore<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Welcome to Indian Hall of Fame Singapore\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/indianhalloffame.sg\/?page_id=21278\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hardial Singh Bajaj - Indian Hall of Fame Singapore\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Welcome to Indian Hall of Fame Singapore\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/indianhalloffame.sg\/?page_id=21278\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Indian Hall of Fame Singapore\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/228094381301418\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-13T14:12:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/indianhalloffame.sg\/?page_id=21278\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/indianhalloffame.sg\/?page_id=21278\",\"name\":\"Hardial Singh Bajaj - 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