This story revolves around Raja Nayak – a 53-year-old self-made serial entrepreneur who runs several successful businesses, the largest churning an annual turnover of over Rs 60 crore. Also, he is currently serving as the president of the dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Karnataka.
Born and brought up in a poor dalit family of Karnataka, Raja was forced to quit the school due to the acute financial crisis. It was very tough for his parents to send Raja and his four siblings to school as there was no constant source of income. Finally, at the age of 17, he ran away from home to escape his punishing life. He went to Mumbai in search of some job to support his family. But it wasn’t not too easy, he again returned to home.
Realising that the only way to survive was to start working early, Raja started selling export-surplus shirts bought from Tiruppur and made a profit of Rs 5,000. After a lot of ups and downs, he started a small logistic business in 1998. Today his MCS Logistics is country’s leading company which deals in international shipping. His another business Jala Beverages manufactures packaged drinking water. He has also launched a chain of beauty Salons and Spa under the brand name of Purple Haze. Today his business’s annual turnover crosses Rs 60 crores.
Apart from these, Raja also established an NGO ‘Kalaniketan Educational Society’, which runs many schools and colleges for dalits and underprivileged. His corporate social responsibility made him the President of the Karnataka chapter of Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DICCI), which help bright dalit students by providing them free two-year residential PU education.
At a time when there is concern over dalits still remaining backward despite reservation, people like Raja formed a new class of dalit that inspire the entire generation.
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