Laljibhai Patel

Laljibhai Tulsibhai Patel
Born	(1955-11-28) 28 November 1955 (age 69) Ugamedi, Botad, Gujarat, India [1]
Occupations	Social Activist Business Person Founder & Chairman of Dharmanandan Diamonds Pvt. Ltd.(DDPL)
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Nirmalaben ​ (m. 1977)​
Children	2
Website	Laljibhai Patel

Laljibhai PatelLaljibhai Patel (born 28 November 1955) is an Indian diamantaire and the chairman of Dharmanandan Diamonds Pvt. Ltd (DDPL). ^{[2] [3]} He has worked in the diamond industry for over four decades.

In 2015, Patel was included in the Wealth-X list of India’s wealthiest jewellers, ranking among the top 10 with a reported net worth of $480 million. ^{[4] [2]} He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Retail Jewelers India for his contributions to the jewellery industry and community development in Surat and Gujarat. ^[5]

Career

Laljibhai Patel began his career as a diamond trader after relocating to Surat from Ugamedi in 1974–1975. In 1985, he co-founded Shreeji Gems, a small diamond manufacturing unit, with his childhood friend Tulsibhai Goti. The company became a partnership firm in 1993, was renamed Dharmanandan Diamonds, and was incorporated on 31 August 2007. In November 2007, the company became a De Beers Sightholder. ^[5]

Personal life

Patel was born into a farming family in Ugamedi, Botad district, Gujarat, India. He moved to Rajkot for secondary school, attending Gurukul, Rajkot, where he became friends with his future business partner Tulsibhai Goti. He is married and has two sons. ^{[1] [6]}

Social work

Laljibhai Patel has supported social initiatives focused on preventing female foeticide, promoting water conservation, and improving education, healthcare services, and literacy.^{[ citation needed ]}

Save the Girl Child Mega Campaign

Under Patel's leadership, the Samast Patidar Samaj ^[7] launched the "Save the Girl Child Mega Campaign" (Maha Laddu Beti Bachao Abhiyan) to address female foeticide and promote gender equality. The campaign involved collecting grain and water from 235,000 households to create a large ladduBoondi laddu. ^[8]

As part of the initiative, informative booklets were distributed, and a gathering was organized in Surat in 2006, where 1.2 million people pledged to oppose female foeticide. This effort was recognized by the Limca Book of Records. ^[9] The campaign's impact on Gujarat's gender ratio has been reported.^{[ citation needed ]}

River Linking & Rainwater Conservation

Patel initiated a large-scale water conservation project in Ugamedi, which involved creating three large artificial ponds. Water was diverted from the Keri to supplement the supply, as the initial plan to fill the ponds using the Sonal river proved insufficient.^{[ citation needed ]}

This project has been described as the first instance of river interlinking in India, inspired by Atal Bihari Vajpayee's vision. ^{[10] [11]}

Clean Ganga Mission

Patel purchased Narendra Modi's suit at auction for US$693,174; the proceeds were donated towards cleaning the Ganges river. ^[12] This purchase is recognized by Guinness Book of World Records. ^[13] Following the auction, it was alleged^{[ by whom? ]} that Patel was offered advantages in the form of government land for bidding. ^[14]

Schools in Tribal Area

Patel has funded the construction of 10 schools in Dang and Narmada districts, each capable of accommodating over 500 tribal students.^{[ citation needed ]}

Promoting Gurukul Education

As an alumnus of Gurukul Rajkot, Patel serves as a Trustee at Shree Swaminarayan Rajkot Gurukul.^{[ citation needed ]}

Kanya Gurukul (Girl's Gurukul)

Patel established a girls' Gurukul in Surat, designed to accommodate 3,000 girls.^{[ citation needed ]}

Helping Hand for Specially Abled

Through the Shantuben T. Patel Charitable Trust, Patel initiated a campaign to provide artificial limbs to people with disabilities.^{[ citation needed ]}

Monetary Donation to Hospitals

Patel has donated to various hospitals.^{[ citation needed ]}

Positions in various organizations

• Founder & President, Samast Patidar Samaj Trust - Surat
• President, Traffic Education Trust - First Safe City CCTV Project - Surat
• President, Dharmanandan Charitable Trust – Surat
• President, Shantuben T. Patel Charitable Trust
• President, RV Gosaliya Vidhya Mandir – Ugamedi
• President, Katargam Police Welfare Trust – Surat
• Vice-President, Kiran Hospital - Surat ^[15]
• Vice Chairman, Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) ^[16]
• Treasurer, Gujarat Hira Bourse ^[17]
• Founder Trustee, Sardar Dham – Ahmedabad
• Trustee, Saurashtra Jaldhara Trust
• Chairman, Shree Swaminarayan Kanya Gurukul, Surat
• Trustee, Shree Swaminaran Gurukul, Rajkot – 32 School Branches in Gujarat ^[18]
• Trustee, Shree Swaminaran Gurukul, Hyderabad – 18 School Branches ^[18]
• Trustee, Samast Patidar Arogya Trust - Surat ^[15]
• Trustee, Prayosha Pratisthan School - Ahva, Saputara
• Trustee, Sardar Dham Education Trust – Bhavnagar
• Trustee, Bhavnagar District Leuva Patel Education Trust – Surat
• Trustee, Saurashtra Patel Seva Samaj - Puna Gam, Surat
• Trustee, Patel Social Trust – Mumbai
• Trustee, Saurashtra Patel Kelavni Mandal - Ahmedabad
• Trustee, Shastri Shri Dharmajivandasji Swami Rajkot Gurukul Hospital
• Trustee, Shree Swaminarayan Multi-specialty Hospital - Vadtal
• Trustee, Lions Cancer Detection Centre - Civil Hospital - Surat

References

1. "Diamond Czar - Laljibhai Patel, Chairman, Dharmanandan Diamonds Pvt. Ltd". Diamond World News Service. 17 April 2013. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
2. "Nazraana Retail Jeweller India Awards 2015". India Infoline News Service. 1 August 2015.
3. "Laljibhai Patel tops the list of wealthiest Indian jewellers". News18.com. 1 July 2015.
4. "India's 10 wealthiest jewellers". Rediff. 1 July 2015.
5. "De Beers Sightholders".
6. "पढ़िए मोदी का सूट खरीदने वाले लालजी भाई का कच्चा चिट्ठा". अमर उजाला. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
7. "Samast Patidar Samaj (SPS) is a charitable organization established to support environmental, social, and economic improvement like Save Gilrl Child, Education, Health Care etc in Surat and in the State of Gujarat". Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
8. "Save the Girl Child Mega Campaign | Beti Bachao Beti Padhao | L T Patel". www.ltpatel.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
9. "Beti Bachao Abhiyan". Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
10. "Bhavnagar village sets example in river interlinking". The Times of India. 17 June 2014.
11. "River interlinking makes Ugamedi village drought-proof". The Times of India. 3 September 2014.
12. "PM Narendra Modi's Rs 4.31 crore suit enters Guinness Book Records". 22 August 2016.
13. "Most expensive suit (clothing) sold at auction - Guinness World Records Limited".
14. Chatterji, Angana P.; Hansen, Thomas Blom; Jaffrelot, Christophe (2019). Majoritarian State: How Hindu Nationalism is Changing India. Oxford University Press. p. 208. ISBN   978-0-19-007817-1 . Retrieved 1 May 2025.
15. "Message from Founders - Kiran Hospital".^{[ permanent dead link ]}
16. "Surat Diamond Bourse". www.suratdiamondbourse.in.
17. "GHB Gem & Jewellery Park | Home". www.gujarathirabourse.org.
18. "Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot Sansthan".

External links

• Official website