March 3: not a very significant date for the rest of the country but one of the most festive days of the year for Jamshedpur. The city celebrates Founder’s Day on this day to mark the birth anniversary of Jamsetji Tata, who gave Jamshedpur its steel plant, name and identity.
March 3 was a ‘family allowed’ day at the plant. Like thousands of her colleagues, Maa would wake me up early, get me ready and off we would go past the massive gates of the Tata Steel plant. There would be cultural programmes, tableux, shows and cakes. It was here that I first saw Ratan Tata. Every year, after the events of the day were over, Mr Tata would head to the stands where the employees and their families sat. Dressed in a shirt and trousers — with the sleeves always buttoned near the wrists — he would shake hands with the staff and particularly, their children.
Ratan Tata (right) was sent to Jamshedpur soon after his return from the US in the 1960s
These were not the families of top Tata executives, these were ordinary employees who toiled in the steel plant’s blast furnace, coke plants and scores of other facilities. Mr Tata’s gesture meant the world to them. It made them feel valued and connected to the company. The children, on the other hand, were clueless about the stature of the man they were shaking hands with. They would jump in glee as Mr Tata handed them chocolates. After spending quite some time at the stands, he would wave goodbye and move on.
About three decades have passed since, I have changed three cities and the Tata employees’ line in the family has been broken after I chose a different path. Why then, does the midnight news of Mr Tata’s passing feel like a deeply personal loss?
The answer probably lies in the fact that for Jamshedpur, Ratan Tata, or any Tata before, was not a boss or a chairman. They were guardians, not just of their jobs but of their city. At many homes, Jamsteji Tata’s photos found a place alongside gods and goddesses. Even now, many people can be seen bowing their heads while passing the many busts of Jamsetji Tata on the city’s roads. For residents of Jamshedpur, the name ‘Tata’ does not mean a company they worked in, it is a word that has given them an identity, an identity they are extremely proud of.
Ratan Tata took over the reins of Tata Group from JRD Tata
When Ratan Tata took over the reins of the group, succeeding the great JRD Tata, it was this legacy that he inherited. The world was changing though, liberalisation was altering the Indian economy and the Indian employee’s relationship with his employer was headed for a massive transformation. But even as these changes happened, Mr Tata held on to a grace befitting the legacy he had inherited. The Tata Group made huge strides in this era, with a massive jump in revenue, key acquisitions such as Corus and an expansion of Tata Motors that made it a key player in the country’s automobile market. But Mr Tata never let go of the legacy he represented and never neglected the expectations of the thousands of employees from a ‘Tata’. And when my 70-year-old mother, long retired from Tata Steel, sheds tears at the news of his death, one knows he did it right.
Ratan Tata last visited Jamshedpur in 2021 to participate in Founder’s Day celebrations
But Mr Tata did not get Jamshedpur’s respect on a platter. Days after his return from the US on his grandmother’s insistence, Mr Tata was sent to Jamshedpur. “I was happily employed there. My grandmother talked me into returning. I was quite close to her. I came back for her,” he told Simi Garewal in an interview. On his first tryst with the steel city, he recalled, “It seemed like everyone was concerned that I should not be treated differently. I was told to stay in an apprentice hostel, I worked on the shop floor. It was terrible at that time but if I look back on it, it has been a worthwhile experience because I have spent years hand in hand with workers. They remembered the goofy young guy walking the shop floor.”
In the same 1997 interview, Mr Tata was asked what his plans for Tata Group were. “We would like to be a group that has revenues of over 100,000 crores by the turn of the century. More importantly, we have to be conscious of the community in which we live,” he replied. It is this balance between reforms and holding on to tradition that defined his tenure. And Jamshedpur mirrored this change. New roads came up, the steel plant expanded, but the green spots did not disappear and the city retained its neat look.
My father died working in the Tata Steel plant and my mother followed him into the job, like several widows who lost their husbands in tragic accidents in the steel manufacturing facility. The Tatas provided employees with accommodation, healthcare and several other perks. This helped employees set aside money for their children’s education, enabling our generation to chase our dreams. Mr Tata may not have made it to the top of any ‘most richest’ list, but he goes in peace, knowing his company’s policies helped many families climb the social ladder.
Ratan Tata during his last visit to the Steel City in 2021
Among the difficult decisions taken during Mr Tata’s tenure was the right-sizing of Tata Steel’s workforce to cut costs. In the early 2000s, Tata Steel introduced the Early Separation Scheme in which employees who quit will get a monthly pension equal to 1.2 or 1.5 times their salaries. While cutting costs was necessary, Tata Steel still chose an employee-friendly option instead of opting for the ruthless option of mass layoffs. And Mr Tata stuck to this as the solution.
During the interview with Simi Garewal, Mr Tata also said there were times he felt lonely at not having a wife and a family. “Sometimes I long for it, sometimes I enjoy the freedom of not having to worry about the feelings of someone else,” he said. Asked why he did not marry, Mr Tata had replied, “A whole series of things, timing, my absorption in work. I came very close to getting married a few times, it didn’t work out.” He may not have left a family behind, but a city and a nation mourn him today.
During his visits to Jamshedpur, Ratan Tata would take part in various events of Tata Trusts
In the years after I left Jamshedpur, I came to know more about the different facets of Ratan Tata’s personality: the business tycoon, the philanthropist and the dog lover. But the one I love the most is still the Ratan Tata who would walk to the employees’ kids in the stands and wish them on Founder’s Day. Those children got a lovely city to grow up in and the financial stability to pursue their dream careers, thanks to the heart the Tata Group put into its business. Mr Tata, as you walk away one last time, be sure that when you turn to wave, this Tata kid and millions like him will be waving back. Thank you, Sir.
(Saikat Kumar Bose is Deputy News Editor at NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.
