Bicycles from Britain to Bengal & the rest of Bharat

How a Bengal entrepreneur collaborated with and brought a successful British brand of bicycles to the masses in India.

Tool Room of Sen Raleigh Cycle Factory, Asansol. Source- getbengal.com

The year 1864 saw the Raj family of Panchakut, West Bengal sell large tracts of forest land to the East Indian Railway. These lands were known as ‘Shergarh’ and included within it was Asansol. The sale set into motion the wheels of change for this small town, as it slowly transformed into an important industrial township.

Asansol grew from forests and jungles into the ‘land of the black diamond'  and Bengal’s second-largest city, as we know it today.

As Asansol continued to move on this path of development, approximately 200 kilometres away, in the bustling city of Calcutta, a young college student was developing an interest in bicycles. The young student- Sudhir Kumar Sen was studying at Presidency College in 1905 and would go on to become a prominent Bengal entrepreneur and Calcutta’s leading cycle dealer. Kicking off that journey in 1909, Sen set up a small business, in partnership with a friend. They imported bicycles and bicycle spare parts from Europe and sold them here, throughout India. The venture cost them a capital of four hundred rupees. By the 1950s, bicycle shops started springing up like rice mills. Becoming a symbol of local entrepreneurship in small towns and villages. Castes and communities not usually associated with trade formed a large part of this group of new entrepreneurs.

The bicycle was quickly adopted by the working class and the villagers. It was one of the few pieces of modern engineering that were affordable and highly usable daily by rural people. One that helped many to erode caste norms and acquire new economic opportunities via the simple act of being able to cover large distances, independently, to new avenues of better wages. Thus, selling the bicycles went beyond trade and into the realm of patriotism, against the European outlook. Energised by this, year after year, Sen travelled to Germany, America, and England. Participating in various conferences, and meetings and fostering new business relations.

During one of these visits, in England, he came across the Raleigh Bicycle Company, a manufacturer based in Nottingham. Set up in 1885, slowly the British market saw a resurgence for pedal bicycles along with export demand. Raleigh was in its successful stride, acquiring various trademarks, expanding to Ireland, and even acquiring rights to motorcycle brands. Even setting up factories in other countries through local companies. Raleigh became famous all over the world. By the mid-1950s though, the British market declined due to the ascent of the motor car. Seeing this steady popularity, and local market decline, Sen decided to bring this brand to India.

Sen collaborated with them and set up the Sen-Raleigh Industries of India Ltd. in 1952. While their first venture had a capital of Rs. 400/-, this crowning collaboration had a capital of rupees one crore! Half of this was fully subsidised. They set up Asia's second-largest bicycle manufacturing factory in Kanyapur, which was a new part of Asansol then. This was a modern 125,000 sq. ft facility, with new equipment that was capable of producing 2,00,000 units each year. Inaugurated in June of that year, the first stage target was set at 1,00,000 bicycles. Meeting target after target, they were highly successful in meeting the growing demand and were the market rulers for several decades. The initial phase was importing accessories and bicycle components from Germany and England. But, within a few years, it transformed into a completely locally-manufactured and assembled cycle-making factory. Even export to other countries was established.

After several years of success, the decline ensued. Other players entered the market and changes came. Local factories were set up in different states leading to lower-priced cycles available to the people and a loss of revenue for the Sen-Raleigh Company. While on a tour of Germany, Sudhir Kumar Sen passed away. Leaving behind a company with no definite strategy and stiff competition. Even a 1975 acquisition of management, through nationalisation, by the central government didn't help it survive for long. The company shut shop here in the 1990s but continues to have a presence in other countries today.

Tangibly, it has left behind a deserted, weed-infested campus of the factory, living quarters, workmen’s quarters, and administrative block. Intangibly, it has left behind sweet memories in the minds of generations of Indians who rode those bicycles, one of them being my father. Even seventy years later, Sen’s cycles bring back golden opinions and nostalgia accompanied by smiles.