Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata

(1839 – 1904)

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata was born in Navsari, Gujarat on March 3, 1839, and his early education took place in the same town. When he turned 13, he went to Bombay (Mumbai) at the behest of his father Nusserwanji to complete his education. At 14, he joined the Elphinstone Institution, and in January 1856, he was enrolled at the Elphinstone College. Jamsetji received a liberal education at Elphinstone College, which he left in 1858 when he passed out as a “Green Scholar”- the equivalent of a Degree. While still a student, he married Heerabai, the daughter of Cursetji Daboo.

The early years

After working with his father for about nine years, Jamsetji started his own private firm with a capital of Rs. 21,000. In 1884, he floated The Central India Spinning, Weaving and Manufacturing Co. Ltd. Unlike his contemporaries, he went to Nagpur, where cotton was grown and established a textile mill over there. On January 1, 1877, when Queen Victoria became the Empress of India, the mills opened, and it was called the Empress Mills.

Jamsetji was more than half a century ahead of his time. The textile mills at Nagpur became his laboratory. He personally looked after every little detail of its growth. Here, he tried experiments in technology and labour welfare reforms, nothing but the best was good for him. The excellence of his new plant was matched only by his care for the workers.

Jamsetji realised that India's greatness depended on widespread advancement in learning and industrialisation. He envisaged India amongst the great industrial nations of the world. His mission was to give India a research university, an iron and steel industry and a hydro-electric company.

Banking on education

In 1867, Jamsetji was stirred by the Convocation address of Lord Reay, the Governor of Bombay, who called for, “Real Universities which will give fresh impulse to learning, to research, to criticism which will inspire reverence and impart strength and self-reliance to future generations.”

Since advanced higher learning was not available in India, in 1892 Jamsetji endowed a fund for higher education abroad for deserving students. In September 1898, he set aside fourteen of his buildings and four landed properties in Bombay for an endowment to establish a University of Research. His donations were worth Rs.30 lakh in those days.

While the education scheme was being presented to the British, Jamsetji was already strategizing on his second scheme of setting up a steel plant in India.

Steel and electricity

In 1900, Jamsetji won the support of Britain’s Secretary of State for India, Lord George Hamilton for setting up a steel plant. He visited the U.S. to study coking processes and inspected the ore markets there. A steel plant on such a huge scale using modern technology was unheard of in India, at that time. However, Jamsetji set the ball rolling and, The Tata Iron and Steel Co. Ltd., at Jamshedpur went on stream, seven years after his death.

As early as 1875, Jamsetji thought of using hydroelectricity in the manufacture of cotton. The objective of Jamsetji’s hydro-electric power scheme was to supply cheap and clean energy for the growing needs of Bombay. This resulted in the formation of The Hydro-Electric Power Supply Co. Ltd. in 1910.

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

It surprised even his close associates when Jamsetji Tata leased a large plot of land at Apollo Bunder in Bombay and announced that he would build a hotel there. He wanted to improve the amenities of the city he loved, and which had been his home for long. He felt Bombay needed a modern hotel in keeping with its importance and to attract more people to India. Since no other businessman would venture it, he decided to build it himself. It was Jamsetji's gift to the city of Bombay.

The construction work began in 1898. The architecture was a combination of Rajput renaissance, Sarcenic and Victorian Gothic styles. It also combined oriental splendour in its exterior and modern European comforts inside. The Gateway of India was yet to be built. There, facing the mouth of the harbour, the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel stood in its solitary grandeur. The hotel was completed in 1903 and opened with 17 guests.

Jamsetji Tata passed away on May 19, 1904. He did not live to see the launch of the three projects which he had envisioned for national development. However, his vision lived on and was executed by the able men he had selected to work on these projects.

Sir Dorabji Tata

(1859 – 1932)

Sir Dorabji Tata, the elder son of the Founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, was born on August 27, 1859, when Jamsetji was 20 years old.

He attended the Proprietary High School in Bombay (Mumbai), and at the age of 16 was sent to a private tutor in Kent. At 18, he attended Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge. During the two years that he was at Cambridge, he distinguished himself at sports, winning colours at Caius for cricket and soccer. He also played tennis for his college, coxed his college boat, won a number of sprint events and was a good horseman. In addition to being a 'blue' for cricket at Cambridge, Dorabji was a life-long admirer of the renowned Victorian era cricketer, W.G. Grace.

He returned to Bombay in 1879 and joined St. Xavier's College and obtained his B.A. in 1882.

Instead of including Dorabji in his expanding business, Jamsetji encouraged him to broaden his experience, and gave him a stint at journalism. Later, he gave him independent charge of setting up a textile project in Pondicherry. Before long, he placed him at the Empress Mills.

On his visits to the Mysore State, Jamsetji came in close contact with the Bhabha family. H.J. Bhabha was the Inspector-General of Education, Mysore State and the moving spirit in the educational policy of this progressive State. Jamsetji seems to have had a hand in the selection of Meherbai the daughter of H.J. Bhabha as his daughter-in-law. At the age of 38, Dorabji married the beautiful and much younger Meherbai Bhabha – fondly called Mehri.

Jamsetji Tata's ambitions for his country and his city of Bombay knew no limits. He was deeply immersed in the three great constructive enterprises of his life – the research university, which was to prepare future generations of Indians to take full part in the scientific development of Indian industry; the iron and steel works which were to establish this key industry on the most modern principles and the hydro-electric works which were to harness the service of the unfailing rainfall of the Western Ghats and relieve Bombay manufacturers from dependence on distant coal fields and pollution. At the time of Jamsetji's death, his three great schemes still awaited fulfilment. Dorabji, with his drive and enthusiasm, aided by the resolve of his brother Ratan Tata, his cousin R.D. Tata, and his trusted lieutenant B.J. Padshah saw Jamsetji's projects through to the stage of accomplishment. It was Dorabji who explored Central India for iron ore, riding on bullock-carts, visiting far-flung places where they had to even make tea out of soda-water.

The name of Dorabji Tata was included in the Honours List in 1910 when he received a Knighthood, in recognition of his contribution to the industrial advancement of India. Sir Dorabji's finest hour came in 1924, when the ambitious expansion programme of The Tata Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. (TISCO) ran into stormy weather. It was his audacity, which had led the company into undertaking a five-fold expansion programme in the post-war period. Spiralling prices, combined with transport and labour difficulties in the West, completely upset the price calculations. Moreover, TISCO's largest pig iron customer, Japan, was struck by an earthquake and the steel prices tumbled.

Followed by the collapse of the financial markets there was not enough money at The Tata Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. to pay daily wages. Sir Dorabji and R.D. Tata went to the Imperial Bank where Sir Dorabji pledged his entire personal fortune worth about Rs. 1 crore (including his wife's personal jewellery) to obtain a loan. Sir Dorabji had grit; he had confidence in the intrinsic soundness of the enterprise and took a calculated risk.

At the time of Jamsetji's death, the Tata enterprises comprised three textile mills and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Bombay. Under Sir Dorabji Tata's stewardship were added an integrated steel plant, then the largest single unit in the British Empire, three electric power companies, a large edible oil and soap company, two cement companies, one of India's leading insurance companies and an aviation unit pioneered by J.R.D. Tata. Sir Dorabji had also seen through the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science, which was to spearhead scientific research in India for decades to come. Proud as he was of these achievements, he never failed to give due credit to his father's pioneering spirit. "Kind fate," he once noted, "has prompted me to help in bringing to completion his (Jamsetji's) inestimable legacy of service to the country."

Sir Dorabji Tata had a great passion for sports. To him India owes her first participation in the Olympic Games. Even before India had set up an Olympic Committee, Sir Dorabji selected and financed four athletes and two wrestlers for participation in the Antwerp Games in 1920. As President of the Indian Olympic Council, he financed the Indian contingent to the Paris Olympiad of 1924. He was chosen to be a member of the International Olympic Committee.

Sir Dorabji had the country scoured for sports talent. He arranged for the then Director of the YMCA to tour the country and bring home to the people of India the importance of the Olympic movement. He helped found, amongst other institutions the Willingdon Sports Club and the Parsi Gymkhana in Bombay, the High Schools Athletic Association and the Bombay Presidency Olympic Games Association. His final contribution was the establishment of a substantial trust to which he donated all his wealth, down to his last pearl-studded tie-pin. Sir Dorabji and Lady Tata had no children. Sir Dorabji believed that wealth must be put to constructive use, and less than a year after his wife died, he put all his wealth into a trust which was to be used "without any distinction of place, nationality or creed", for the advancement of learning and research, the relief of distress, and other charitable purposes. This was the beginning of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. Three months later he died.

The Trustees were empowered to sell Sir Dorabji's lands, shares, securities and jewellery. The Trustees were not permitted to withdraw the shares Sir Dorabji had to his credit with Tata Sons Ltd. Through the Trust, he sought to ensure the integrity of the parent firm his father, he and R.D. Tata had founded in 1887. He endowed the Lady Tata Memorial Trust with a corpus for research into leukaemia. The Lady Meherbai D. Tata Education Trust was formed as a much smaller trust, partly from public donations, for the training of women in hygiene, health and social welfare.

On April 11, 1932, Sir Dorabji set sail for Europe expecting, among other things, to visit his wife's grave in England. It was on this journey that, on June 3, he died at Bad Kissengen, Germany. A few days later, almost on the anniversary of his wife's death, he was laid beside her at the Brookwood Cemetery, England.

Sir Ratan Tata

(1871 – 1918)

Sir Ratan Tata, the second son of Jamsetji Tata, was born on January 20, 1871. He was educated at St. Xavier's College, Bombay (Mumbai). In 1892, he married Navajbai Sett. The couple did not have any children.

After their marriage, they stayed at "Esplanade House", which was the family home. A year after Jamsetji's death, he shifted to Brightlands on Marine Lines. Around 1915, he moved into "Tata House", a palatial residence, which he had constructed on Waudby Road, close to Esplanade House. However, he lived there only for a few months before he set sail for England for medical treatment, never to return. He joined the firm of Tata & Sons as a partner in 1896.

After the death of his father in 1904, Ratan Tata looked after the affairs of L' Union Fire Insurance Co. of Paris of which Tata & Sons were agents in India. In addition, he was in charge of the firm, Tata and Co., which had branches in Kobe, Shanghai, Paris, New York and Rangoon trading in cotton, yarn, silk, pearls and rice.

When his father was alive, Ratan had taken keen interest in the reclamation and development of Mahim and Bandra. In 1909-10, he conceived of a plan of reclamation of the Foreshore of Bombay on the West, from Chaupaty to Colaba Sanatorium. In 1916-17, Ratan took an initiative in forming a Backbay Reclamation Syndicate. However, the syndicate had to be dissolved since the Government decided to undertake the reclamation work departmentally.

Ratan Tata had an acute sense of social consciousness. He realised the importance of the struggle of Indians in South Africa under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and supported it both morally and materially. He sent to Mahatma Gandhi, in all, Rs125,000 in five equal instalments to support the noble struggle the Indians were waging in South Africa against apartheid.

He was also attracted to the excellent national work that was being done by Gopalkrishna Gokhale and his Servants of India Society and donated Rs10,000 every year to it. Over the years he made liberal donations aggregating to Rs110,000 to the Society.

He was very concerned about the gross poverty and destitution in India and about finding ways to ameliorate it. He felt that the subject needed a scientific study. In 1913 he constituted a Chair at the London University and agreed to pay £ 1,400 per year for three years towards the expenses. During the course of the First World War, the Chair was transferred to the London School of Economics with a committee of management of 12 members to be nominated both by the London University and the London School of Economics in equal numbers. The grant was extended for another five years from 1916. The payment continued even after his death.

Ratan Tata was also fascinated by India's past. In 1912, he offered to finance an archaeological expedition in the states of Bihar and Orissa. Accordingly, exhaustive excavations were carried out at Pataliputra under the supervision of Dr. A.B. Spooner. Between 1913 and 1917, he paid Rs. 75,000 for this work. Apart from coins, plaques and terracotta of museum value, the location of the 100 column Mauryan Throne Room of the Palace of Asoka – similar to the Palace of King Darius at Persepolis in Persia were discovered. Art wares collected in this expedition are displayed in the Patna Museum.

He was generous and any cause that appealed to him received a substantial donation. He gave liberally for relief of distress caused by natural calamities like floods, famines and earthquakes, for public memorials, schools and hospitals. He gave a donation of Rs. 10,000 per annum for a period of ten years to the King George V Anti-Tuberculosis League started by the Bombay Municipality's Executive Health Officer Dr. Turner. Out of this donation a building was built on Princess Street to provide treatment to the poor afflicted by tuberculosis. He also gave a lakh of rupees to the Salvation Army for a memorial to General Booth, its Founder in India who was a great friend of his father, without attaching any conditions.

Ratan Tata led a hectic social life. He was fond of travelling and spent a major part of each year in England. As a Member of the Carlton Club in London, he was part of the high society in England. In 1906, he purchased the York House in Twickenham, 11 miles from London from Duce d' Orleans for £16,000 and spent another £ 20,000 on converting the 12 acre area around it into a landscaped garden. Ratan Tata was knighted in 1916 in recognition of his manifold services.

Sir Ratan Tata was a great connoisseur of art. For several years during his tours within the country and abroad he collected pictures, paintings, guns, swords, silverware, manuscripts, jades, vases, carpets etc. The collection was handed over to the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay.

In March 1916, Sir Ratan had gone on a brief visit, along with his wife, to China and Japan, when they returned, he had contracted an illness. On October 16, 1916, he sailed on the S.S. Arabia, along with his wife, and secretary P.P. Mistry for England to receive medical treatment. The journey proved to be unlucky since the ship was torpedoed by Germans in the Mediterranean just a day out from Port Said. The ship was sunk but all the passengers were saved. This shipwreck deteriorated his health further. Sir Ratan Tata died on September 5, 1918 at St. Ives, Cornwall leaving behind his wife Lady Navajbai. He was buried at Brookwood Cemetery near London besides his father.

Sir Ratan Tata left a large part of his property for charitable purposes in his will. The Sir Ratan Tata Trust was set up on September 10, 1919.

Sir Nowroji Saklatvala

(1875 – 1938)

Sir Nowroji Saklatvala was born on September 10, 1875. He was educated at St. Xavier's School and College, Bombay (Mumbai). He joined the Tata organisation in 1899 as a clerk in the Svadeshi Mills. Within twenty years, he rose to be the head of the firm.

He was created a C.I.E. in 1923, and knighted in 1933. During the First World War, he was associated with many committees and rendered particularly meritorious service as Honorary Adviser to the Munitions Board during 1919-1921. He attended the International Labour Conference at Geneva as an Employers’ Delegate, in 1921. He was connected for many years with the Committee of the Mill Owners' Association and was its Chairman in 1917. He was a member of the Bombay Legislative Council in 1921, and represented them in the Bombay Legislative Assembly in 1922.

He was Chairman of about twenty large companies and corporations like The Tata Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. (TISCO), Tata Electric Companies, The Associated Cement Companies (ACC), the New India Life Insurance Company and Imperial Bank. He was also on the Board of the Bombay Port Trust.

On the death of Sir Dorabji Tata, he was elected as Chairman of Tata Sons Ltd. in 1932.

An ordained priest, he led a simple life and was sympathetic towards the helpless and the poor. As Chairman of TISCO, he was greatly responsible for the profit sharing scheme for the employees. As Chairman of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, he encouraged several charitable institutions.

In spite of his busy schedule, his love for sport was visible in the many sporting events and organisations with which he was connected. He was Chairman of the Cricket Club of India, the Parsi Gymkhana, and the Bombay Presidency Olympic Association and was Vice President of the Bombay Hockey Federation. The magnificent Brabourne Stadium was built under his guidance.

Sir Nowroji Saklatvala left Bombay on a short trip to Europe at the end of April and passed away at Aix-Les-Bains, France on July 21, 1938.

Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata

(1856 – 1926)

Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (R.D.) was born in 1856 in Navsari, it was here that he received his early education and training. He received higher education at the Elphinstone College, Bombay (Mumbai) and then studied agriculture at Madras (Chennai). He was known among his friends as "R.D." in order to distinguish him from Jamsetji's second son, Ratan Tata.

On completing his education, R.D. began his career in his father's firm Tata & Co. When he joined the firm, its business was already declining. He was sent to Hong Kong and continued to work in the firm even after the death of his father in 1876. In 1883, he was obliged to take charge of the affairs of the company, which was in a very bad condition. It was at this period that he first displayed great ability for finance by putting to an end the vicissitudes of the firm. Jamsetji Tata was very impressed by R.D.'s abilities, and in 1884 he took this young cousin into his firm, the Empress Mills, and later, in 1887, made him a partner in the newly formed Tata & Sons.

While Sir Bezonji Dadabhai Mehta looked after the technical and management side of the Empress Mills, R.D. took care of the financial aspects. During this period, he was entrusted the task of opening a ginning factory at Yeotmal with his cousin Dorabji Tata. R.D. was then given charge of the finances of the Svadeshi Mills, which was doing badly. He successfully steered it clear, along with Dorabji under the guidance of Jamsetji.

The business of Tata & Co., was distinct from Tata & Sons, and Jamsetji had little to do with the firm. He left the control of the eastern branch to his cousin. R.D. Tata moved to Hong Kong for a few years. He opened branches in Shanghai and Kobe dealing in rice and silk. The business grew so well under him that he opened a branch in New York and later in Paris, trading chiefly in pearls and silk. It was here in Paris that he fell in love with Suzanne (Sooni) Briere and married her in 1902.

After Jamsetji's death, the name of the firm was changed from Tata & Sons to Tata Sons & Co. in 1907 with the surviving partners – Dorab, Ratan, and R.D. Tata. Another venture namely Tata & Co., that had been operating in Hong Kong was also merged with Tata Sons & Co. In 1917, the Company was renamed Tata Sons Ltd.

R.D. Tata continued to look after the trading and financial side of the company by devoting more time at the Head Office in Bombay. He played an important role in realising Jamsetji's dream projects - the iron and steel project, the hydro-electric scheme and the research university.

He took charge of the important departments of the firm especially when the firm was passing through its most difficult period during the war. His mastery in steering the House of Tata through its most critical financial phase during the post war re-adjustment, placed him in the forefront of the great industrialists of the day. His mature experience and masterly guidance saw the company through these troubled years. Despite the grave financial struggles he was waging, he never lost sight of the welfare measures for workers. Abiding by these principles in times of crisis speaks volumes about his personality.

R.D. Tata was a member of the Imperial Legislative Council and it was through his untiring energy and perseverance that he was able to secure the protection granted to the iron and steel industry. His association with Japan, which he visited in 1890, helped in the development of the Indo-Japanese trade relations. Just before R.D.'s death, the Emperor of Japan conferred on him the high distinction of the Third Order of the Rising Sun, a title similar to K.C.I.E. or C.I.E. in India.

R.D. Tata passed away in Hardelot, France on August 26, 1926.

Naval Hormusji Tata

(1904 – 1989)

Naval Hormusji Tata was born in Bombay (Mumbai) on August 30, 1904 in a middle class family.

Naval was only four years old when he lost his father, who was a Spinning Master in the Ahmedabad Advanced Mills. This tragic blow was crippling for the family, particularly for his brave mother. It became an ordeal for her to support five sons. Their relatives from Bombay rallied round and they were given shelter in the humble family house at Navsari, the town where the Founder of the Tata group, Jamsetji Tata, was born.

The family later settled down in Surat, and the modest resources were supplemented by the mother's income from embroidery work. She excelled in it and her talent was well recognised. Through Sir Dorabji Tata's assistance, two of Naval's brothers were taken up as boarders at the J.N. Petit Parsi Orphanage. A year later, in 1916, came his turn. Since the two brothers were paying boarders, Naval was accepted gratis as one of the Foundation's students.

It was a hard life for 300 poor boys supported on an extremely slender budget for food, clothing and health care. Their only glimpse of the outside was when they were taken to the Victoria Gardens once in three weeks in batches of a hundred each.

It is from this situation that Naval Tata rose to an eminent position in the Tata organisation. The story is one of grit, determination, perseverance and a complex of rare human qualities that contributed to his enormous success.

Jamsetji Tata had married Hirabai, whose sister, Cooverbai, was Naval's grandmother. Jamsetji's two sons, Sir Dorabji and Sir Ratan, had no heir. Lady Navajbai (wife of Sir Ratan Tata) adopted Naval while he was still at the orphanage.

The adoption came about in unusual and somewhat sad circumstances. In 1918, Sir Ratan Tata, died in England at the early age of 47. At a family meeting, headed by Sir Dorabji, it was decided that since there was no son for the Uthamna ceremony, an adopted son was necessary. Naval's mother was Sir Ratan's favourite cousin. So Naval was chosen for adoption.

Naval was 13 when he was adopted. Although he was suddenly elevated into one of the most affluent families in the country, he never forgot his past. He maintained, "I am grateful to God for giving me an opportunity to experience the pangs of poverty, which more than anything (else) moulded my character in later years of my life."

Naval Tata graduated from Bombay University in Economics and proceeded to London for a short course in Accountancy. On his return on June 1, 1930, he joined the Tata organisation as a despatch clerk-cum-assistant secretary on a monthly salary of Rs. 150.

He soon rose to be the Assistant Secretary of Tata Sons Ltd. In 1933, he became the Secretary to the Aviation Department and five years later, he joined as an executive in the Textiles Department. Soon he proved his merit and in 1939 he became the Joint Managing Director of the textile mills. On February 1, 1941, he became a Director of Tata Sons Ltd. He took over as the Managing Director of The Tata Oil Mills Co. Ltd. in1948. He had already become Chairman of the Tata Mills Ltd. the previous year.

Thereafter, in quick succession over the years he became Chairman of the other textile mills and the three electric companies, till he became the Deputy Chairman of Tata Sons Ltd. He was directly responsible for the management of the three Tata electric companies, the four textile mills and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust. Besides this, he guided the destinies of several companies of the Group andvarious trusts.

The fact that he occupied the topmost positions in management and had numerous honours bestowed on him during his illustrious career did not make him forget his humble beginnings. He once said: "If I have been able to do something in my long association with Tatas, it is simply because God gave me an opportunity—a rare one. And from that day, somehow or other, it became a mission in my life."

Although overburdened with work, he retained his calm good manners and politeness even with his assistants. During his extremely busy schedule in Bombay House, Naval always found time to meet people from all walks of life. Personally, he felt that his role as an administrator of several charity trusts, including those established by Tatas, was more important than that of looking after the administrative and financial problems of the various Tata companies he was in charge of for years.

He was careful of his own health, and kept himself fit. Yet, he could not fight cancer which crept on him surreptitiously. The irony is that he had served the Indian Cancer Society for over 30 years! His politeness and consideration showed with strangers too. During his trips abroad, if anyone helped him (say, with his baggage), Naval Tata thanked him warmly and took his address from him. On his return to Bombay, he would write a warm letter of thanks.

Naval's broadmindedness was manifest in numerous ways. A fully ordained Zoroastrian priest, he was unorthodox, yet laid emphasis on the spirit of the religion rather than its rituals. His moral law related to teaching human beings how to behave decently with one another, and he had a cosmopolitan outlook towards all religions.

In reading, he did not confine himself to industrial relations, but was a keen student of world affairs. He was impressed by "State of the World 1987", a report of the World Watch Institute, and many books on the International Labour Organisation (I.L.O.) and other U.N. agencies.

He was a vegetarian, but tolerated eggs and fish. He avoided meat in any form.

The activities of Naval Tata were not confined to the enterprises he was associated with. He was President of the Employers Federation of India for several years. Having been associated with the organisation for four decades, on his retirement as its President, he was made its President Emeritus.

His involvement with the I.L.O. for over three decades was very fruitful for India. As early as 1966, he had been appointed a member of the Labour Panel of the Planning Commission set up by the Union Government. He contributed to sports, and held senior offices in social, educational and welfare work. At one time, he was working with the Indian Institute of Science, the Bombay State Social Welfare Council, Swadeshi League, and the National Safety Council. He became Chairman of the Indian Cancer Society, President of the Auxiliary Forces Welfare Association and Trustee of several philanthropic trusts.

Naval Tata was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India on Republic Day, 1969. The same year he was given recognition for his role in industrial peace and awarded the Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal. He was conferred the life membership of the National Institute of Personnel Management.

He breathed his last on May 5, 1989.

J.R.D. Tata

(1904 – 1993)

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (J.R.D.) was born in Paris, France in 1904 to R.D. and Sooni Tata. He received his early education in France, Japan and India. J.R.D. began his career as an Assistant with Tata Sons Ltd. in 1922. He was made a Director of the company in 1926 on the death of his father, and in 1938 became its Chairman.

With his charismatic leadership, J.R.D. Tata has contributed to the industrial development of India for over 53 years. He passed on the Chairmanship of Tata Sons Ltd. to his younger colleague, Ratan N. Tata, on March 25, 1991 and was unanimously elected by the Board of Tata Sons Ltd. as Chairman Emeritus for life.

Till he passed away in Geneva on November 29, 1993, he was Chairman Emeritus and Director of Tata Industries Ltd., The Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. and The Tata Oil Mills Co. Ltd. He was also Chairman Emeritus of Tata Chemicals Ltd., and a Director on the Board of The Tata Iron and Steel Co. Ltd., The Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. Ltd., Tata Unisys Ltd., Tata Incorporated, New York and Tata Limited, London.

Widely recognised as the founder of civil aviation in India, J.R.D. was the first pilot to qualify in this country and held a pilot's license since March 1929. In 1932, he founded India's first national carrier, Tata Airlines, renamed Air India Ltd. in 1946. On October 15, 1932 he personally piloted the Karachi-Bombay (Mumbai) sector of its inaugural Karachi-Madras(Chennai) service. In 1948, J.R.D. founded Air India International Ltd., as a joint venture with the Government of India to undertake long-range international operations, which he headed as Executive Chairman until it was nationalised in 1953. On his recommendation, the Government of India created two air corporations, Air India and Indian Airlines, to run international and domestic operations respectively. He was appointed Chairman of Air India, a post he held till February 1978. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Indian civil aviation, J.R.D. at the age of 78 re-enacted his inaugural flight of 1932 in a 50-year old De Havilland Leopard Moth on October 15, 1982 to instil a spirit of adventure among the younger generation. His simple minded devotion to every aspect of the airline was legendary.

J.R.D. Tata was the recipient of several awards for his contribution in the field of aviation. He was made honorary Group Captain of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1948 and was elevated to the rank of honorary Air Commodore of the IAF in 1966. Several international awards for aviation were given to him - the Tony Jannus Award in March 1979, the Gold Air Medal of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in 1985, the Edward Warner Award of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, Canada in 1986 and the Daniel Guggenheim Award in 1988.

Millions regarded J.R.D. as a symbol of integrity and forth righteousness as the country's most distinguished and adventurous citizen. In 1943, J.R.D. spelt out the structure of industrial relations in Jamshedpur. He felt that companies took greater care of their machines than of their men. This resulted in the establishment of the Personnel Department of The Tata Iron and Steel Co. Ltd., which became a partnership between labour and management at various levels.

When J.R.D. took over as Chairman of Tata Sons Ltd., the Group had 14 companies, and when he completed his half a century at the helm on July 26, 1988, there were nearly 95 enterprises which Tatas had either started or had a controlling interest in. Under his stewardship the Group expanded to cover a range of companies in power, engineering, hotels, consultancy services, information technology, consumer goods, consumer durables and industrial products.

J.R.D. had over the years crusaded with causes which he believed to be in national interest, such as family planning and population control. His contribution in the sphere of population control received due recognition when he was given the U.N. Population Award in September 1992. He also firmly believed that rapid spread of literacy and education, particularly among women and children, would help in raising the standard of living of the people of India. He was Founder Chairman of the Family Planning Foundation.

His interest in science is reflected in the pivotal role he played in the establishment of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research of which he was the Chairman of the Governing Council. He was a Member of the Atomic Energy Commission since its inception, and President of the Court of the Indian Institute of Science. He was also on the Governing Council and the Executive Committee of the Rajaji Institute of Public Affairs and Administration. He was instrumental in setting up of the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) and laid its foundation on March 12, 1992, in Bangalore.

His broad concern for education is seen in the interest he took as Chairman of the J.N. Tata Endowment for the Higher Education of Indians and the Homi Bhabha Fellowships Council. He was the Chairman of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, the J.R.D. Tata Trust and the Jamsetji Tata Trust. J.R.D. was the recipient of several national and international honours and decorations. These included the Padma Vibhushan; French Legion of Honour (Commander); Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Knight Commander's Cross); Institute of Metals, London (Bessemer Medal); Dadabhai Naoroji Memorial Prize Fund (Dadabhai Naoroji Memorial Award) and Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Allahabad, Benaras, Bombay and Roorkee. J.R.D. was the recipient of the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour bestowed by the Government of India on Republic Day, 1992.