HISTORY

Towards the end of Nineteenth Century, to strengthen the hands of the nascent Indian enterprise and consolidate the voice, of the traders of Burrabazar, the “Marwari Chamber of Commerce” was established at Calcutta. The Membership of the Chamber was, however, not confined to Marwaris only and Indian businessmen from all over Calcutta continued to join its membership and enjoy its support. One of the important activities of the Chamber during the formative stage was arbitration to resolve disputes.

From its inception in the year 1900, the Chamber has taken active interest not only in the areas of direct interest for trade and industry, but also in several walks of public life of this country. The Government of the day referred many important questions to the Chamber for its opinion since inception.

The Chamber has all along attempted to improve business methods and practices on better standard and codes, and a very large number of businessmen having diverse interest have always looked to the Chamber for advice and guidance. Before independence, there were only a handful of organizations in the country to offer these services fearlessly and the Chamber excelled in this regard. The large volume of activities of the Chamber, particularly in the forties, outlined in this document is the evidence of the Chamber’s concern not only in the welfare and well being of its members, but also on the social issues during war, famine or political atrocities. Since independence, the Chamber has always tried to stand by the national Governments at the Centre and in the State, in their efforts to build up the economy of the country on the ideals of a Welfare Society.

Following Indian Independence, secularism became the buzzword and in 1949, the Chamber re-christened itself as "Bharat Chamber Commerce".

From historical documents and the reports of the Chamber, it is evident that the foresight of the founding fathers had made it possible to lay the solid foundations for this centre of excellence which has been sustained for a century by their predecessors. Over the years, the aspirations of the Chamber and those of its Members have been imbedded with the aspirations of the city of Calcutta which has witnessed some typical upheavals in each decade. Thus, the Chamber has withstood the ravages of time through its glorious history and has emerged successfully as a composite body of varied types and sizes of business

The Chamber's emphasis has always been on service to its members, service to society and services to the Nation. This pragmatic approach has helped its association with a number of stalwarts in their respective fields. In recognition of its importance, the Chamber is represented on a number of Public Bodies of the Central and the State Governments.