Aarohi Girish Dhumale
Ratan Tata, the Chairman emeritus of the Tata Group, passed away on 9th October 2024. He was not just an industrialist, but also a visionary leader, a generous philanthropist, and above all, a selfless human being. As the nation mourns the loss of this exceptional individual, the profound impact he has left on this world won’t ever be forgotten.
Ratan Tata was born on 28 December 1937 in Mumbai. His parents got divorced when he was merely 10 years old. After their divorce, he and his younger brother, Jimmy, were adopted by his grandmother,Lady Navajbai Tata. Reflecting back on those days, he said, “I had a happy childhood, but as my brother & I got older, we faced a fair bit of ragging & personal discomfort because of our parent’s divorce, which in those days wasn’t as common. But my grandmother brought us up in every way. Soon after when my mother remarried, the boys at school started saying all kinds of things about us–constantly & aggressively. But our grandmother taught us to retain dignity at all costs, a value that’s stayed with me until today. It involved walking away from these situations, which otherwise we would’ve fought back against. I remember, after WW2, she took my brother & I for summer holidays to London. It was there that the values were really hammered in. She’d tell us, ‘don’t say this’ or ‘keep quiet about that’ & that’s where ‘dignity above everything else’ really embedded in our minds.”
He went to various schools in different cities and finally graduated from Riverdale Country School in New York City. He earned his BArch degree from Cornell University. He became the largest international donor of the University by donating $50 million in 2008. While at Cornell, he met the renowned architect A. Quincy Jones and joined him at his Los Angeles firm, Jones & Emmons, where he worked for two years. He had to move back to India as his grandmother wasn’t well for quite some time.
On returning, Mr. Tata received an offer from IBM. When J.R.D. Tata came to know about this, he asked Ratan Tata to send his resume and asked him to join Tata Group. Ratan Tata went to Jamshedpur for an internship at TELCO, which is known as Tata Motors today, and then at Tata Steel. He later managed NELCO (National Radio and Electronics), which was his first time leading a company.
In 1991, J.R.D. suffered from a heart attack and was hospitalized for a week. On getting discharged, he announced that he was handing over the reins to Ratan Tata, a decision which was not much welcomed by other aspirants at Tata Group, and there were doubts about his chairmanship, but he proved them all wrong. He showed that he was more than capable of the chair through his work.
Under his chairmanship, Tata Group expanded itself globally. He oversaw Tata Tea’s acquisition of Tetley, Tata Motors’ purchase of Jaguar Land Rover, and Tata Steel’s takeover of Corus. A number of subsidiaries of the Tata Group were also established during his tenure.
India’s first truly indigenous car, Indica, was introduced during his tenure in 1998, which soon became the most successful car in the country. After the immense success of Indica, many cars were manufactured by Tata Motors, but the one that stood out was the Tata Nano. Nano was conceptualized by Ratan Tata himself. “What really motivated me, and sparked a desire to produce such a vehicle, was constantly seeing Indian families on scooters, maybe the child sandwiched between the mother and father, riding to wherever they were going, often on slippery roads. One of the benefits of being in the School of Architecture, it had taught me to doodle when I was free. At first we were trying to figure out how to make two wheelers safer, the doodles became four wheels, no windows, no doors, just a basic dune buggy. But I finally decided it should be a car. The Nano, was always meant for all our people”, said Mr. Tata in an Instagram post.
Mr. Tata is equally known for his philanthropy as for his business. After the 26/11 terrorist attacks at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, the Tata group set up ‘ The Taj Public Service Welfare Trust’ to help the affected employees. Help of several lakhs, which included education of children of affected people, free medical facilities for survivors and dependents at Tata Hospitals for the rest of their lives, etc. Mr. Tata himself visited the affected employees. At the reopening ceremony of the hotel, he said, “we can be hurt, but we cannot be knocked down.”
Mr. Tata’s love for animals is known to everyone. He was often seen helping animals in need. One such incident was narrated by businessman-columnist Suhel Seth. In 2018, Prince Charles had organized a prestigious ceremony at the Buckingham Palace to honor Mr. Tata with a lifetime achievement award for his exceptional philanthropic work. However, just a few days before the ceremony, Mr. Tata’s pet dog had fallen incredibly sick. Mr. Tata cancelled his visit. Prince Charles himself was impressed by knowing this.
Just recently, Small Animal Hospital, a project very dear to Mr. Tata’s heart, has been opened in Mumbai. It is the first of its kind in the country. Recalling the incident when he had to fly his pet to University of Minnesota for a joint replacement, he said, “But I was too late, and so they froze the dog’s joint in a particular position. That experience enabled me to see what a world-class veterinary hospital was equipped to do”.
Mr. Tata was bestowed with various prestigious honors throughout his life. Some of them include the Padma Bhushan in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008. Other honors include Maharashtra Bhushan bestowed upon him in 2006 and Assam Baibhav in 2021 (for cancer care in Assam), and many more.
Businessmen, entrepreneurs, and industrialists come and go. But only those with a kind heart remain in people’s thoughts. Mr. Tata was one such gem.
The legacy left behind by him will continue to inspire generations for years to come.