Happy Birthday to JRD — The Iconic Indian Entrepreneur

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was an Indian aviator, industrialist, entrepreneur and chairman of the Tata Group. JRD, as he was called by one and all, was born on 29th July 1904 to Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and Suzanne Brière, and was not just known as a 'Nation-Builder’ but also was a great humanitarian. To be precise, JRD was an un-anointed saint in all aspects.

Soon after the death of his father, JRD came to know about his pious obligation towards the debts of his father. His father borrowed from Tata Sons and also personally from Sir Dorab Tata (the then Chairman of Tata Sons). The Directors of Tata Sons decided to write off the debt, but Sir Dorab, who was always hard on JRD, did not agree. JRD sold his family house ‘Sunita’ (named after his mother) in the Malabar Hills, Bombay, to one of the Directors and then, the sold the French Beach house; wound up all the offices in London, Far East, and he repaid all the debts in full. JRD sold all the property and settled his father’s debts and what remained was the share in Tata Sons. Having sold his residence, he shifted to Taj Hotel with his family. The only asset JRD’s family then owned was the one-third share in Tata Sons. JRD divided the shares in Tata Sons equally among all his siblings, ignoring his father’s will according to which he inherited the majority of shares in Tata Sons. But until the end, JRD retained the permanent directorship at Tata Sons that his father left him.

A long time ago, I happened to note in my diary the famous statement of Karl Marx, the pope of communism, that ‘all relationships are economical relationships’, and I believe this statement to the core for we all fail to recognise this factor only when emotions deplete with the change in economic equations. Right from the bedroom to the boardroom, relationships depend on how well the family members and the employees are benefitted. But my understanding totally turned a different angle after scrolling through the life history of JRD, who performed a feat by confronting all odds and building the great Tata Empire without parting with ethics. JRD believed and stated that “An ethical life is part of an economic life”, which he practised till his final moments. Marx believed that the effect of capitalism on labour, productivity and economic development would give cause to a revolution and overturn capitalism in favour of communism. Marxism argued that the struggle between social classes — specifically between the capitalists and the workers — defines economic relations in a capitalist economy and will inevitably lead to revolutionary communism. JRD proved Karl Marx wrong for every decision he made in his lifetime was ethical.

In one instance, Nevill Vintcent, who was instrumental in the birth of Tata Airlines, made an oral arrangement with JRD that he would be paid one-third of the profits. Initially, the profits of Tata Airlines were Rs 60,000, but later, it soared to Rs 6 lakh in 1936, with the new schemes from the British government, and the Board felt that the original arrangement with Vintcent was to be revised. Vintcent was upset and offered to quit and, at that time, JRD convinced all his colleagues that the spirit of the Tatas was always to respect morality and that it was only ethical to continue the arrangement. Thus, Vintcent continued.

During the 2nd World War, when every steel manufacturer was making supernormal profits, TISCO following JRD’s code of ethics and supplied steel to the British government at pre-war prices and the only benefit in TISCO’s sacrifice was the setting up of a Research and Control Laboratory where experiments under pressure gave birth to Tiscrom, the high–tensile steel made from indigenous material. You may not know this, but the famous Howrah Bridge was constructed with Tiscrom. In 1943, JRD refused the knighthood offered by the British for he firmly believed that they should leave the country. JRD always felt that businessmen should not mix politics with business, but he felt that due to the need for an intelligent analysis of economics, it is necessary that the businessman should take an interest in politics to the extent of advising the politician and not participating in politics.

JRD was blamed for the slump in profits between 1960 and the 70s, and all the projects of Tatas were lagging behind, delayed due to lack of government permissions. JRD never believed in table dealings that other Industrial Houses willingly indulged in and got what they wanted. Tata’s ethical management was a great hurdle for progress, but JRD gave little attention to the murmurs behind his back. He was not willing to pay for favours from the government, which caused a setback for further progress. JRD did not agree to the socialistic pattern of governance with Nehru and was stamped many times as a capitalist, but his approach towards labour was humane and he always maintained a good and harmonious relationship with them. The Tata Workers’ Union felt that JRD’s approach towards labour was like an association that became vital for the benefit of the workers only. In 1971, when George Fernandez (as Industries Minister) had plans to nationalise the mighty TISCO, it was the Tata Workers’ Union that protested the move, which was finally called off by the then Prime Minister, Morarji Desai.

JRD always maintained the ideology and principles of Jamsetji Tata, who believed that whatever benefits they churned should be returned to society. Jamsetji believed that apart from steel and hydroelectric power, technical education coupled with research was essential for the progress of the country. In 1896, Jamsetji gave away half his fortune consisting of fourteen buildings and four land properties worth thirty lakhs (at that time) to establish a university of Science, which later became the Indian Institute of Sciences in Bangalore, with the British government contributing an equal share of what Jamsetji donated. Such charities came in abundance from Jamsetji and even from his sons.

Nehru did not support JRD’s concerns of the disasters that the population boom would cause, on the contrary, Nehru felt that it was the increase in population that made the country stronger — a theory that even the present political parties reiterate, whether Congress or BJP. But JRD funded the Family Planning Program from his Trusts and proceeded to address the problem single-handedly, even though the government did not support it. The United Nations recognised his contribution but not the home front. JRD was a pioneer in the movement for ‘Family Planning’ awareness in India and was instrumental in the formation of the Demographic Centre for Training and Research started in 1956 as a joint venture of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, the Government of India and the United Nations, which later became The International Institute of Population Studies (IIPS). JRD received the United Nations Population Award in the year 1992 for his outstanding contribution to population awareness programmes.

With a vision of the change that would occur by the introduction of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act by the next year, Tata had diversified into four consultation units in 1968 — Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Consultancy Engineers, Tata Economic Consultancy Services and Tata Financial Services. JRD continued the saga of charities and schemes of social development, keeping the ideology of the Tatas high above all business interests. During the regime of JRD, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust gave away Rs 1 crore to establish pioneering institutions like the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (1936), Tata Memorial Hospital (1941), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (1945) and National Centre for Performing Arts (1966). JRD’s support extended to Homi Bhabha (father of Indian Atomic Research) who made his dream a reality by establishing the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, which later gave way for the formation of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission in which JRD was made a member. JRD started the J.R.D.Tata Trust in 1944 for the advancement of learning and relief of human suffering. On similar lines, soon after the partition in 1948, JRD inspired the Government of India to set up the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to tackle the problems of refugees. In 1991, he started the J.R.D and Thelma Tata Trust for the benefit of disadvantaged women and children, for which he sold his flat in Sterling Apartments, Bombay, for Rs 4 crore and donated the entire proceeds to the Trust.

Coincidentally, Guru Pournima happened to fall on July 24, just a few days before the Birth Anniversary of JRD, who is undoubtedly the ‘Guru’ to every entrepreneur. The book, ‘JEH’: A Life of J.R.D Tata by Bakhtiar K. Dadabhoy caught my attention in the year 2009 and I felt sad that I was not aware of the great entrepreneur when I started my business career, but since then, I have made it a point that I should always carry at least three copies of the edition to distribute to certain entrepreneurs whom I have felt could emulate a few qualities from the great soul and implement at least a few principles of JRD in their careers. After I set up my consultancy company, Guru Business Rescue Strategies, I gifted a copy to every entrepreneur who was successfully discharged from his debts with my advice. The book, ‘JEH’, was my parting gift and last advice to such clients. One day, while at the office, my son introduced me to his friend Ram Prasad who was his colleague while in the UK. Ram Prasad wanted to resign from his then job and start his own business and he sought my advice. I said, “Being an entrepreneur is not fun, it is as tough as the odds that a BSF soldier faces at the LOC. Similar to the dare of the soldier, the entrepreneur has to face a challenge fearlessly every second without compromising on ethics.” Stating so, I gifted him my personal copy of the book and suggested that he imagine himself in the shoes of JRD and judge whether he could pass at least one odd circumstance that he had faced.

JRD was a very modest person. On October 15, 1982, when everyone showered praise for his re-enactment of the historical Karachi–Bombay flight at the age of 78, he said that he had done it as a gesture to the early pioneers and all the thousands of men and women who had built Air India. Regarding the flight at an old age, he said, “There was no storm, no fog, no mountains to cross — that was a simple flight, a matter of staying in the air.” When a BBC correspondent asked him whether he would be around for the 100th anniversary too, he replied, “Of course I’ll be there. I’ll come back. You see I believe in reincarnation.” When he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, he accepted it with characteristic modesty. He said, “All I had done was my duty, but still it is nice to be finally recognised by the Government of India.”

Happy Birthday to you Sir, whichever world you are in at present.