Fascinating video interview of JRD Tata by Doordarshan in the 1980s
IN CONVERSATION - J. R. D. TATA, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68otfg601HI, around 45 mins
The interviewer is Rajiv Mehrotra and the interview is a Doordarshan (govt. owned TV channel) produced one. I could not spot a date for the interview. As JRD Tata refers to Rajiv Gandhi as PM in the interview, this would be between 1984 and 1989, which were the years when Rajiv Gandhi was PM
I found this to be a very interesting interview. I think this is the first time I am seeing a video interview of JRD Tata.
JRD Tata was a legend in Bombay/Mumbai during my childhood and youth of 70s and 80s. And my mother's brother Mr. R.L. Narasimhan, who worked as a Cost Accountant for Tata Mills in Bombay, would tell me and my cousins and others, stories about JRD Tata showing how he was a good person as well as an efficient and ethical business leader.
So during my childhood and youth, JRD Tata was surely the Indian business leader that I admired the most. But I have never seen him in real life and as I mentioned earlier I think this is the first video interview I am seeing of him.
In the video interview, JRD Tata touches upon his views on free enterprise (which he naturally is for) and socialism as practised by post Independent India till 1991 (which he is not supportive of). He also shares a little about his interactions and views about Jawaharlal Nehru, Jayaprakash Narayan, Vallabhbhai Patel, Indira Gandhi and a little about his short interactions with Mahatma Gandhi.
And, he comes across a nice and good man. For non-Indian readers especially, I think I should mention here that JRD Tata was a Parsi (Zoroastrian) by religion.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsis, "Parsis (/ˈpɑːrsiː/) or Parsees ("Persian" in the Persian language) are a Zoroastrian community who migrated to India (mainly; including present day Pakistan) from Persia during the Arab invasion of 636–651 AD; one of two such groups (the other being Iranis)." Mumbai has a lot of Parsis and I have been fortunate to have the friendship of some Parsis.
More about JRD Tata from wikipedia
Some extracts from his wiki page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._D._Tata
Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (29 July 1904 – 29 November 1993) was a French-born Indian aviator, entrepreneur, chairman of Tata Group and the shareholder of Tata Sons.
Born into the Tata family of India, he was the son of noted businessman Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and his wife Suzanne Brière. His mother was the first woman in India to drive a car and, in 1929, he became the first licensed pilot in India. He is also best known for being the founder of several industries under the Tata Group, including Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Titan Industries, Tata Salt, Voltas and Air India. In 1983, he was awarded the French Legion of Honour and in 1955 and 1992, he received two of India's highest civilian awards the Padma Vibhushan and the Bharat Ratna. These honors were bestowed on him for his contributions to Indian industry. [2]
[Ref: 2 A report in Vohuman.org Amalsad, Meher Dadabhoy. "Vohuman". Retrieved 11 April 2007.]
--- end wiki extracts ---
The contents below are based mainly on the above wiki page of JRD Tata.
JRD Tata's mother Suzanne Briere was French, and JRD was born in France in 1904 and did his early schooling there (and so he would have been fluent in French). He later studied in Bombay and in UK.
JRD was initially a French citizen. He renounced it in 1929 to become an Indian citizen.
JRD was a keen aviator. In 1929, JRD became the first person in India to be issued a pilot licence. JRD founded India's first commercial airlines, Tata Airlines, in 1932. Later that became Air India and is now India's national airline.
He joined Tata Sons as an apprentice in 1925. In 1938, at the age of 34, he was made chairman of Tata Sons, thereby becoming the head of the largest industrial group in India.
From the wiki: "For decades, he directed the huge Tata Group of companies, with major interests in steel, engineering, power, chemicals and hospitality. He was famous for succeeding in business while maintaining high ethical standards – refusing to bribe politicians or use the black market.
Under his chairmanship, the assets of the Tata Group grew from US$100 million to over US$5 billion. He started with 14 enterprises under his leadership and half a century later on 26 July 1988, when he left, Tata Sons was a conglomerate of 95 enterprises which they either started or in which they had controlling interest.
He was the trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust from its inception in 1932 for over half a century. Under his guidance, this Trust established Asia's first cancer hospital, the Tata Memorial Centre for Cancer, Research and Treatment, in Bombay in 1941. He also founded the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS, 1936), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR, 1945), and the National Center for Performing Arts."
Ravi: I think JRD Tata and the flourishing Tata companies under his helm, over a period of 5 decades (1938 to 1988), gave Indians and Bombayites/Mumbaikars in particular, including me during my childhood and youth (1970s & 1980s), the confidence that it is possible to earn one's livelihood by doing an honest job in an honest company or even start an honest enterprise/company oneself ***in Bombay and in at least some other parts of India***. JRD Tata and the companies under his command, were the living proof that it was possible to do that. That I think has been one of the great contributions of JRD Tata and the staff and workers of all his companies in Bombay and other parts of India. They have been flag-bearers of honest free enterprise economic success in Independent India in the 20th century.
I think it is also appropriate for me to mention that I admired the Tata software companies in Bombay/Mumbai. I had applied for a job in both Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), having my interview in its Air India building HQ in Bombay, and Tata Burroughs Limited/Tata Unisys Limited (TBL/TUL) in the late 1980s, after about 3 years experience in software field which included foreign assignment(s). In TCS I was offered a job, but my company Datamatics was paying me a higher salary then, due to which I did not take up the offer. In TBL/TUL, I was told orally that they cannot match my current salary (in Datamatics). So while I would very much have loved to have done some work in a Tata company, so far at least I have not done that. And now I am commercially retired. But who knows what the future holds!
I should also mention that a close relative of mine was admitted to Tata Memorial Centre (Cancer hospital) in Mumbai, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Memorial_Centre, in early 1990s, and that I spent some days there while she was admitted, had surgery and recuperated. I have vivid memories of the time I spent in the hospital there. The close relative is doing well now, around a quarter century later, and I take this opportunity to thank Tata Memorial Cancer hospital of Mumbai trustees and staff for the surgery and treatment my close relative received there at that time.
[I thank wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extracts from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
The interviewer is Rajiv Mehrotra and the interview is a Doordarshan (govt. owned TV channel) produced one. I could not spot a date for the interview. As JRD Tata refers to Rajiv Gandhi as PM in the interview, this would be between 1984 and 1989, which were the years when Rajiv Gandhi was PM
I found this to be a very interesting interview. I think this is the first time I am seeing a video interview of JRD Tata.
JRD Tata was a legend in Bombay/Mumbai during my childhood and youth of 70s and 80s. And my mother's brother Mr. R.L. Narasimhan, who worked as a Cost Accountant for Tata Mills in Bombay, would tell me and my cousins and others, stories about JRD Tata showing how he was a good person as well as an efficient and ethical business leader.
So during my childhood and youth, JRD Tata was surely the Indian business leader that I admired the most. But I have never seen him in real life and as I mentioned earlier I think this is the first video interview I am seeing of him.
In the video interview, JRD Tata touches upon his views on free enterprise (which he naturally is for) and socialism as practised by post Independent India till 1991 (which he is not supportive of). He also shares a little about his interactions and views about Jawaharlal Nehru, Jayaprakash Narayan, Vallabhbhai Patel, Indira Gandhi and a little about his short interactions with Mahatma Gandhi.
And, he comes across a nice and good man. For non-Indian readers especially, I think I should mention here that JRD Tata was a Parsi (Zoroastrian) by religion.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsis, "Parsis (/ˈpɑːrsiː/) or Parsees ("Persian" in the Persian language) are a Zoroastrian community who migrated to India (mainly; including present day Pakistan) from Persia during the Arab invasion of 636–651 AD; one of two such groups (the other being Iranis)." Mumbai has a lot of Parsis and I have been fortunate to have the friendship of some Parsis.
More about JRD Tata from wikipedia
Some extracts from his wiki page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._D._Tata
Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (29 July 1904 – 29 November 1993) was a French-born Indian aviator, entrepreneur, chairman of Tata Group and the shareholder of Tata Sons.
Born into the Tata family of India, he was the son of noted businessman Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and his wife Suzanne Brière. His mother was the first woman in India to drive a car and, in 1929, he became the first licensed pilot in India. He is also best known for being the founder of several industries under the Tata Group, including Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Titan Industries, Tata Salt, Voltas and Air India. In 1983, he was awarded the French Legion of Honour and in 1955 and 1992, he received two of India's highest civilian awards the Padma Vibhushan and the Bharat Ratna. These honors were bestowed on him for his contributions to Indian industry. [2]
[Ref: 2 A report in Vohuman.org Amalsad, Meher Dadabhoy. "Vohuman". Retrieved 11 April 2007.]
--- end wiki extracts ---
The contents below are based mainly on the above wiki page of JRD Tata.
JRD Tata's mother Suzanne Briere was French, and JRD was born in France in 1904 and did his early schooling there (and so he would have been fluent in French). He later studied in Bombay and in UK.
JRD was initially a French citizen. He renounced it in 1929 to become an Indian citizen.
JRD was a keen aviator. In 1929, JRD became the first person in India to be issued a pilot licence. JRD founded India's first commercial airlines, Tata Airlines, in 1932. Later that became Air India and is now India's national airline.
He joined Tata Sons as an apprentice in 1925. In 1938, at the age of 34, he was made chairman of Tata Sons, thereby becoming the head of the largest industrial group in India.
From the wiki: "For decades, he directed the huge Tata Group of companies, with major interests in steel, engineering, power, chemicals and hospitality. He was famous for succeeding in business while maintaining high ethical standards – refusing to bribe politicians or use the black market.
Under his chairmanship, the assets of the Tata Group grew from US$100 million to over US$5 billion. He started with 14 enterprises under his leadership and half a century later on 26 July 1988, when he left, Tata Sons was a conglomerate of 95 enterprises which they either started or in which they had controlling interest.
He was the trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust from its inception in 1932 for over half a century. Under his guidance, this Trust established Asia's first cancer hospital, the Tata Memorial Centre for Cancer, Research and Treatment, in Bombay in 1941. He also founded the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS, 1936), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR, 1945), and the National Center for Performing Arts."
Ravi: I think JRD Tata and the flourishing Tata companies under his helm, over a period of 5 decades (1938 to 1988), gave Indians and Bombayites/Mumbaikars in particular, including me during my childhood and youth (1970s & 1980s), the confidence that it is possible to earn one's livelihood by doing an honest job in an honest company or even start an honest enterprise/company oneself ***in Bombay and in at least some other parts of India***. JRD Tata and the companies under his command, were the living proof that it was possible to do that. That I think has been one of the great contributions of JRD Tata and the staff and workers of all his companies in Bombay and other parts of India. They have been flag-bearers of honest free enterprise economic success in Independent India in the 20th century.
I think it is also appropriate for me to mention that I admired the Tata software companies in Bombay/Mumbai. I had applied for a job in both Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), having my interview in its Air India building HQ in Bombay, and Tata Burroughs Limited/Tata Unisys Limited (TBL/TUL) in the late 1980s, after about 3 years experience in software field which included foreign assignment(s). In TCS I was offered a job, but my company Datamatics was paying me a higher salary then, due to which I did not take up the offer. In TBL/TUL, I was told orally that they cannot match my current salary (in Datamatics). So while I would very much have loved to have done some work in a Tata company, so far at least I have not done that. And now I am commercially retired. But who knows what the future holds!
I should also mention that a close relative of mine was admitted to Tata Memorial Centre (Cancer hospital) in Mumbai, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Memorial_Centre, in early 1990s, and that I spent some days there while she was admitted, had surgery and recuperated. I have vivid memories of the time I spent in the hospital there. The close relative is doing well now, around a quarter century later, and I take this opportunity to thank Tata Memorial Cancer hospital of Mumbai trustees and staff for the surgery and treatment my close relative received there at that time.
[I thank wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extracts from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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