Runchorelal Baronets

The Ranchhodlal Baronetcy^[1], of Shahpur in Ahmedabad in India, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 6 February 1913 for Chinubhai Madhowlal Ranchhodlal, KCIE^[2], son of Madhavlal Rachhodlal (died 4th April 1900), a cotton manufacturer of Ahmedabad who also contributed to various education schemes in India. He was the first Hindu to be created a baronet.

Ranchhodlal Baronets, of Shahpur (1913)

• Sir Chinubhai Madhowlal Ranchhodlal, 1st Baronet (1864-1916)
• Sir (Girijaprasad) Chinubhai Madhowlal Ranchhodlal, 2nd Baronet (1906-1990)
• Sir Udayan Ranchhodlal, 3rd Baronet (1929-1 Sept 2006) ^[3][4]
• Sir Prashant Chinubhai Ranchhodlal, 4th Baronet born 15 Dec 1955

• The latest Burke's lists the baronetcy under "Ranchhodlal" and here, Sir Udayan is listed as Sir Chinubhai Madhowlal Ranchhodlal. The two are one and the same as Burke's states he was "Sir Udayan... later Chinubhai...". He only had one son, Prashant (b. 1955), married but with daughters only. Next in line would be the 3rd baronet's 2 brothers (b. 1932 and 1941). The younger one has one son, b. 1969 and that's the end of the line.

Additional notes regarding the name

The Official Roll of the Baronetage describes the baronetcy as "Runchorelal, now Chinubhai of Shahpur".

Ranchhodlal's status during the British Rule

Ranchhodlal Chhotalal (1823-1898) was the pioneer of cotton textile mills in Gujarat. In 1861, he founded the first cotton textile mill in Gujarat and the second in India. He named it The Ahmedabad Spinning and Weaving Company Ltd. He became the first Indian to be the president of the Ahmedabad Municipality in 1888. He was given the title of "Rao Bahadur". His grandson, Chinubhai (1864-1916), introduced the drainage system in Ahmedabad and was created a Baronet. Mahatma Gandhi used to come to Sir Chinubhai for his wise advice. He was a charitable man with a strong character. There is a large statue of Sir Chinubhai in Bhadra, Ahmedabad, India.

See also

• Ranchhodlal Chhotalal

References

1. ^ Both Burke's and Who's Who list the 3rd Bt as:RANCHHODLAL, Sir Chinubhai Madhowlal
2. ^ The London Gazette of 23 May 1913 gives the spelling of the grantee's final name as RUNCHORELAL (which is the form Debrett's use): Whitehall May 21, 1913. The KING has been pleased, by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to confer the dignity of a Baronet of the said United Kingdom upon Sir Chinubhai Madhowlal RUNCHORELAL of Shahpur, Ahmedabad, in the Empire of India, Knight, Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten.
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ [2] a press release dated Sept. 2, 2006 stated that "The Gujarat Governor... expressed profound grief over the demise of Shri Udayan Chinubhai Baronet..."

• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
• Leigh Rayment's List of Baronets