Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata. Hardly anybody would remember his full name: he was just JRD or Jeh for everyone. During my Mumbai days whenever I got a chance to visit Bombay House, the head office of Tatas, could see a simple smiling gentleman without any tantrums and that was JRD. Soft spoken head of the Tata Group would even respond to a commoner waving hands with smile or shaking hands while traveling in a car and no battery of bodyguards would come forward to stop any! It is said of JRD that he spoke French better than English and both better than any Indian language. That did not preclude him from forging a special bond with Indians of all ages and backgrounds. He touched the lives of countless others, rich and poor, manager and worker, as he became the embodiment of the principles and philosophy of the House of Tata.
On 29 July 1904, Tata was born into one of India’s wealthiest families, in Paris, France. He was born to RD Tata, a business partner and relative of Jamsetji Tata, and his French wife Sooni. JRD, the second of four children, was educated in France, Japan and England before being drafted into the French army for a mandatory one-year period. JRD wanted to extend his stint in the forces (to avail of a chance to attend a renowned horse-riding school), but his father would have none of it. Leaving the French army saved JRD his life, because shortly thereafter the regiment he served in was wiped out while on an expedition in Morocco.
JRD then set his mind on securing an engineering degree from Cambridge, but RD Tata summoned his son back to India (JRD would forever regret not being able to attend university). He soon found himself on the threshold of a business career in a country he was far from familiar with. This was a young man aware of his obligations to the family he belonged to. In a letter to his father on his 21st birthday in 1925, JRD wrote, "One more year has fallen on my shoulders. I have been looking back and also deep inside myself with the merciless eye of conscience, and have been trying to find out whether during this last year I have gained in experience or wisdom. I haven't found out much yet!"
JRD Tata started as an unpaid apprentice at the Tata Group, but rose to become the youngest Chairman the Group had seen. JRD entered the Tatas as an unpaid apprentice in December 1925. His mentor in business was John Peterson, a Scotsman who had joined the Group after serving in the Indian Civil Service. At 22, soon after his father passed away, JRD was on the board of Tata Sons, the Group's flagship company. In 1929, aged 25, he surrendered his French citizenship to embrace the country that would become the central motif of his life.
The first of JRD's big adventures in business was born of his childhood fascination for flying. He had grown up in France watching the famous aviator Louis Bleriot's early flights, and had taken a joyride in an airplane as a 15-year-old. In 1929, JRD became one of the first Indians to be granted a commercial pilot's licence. A year later, a proposal landed at the Tata headquarters to start an airmail service that would connect Bombay, Ahmedabad and Karachi. JRD needed no prompting, but it would take Peterson to convince Dorabji Tata, then Chairman of the Tatas, to let the young ace have his way. In 1932, JRD Tata piloted the first flight in Indian aviation history, from Karachi to Mumbai.
Under his tenure, the Tata Group’s assets “climbed from Rs. 620 million in 1939 to over Rs. 1,00,000 million in 1990.” The Tata Group started from 14 companies, but over the course of his leadership, the group turned into a “conglomerate of 95 enterprises valued in billions of dollars”: chemicals, automobiles, tea, information technology and more. JRD believed good human relations are not built on paternalist principles. He believed that workers must have the right to speak to their managers as equals when matters of principle or fundamental rights are involved. Because, if they do not have channels to do this peacefully, they may have to resort to strikes to make themselves heard.
JRD Tata was bestowed with India's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna in 1992. Despite his very public persona, JRD was a shy and reticent man. He never hankered after honours but was showered with them, to much bemusement on his part. On being told that the Indian government was thinking about giving him the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, he is reported to have said: "Why me? I don't deserve it. The Bharat Ratna is usually given to people who are dead or it is given to politicians. I am not prepared to oblige the government on the former and I am not the latter." Earlier, controversially, he had supported PM Indira Gandhi’s Emergency (1975-77) and opined “the Parliamentary system is not suited to our needs”. He died in Geneva on 29 November 1993.
JRD Tata has lived an inspiring life and took on many challenges; he helped increase the valuation of Tata Group but is still remembered as a humble man by many. On one such occasion, famous yesteryear movie star Dilip Kumar had recounted his sudden meeting with JRD Tata on a flight. Kumar, who was on the peak of his career at the time, had an encounter with Tata while he was travelling on a flight. “At the peak of my career, I was once travelling by aeroplane. The passenger next to me was an elderly man dressed in a simple shirt and pant. He appeared middle class but seemed well-educated. Other passengers kept glancing at me, but this gentleman appeared to be unconcerned of me. He was reading his newspaper, looking out of the window and when tea came, he sipped quietly,” Kumar was quoted saying.
Kumar told that he tried to strike a conversation with the elderly man (JRD Tata), and smiled. His smile was reciprocated by Tata who said “hello”. Once they started talking on the flight, Kumar asked JRD Tata if he watched films. However, to his disappointment, JRD Tata replied: “Oh! Very few...I did see one many years ago.” On mentioning that he worked in films, Tata asked Kumar what he exactly did. Kumar responded by saying that he was an actor. On hearing this, Tata said, “Oh! That’s wonderful.” When the flight landed, Kumar shook JRD Tata’s hand and told him his full name. Tata responded calmly and said, “Thank you, my name is JRD Tata.” The event finds mention in the biography of Dilip Kumar. Recalling the encounter, Kumar said: “No matter how big you are, there is someone bigger. Be humble, it costs nothing.”
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A progressive, benevolent, ethical and compassionate J.R.D. Tata
