Jamnalal Bajaj

Jamnalal Bajaj was born in 1889 into a poor family of farmers, to Kaniram and Birdibai, in a village named Kashi Ka Bas, near Sikar in Rajasthan state. In 1894, Seth Bachharaj Bajaj, a rich Marwari Agarwal businessman, and his family were going to Kashi Ka Bas village temple. They spotted young Jamnalal playing outside his home and were drawn to him. After much persuasion, Jamnalal was adopted as Seth Bajaj's grandson. In return, Bajaj installed a well in order to help the village.

Seth Bachharaj was a distant relative on his father's side and was a well-known and respected trader in the British Raj.

Upon coming of age, under the tutelage of Seth Bachharaj, Jamnalal got involved in the family business of his adoptive family. During this period, he acquired the skills of being a tradesman, rigorous bookkeeping and buying and selling commodities. He excelled in his work by the time Seth Bachharaj died. In 1926, Jamnalal founded what would become the Bajaj group of industries.

Besides Bajaj Auto Ltd, the other major companies in the group include Mukand Ltd, Bajaj Electricals Ltd and Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd. His two sons, Kamalnayan Bajaj and Ramkrishna Bajaj, took his business forward. One of his grandsons, Rahul Bajaj, ran the family flagship company, Bajaj Auto.

Jamnalal was married at age twelve to Janki Devi, who was around nine years old. Their son was businessman and politician Kamalnayan Bajaj.