‘Sons’, ‘brothers’, ‘fathers’- these postfixes are wildly used in names of Indian businesses to establish that an enterprise has been around for years. A rather common example of deep-seated patriarchy, a society that deems only men fit enough to be owners of businesses or property.
And while many of us would quite frankly forget how problematic an age-old tradition like this might be, a Ludhiana based entrepreneur reminded us, by choosing to name his newest business venture - ‘Gupta and Daughters’- as a hat tip to his daughter, Akansha and women around the world.
Manoj Kumar Gupta, a businessman from Punjab who began his career as a building contractor, later on, started his own construction company that he lovingly named ‘Gupta and sons’. When he decided to invest in a pharmacy in 2017, he found himself struggling to pick a name for it.
Which is when he sought inspiration from PM Modi’s programme to educate the girl child. The slogan for the programme- ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ clicked with him and he chose to name his pharmacy - ‘Gupta and Daughters.’
While other family members found it unconventional, his wife and children were instantly on board. He wanted his store to stand as a representation of gender equality. A gesture not too grand, but extremely powerful, nonetheless.
When a medical professional in Ludhiana tweeted a picture of the medical store’s signboard, the photo received immense love on the site, crossing 6,000 likes and a thousand retweets in no time. Others who also named their companies after their ‘daughters’ instead of sons shared images of their businesses on the thread.
Both Akansha and Rohan, Gupta’s children, are extremely proud of their parents for being flag bearers of women empowerment and setting the right example in a society prejudiced to treat men in a super fashion. Just like how Rohan and Akansha look up to their parents, Gupta too credits his parents for educating him with strong morals and values and is ever so grateful to his wife for being a constant reminder of those values and a massive support system to him.
Recently, ‘Gupta and Daughters’ has partnered with the Sikh Welfare Council, a non-profit organisation in Ludhiana and together, the two will provide medicines to the needy at marginalised rates. In a bid to help those who’ve been financially struck due to COVID-19, Gupta will be selling medicines straight at cost price.
If men like Gupta continue to uplift women in an attempt to even the scales, actions like such will help create a world where positive change begets positive change.
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