Savitri Devi Jindal – The Matriarch of The Jindal Group
From being a housewife to a billionaire business woman, the story of the matriarch of the Jindal Group is truly inspiring.
In our conservative society, women are often seen as a homemaker whose place is only in the kitchen. Women are constantly reminded that no matter how hard we try, we can never be equal to men’s position in the community. However, with every passing year, the world is introduced with more and more “sheroes”. An excellent example of which is Savitri Devi Jindal, who was among one of the few Indian housewives to step out of domestic threshold just to enter family business and became one of world’s wealthiest women.
Savitri Devi got married to OP Jindal in the 1970s, the founder of the Jindal Group, a steel and power conglomerate. Apart from being a businessman, OP Jindal was a minister in the Haryana Government and also a member of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha from Hisar constituency. The mother of nine children was 55 years old when OP Jindal died in a helicopter crash back in 2005. After her husband’s sudden demise, Savitri Jindal was introduced to a whole new world where she found herself to be a politician, social activist and billionaire as well. Soon she had been named as of the wealthiest women on Forbes billionaire 2018 list with a net worth of $18.3 billion.
After her husband’s sudden death, Savitri Devi was committed to take forward the values of OP Jindal. As a result, the group’s turnover increased four times after she took over as the chairperson. Some of the flagship companies of the Jindal group are Jindal Saw Limited, JSW Steel, Jindal Stainless Steel Limited and Jindal Steel and Power Limited. After reestablishing the family business, to follow the footsteps of her husband, Savitri Devi entered politics and contested the Hisar assembly seat of Haryana on a Congress ticket from where she won twice, in 2005 and 2009. She also became a minister in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government twice. Hence, it is quite clear that she has not only excelled in business but also did a remarkable job in the fields of politics.
Savitri Jindal is constantly striving to take the Jindal Group forward, as well as urges to help the common man in every possible way. Apart from business and politics, Savitri Devi also takes interest in philanthropic activities. She is involved in building schools, medical institutions and successfully running the Jindal Group.
Now, at the age of 71, Savitri Jindal remains distant from the business related matters and keeps herself engaged in overseeing the various social welfare programs in education and healthcare initiated by the OP Jindal for their factory workers and the needy. Throughout her life, although being through a lot, Savitri Devi never let it leave any effect on her. Instead, she found her true potential and transformed herself into a perfect example of “Future is Female”.
– Mohor Bhattacharjee
