When India got her independence in 1947, a young Dhirubhai Ambani lived in Junagarh where he attended school. Junagarh was then a princely state, its ruler being Nawab Muhammad Mahabat Khan III. The Indian Independence Act needed the Nawab to include his state in the Indian Union, but he wanted to merge it with Pakistan instead. As a result, on 15th August 1947, when the whole country was celebrating freedom, people in Junagarh were restricted to hoist the national flag or take part in any celebrations.
Dhirubhai decided he would not follow the ban. He called students from all over Junagarh to a school playground, where they hoisted the flag, sang patriotic songs and distributed sweets. Here, Dhirubhai said his first ever public speech. Immediately after the rally, he was summoned at the local police station, where the police stared at him in surprise, finding it hard to believe that a boy this young had organised for such a big rally!
They saw in it a good chance to convict some Praja Mandal leaders under this pretext. The Praja Mandal fought for constitutional reforms within the state and thus the Nawab considered them his arch rivals. The police questioned, threatened and harassed Dhirubhai for hours, hoping he would plead innocent and give them names of some Praja Mandal members. However, he did not give in to fear and stuck to his opinion firmly. After the police let him go late at night, he returned to his schoolmates, who gave him a hero’s welcome.
Long before his Reliance Industries fame, this young boy showed the inherent qualities that are common in any world class leader, that of his love for a cause, thinking against the tide, influencing the masses, ability to plan and execute accordingly, and lastly, the courage to follow his heart. These qualities took him through the course of life, from a poor village life to one of the top 50 businessmen in Asia. And further to the third richest family in the world!