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Over the past three centuries leading up to independence in India, Calcutta’s[1] economic fortunes were dominated by outsiders rather than the local Bengalis[2]. Until independence a little over seven decades ago, the British controlled most of the trade in this region. Over the preceding century, business interests in this locality were managed mostly by non-Bengali trading communities (Ahmed, 1965; Roy, 1929; Tripathi, 1956). Yet, for a brief interlude for two decades (i.e. in the 1830s and 1840s), Bengalis played a dominant role in the modern business sector of the economy as partners of the British. The single reason behind this phenomenon was the role Dwarkanath Tagore (DT) played in building multiple multiracial partnerships across a myriad of businesses (Dasgupta, 1971; Kling, 1976; Sinha, 1964).
In this research, I identify various initiatives by DT, including the production of various commodities such as indigo, paper, silk, tea, sugar, flour, rice and rum, as well the excavation of coal [“Carr, Tagore and Co.” & “Bengal Coal Co.”], and then distributing them through the “Calcutta Steam Tug Association”, “Hooghly Steam Tug Association”, “Bengal Steam Tug Company” and “India General Steam Navigation Company”. He even proposed the first railway service in India, i.e. the “Great Western Railway Co.”, connecting Calcutta and Rajmahal, but did not see it to fruition during his lifetime. Finally, as an adept promoter, he ran advertisements in his locally owned newspapers, e.g. Bengal Herald, Bengal Hurkuru, Indian Gazette, The Englishman, etc. He also sponsored many charitable and philanthropic initiatives, entertained guests in his Belgatchia villa and owned theaters such as Chowringhee and Sans Souci, which helped him further publicize his businesses.
I demonstrate, by using historical research methods and critically examining the business practices of DT, how all of these activities were synthesized in an integrated marketing approach and how he was the catalyst in forging these partnerships. I begin by examining. DT’s forward integration techniques in running other operations, e.g. publishing, advertising and promotion and distribution of his products. On the basis of historical methods, I outline his approach to integrated marketing in Figure 1.
DT’s approach to integrated marketing in the nineteenth century involved the traditional production, distributional and promotional components, and he understood the significance of using all tools at his disposal...