JRD Tata: Building a self-reliant, self-made India 

Our nation continues to reap the benefits of JRD’s ambition for excellence 

June 29, 2022 is JRD Tata’s 118^th birth anniversary

It is a measure of the man and the life he lived that long before his demise, Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata came to represent an exalted idea of Indianness: progressive, benevolent, ethical and compassionate. It did not really matter that the country itself failed this utopian test. JRD, as he was known to commoner and king, had by then transcended the frailties of his milieu. 

As an adolescent, JRD loved France and flying more than anything else. By the time he stepped into the autumn of his existence, he had devoted some 50 years to heading and defining a unique business conglomerate, and just as long to championing the interests of India and her myriad people. The evolution, from a thoughtful if self-indulgent young man to a pan-Indian icon revered even by those who knew little about business, contains the essence of the JRD story. 

Being one of the last of the great patriarchs of Indian industry contributed, no doubt, to the moulding of his legend, but to call JRD an industrialist is akin to saying Mahatma Gandhi was a freedom fighter. He considered his leadership of the Tata group and his dedication to the cause of India as complementary, and he brought to the two undertakings a rare dignity and sense of purpose. 

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. Kalpana Chawla, the Indian-born astronaut who perished in the Columbia space shuttle disaster, cited JRD and his pioneering airmail flights as her inspiration for taking up aeronautics. 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. 

 Taking excellence to the skies and beyond 

JRD Tata was the founder of Tata Airlines, which went on to become Air India. Way back in the 1940s and 1950s, this airline was the first Indian global entity, proudly taking the Indian flag to international skies. In 1948, Air India inaugurated its first international service, from Mumbai to London, a proud moment for the country. 

JRD was determined to make Air India the best airline in the world, notwithstanding the fierce competition from a host of other global airlines. For him, this was essential, because Air India was not just an airline, but a proud carrier of India’s image across the world. During the inaugural international flight, on which he also flew, he watched carefully for the reactions of passengers, and was greatly relieved when everything went very well, including landing in London right on time. He said: “It was for me a great and stirring event…. seeing the Indian flag displayed on both sides of the Malabar Princess (the name of the aircraft) as she stood proudly on the apron at the airports of Cairo, Geneva and London filled me with joy and emotion.” 

Air India soon become legendary for its punctuality. Legend has it that people in Geneva, in those years, could set their watches to the time at which the Air India flight flew over the city. In those initial days, JRD would fly one of the aircraft himself once every fifteen days. During these flights, he would insist on such high standards of accuracy that other pilots tried to dodge flying with him.  

Because of such meticulous attention to detail and excellence, Air India topped the list of airlines in the world in 1968 as per a survey done by the Daily Mail, London. I have also heard that when Singapore wanted to launch an airline (now it is famous as Singapore Airlines), Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew advised his team to study the high standards that had been set by Air India. 

A Youth dedicated to his family, and country 

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. 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 21^st 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 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. 

 A Trailblazer with host of talents 

The decade following JRD’s appointment as Chairman in 1938, was one of the most creative for the Tata group. On January 1, 1939, Tata Chemicals was launched. In 1945, TELCO was born and in 1948, Air India International spread its wings abroad. 

When JRD took over as Chairman, the entire group consisted of 14 companies though most of them were formidable companies even at the start. In spite of all the restrictions placed by the government on the expansion of big firms, when he laid down office 52 years later, there were 95 companies and turnover had risen from Rs 17 crore to an estimated Rs 10,000 crore.  

Everyone knows JRD Tata as the man who led the Tata group for 50 years, ably envisioning and guiding its growth. We know him as the Father of Indian Aviation, and the man who established philanthropic and educational institutes of national importance during his tenure as Chairman of the Tata group.  

But few know that JRD led a rich life outside of his professional and philanthropic endeavours as well. A passionate and prolific letter writer since he was a young man, a tinkerer who loved building things with his hands, a fitness and sports enthusiast who pushed his limits — JRD was all this and more. Here we take a look at some of his interests and talents. 

Tireless pursuit to empower our nation 

JRD was a visionary leader who oversaw the dramatic expansion of the Tata group and the industrialisation of India. He aimed to build a self-reliant, self-sufficient, self-enabled, and self-made India, something he achieved during his mammoth career at the helm of the Tata Group. 

He ventured into sectors such as aviation, chemicals, technology, engineering and manufacturing, cosmetics, beverages and software services that gave India the prowess to add value at scale and build the India he envisioned.  

JRD’s contributions to the development of India go far beyond establishing and nurturing the country’s aviation industry or guiding India’s leading business conglomerate for 50 years. In fact, it was clear that his destiny and India’s would be intertwined, as early as 1926.

Expanding an empire despite challenges 

When JRD was elevated to the top post in the Tata group in 1938, taking over as Chairman from Sir Nowroji Saklatvala, he was the youngest member of the Tata Sons board. Over the next 50-odd years of his stewardship the group expanded into chemicals, automobiles, tea and information technology. Breaking with the Indian business practice of having members of one’s own family run different operations, JRD pushed to bring in professionals. He turned the Tata group into a business federation where entrepreneurial talent and expertise were encouraged to flower.  

In later years, this system began to fray at its edges. Detractors contend that it degenerated, as satraps and fiefdoms emerged to challenge the core structure of the Tatas. If it can be held against JRD that he failed to comprehend the dangers of handing away too much control in the operation of individual Tata companies, it must also be acknowledged that he took the lead in consolidating the group when matters came to a head. JRD was brave enough to run the gauntlet and he was man enough to face the fusillade that came in its wake.