Know Your City: The Azad Hind Store and its connection with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Azad Hind Store, now increasingly known as AHS, has changed its way with the changing time but the fundamentals of how things work today are just the same as these were 78 years ago when it was a trading wholesale store that used to import books and office supplies from London and sell them in India.

The primary customers of Amrit Lal used to be army personnel whom he used to sell registers and forms. As technology advanced, AHS began to publish e-commerce boxes, magazines, pamphlet, book, and array of digital printing. The family set up a manufacturing unit at Mohali and the selling unit, the iconic Azad Hind Store in Chandigarh, Sector 17 in 1971. The store stayed there for the next 50 years.

The store has now been relocated to Mohali as the place in Chandigarh was rented and with the increase in traffic, it was hard for the owners to commute between the manufacturing unit and the selling point. The store has employees who are working there for the past 40 years. Atulya says that difficulties are inevitable when running such an old institution and carrying a legacy, but we must keep up with the evolving standards. “Covid gave us a tough time but it was not up to us to give up, so we had to accept and value the sentiments of our customers and workers. We established a large customer base that has grown day by day because we believe that customer satisfaction is as important as their products and services,” says Atulya. AHS offers services for offset printers, digital printers, printing presses, and flex printers.

As for their name, the family believes it’s a good luck talisman. Long live the Azad Hind Store!