Rewind to early 20th century. The Marwaris exemplified a feisty and formidable spirit— traders who escaped the barren business landscape of their homes and created trading outposts in remote areas. Many of them had settled in Kolkata, which emerged as a commercial hub and offered manifold trading opportunities. Over time, they tried their hand at manufacturing which, after Independence, was clearly the future. But, as long as the manufacturing activity involved commodities and the economy was protected, it was fine. The moment there was a shift in the ruling industry paradigm, the pre-dominant Marwari business construct seems to have got challenged.
The community is currently exercised by an unavoidable question: Has the spirit of Marwari enterprise started flagging? The provocation for such introspection stems from the rise of a new entrepreneurial class in India which comprises very few Marwaris and consists of primarily Gujaratis, Punjabis and South Indian industrial groups. Over the past few years, the leaders in emerging industry categories— infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, information technology, telecom—have been markedly non-Marwaris.