Hari Vaishya

Hari Vaishya was a leading Hindu merchant and broker of Surat who became wealthy through the trade with the English. The English East India Company established themselves in Surat from 1612 when they were granted rights to establish a factory, or trading post, by Mughal emperor Jahangir. The English did not travel inland to purchase goods; they were dependent on great Indian merchants like Hari Vaishya to procure them the wanted merchandise.

The foreign traders in India also met with frequent cash flow problems and were compelled to borrow from local brokers, bankers and merchant princes like Hari Vaishya. The amounts of loans were ranging from a few thousand rupees to several lakhs. The foreign companies sometimes had troubles repaying the loans to the extent that they found it difficult to show their faces in public. The companies also had to transport the goods of Hari Vaishya on account of unpaid debts. In 1628, Hari Vaishya and other merchant price, Virji Vora, threatened the company factors that if the latter failed to ship their goods to Persian Gulf they would insist on the immediate payment of their past debts amounting to £30,000. As an important merchant of the region Hari Vaishya also had connections to Indian government and was appointed to councils deciding on the maters of commerce.