Remembering Ratan, the noble businessman

He leaves behind a legacy of humility, innovation, and social responsibility.

Ratan Tata at a function in Mumbai in October 2019. | Photo Credit: ROY CHOWDHURY A

At a retreat atop the Barog hills in Himachal Pradesh, watching the sun set and embracing a long evening of melancholic reflections, I search for words to offer my homage to Ratan Tata, the legend. How does one write about a man forever reticent to speak about himself? Only those who followed his ways, understood his gestures, and could sense his inner yearnings would know that his was a life of high purpose, anchored in selflessness, compassion and unfailing humility.

Born to wealth, power and fame, he carried his enviable heritage with the lightness of a hermit. Rejecting pomp and pageantry that could have been the natural accoutrements of his high station, Ratan Tata chose simplicity, understatement, dignity, and decency as his life’s leitmotif. The entrepreneur in him sought answers for a just social order in the recognition of merit, free enterprise, and dignity of labour. With a rare courage to speak truth to power and to fight for what is right, Ratan, as I addressed him only when alone, acquired a towering moral leadership in an environment of deal-making and ethical compromises for quick gains. It was clearly his unwavering moral compass that distinguished him from his peers. He became a role model for those aspiring to make a difference.

My association with Ratan Tata began in the late 1980s when, as a young lawyer, I was tasked by an international association of licensing executives and lawyers to establish its India chapter, for which the support of business leaders was considered essential. With some effort, I was able to meet Ratan, who was then a Director in Tata companies with offices in Bombay House, the corporate headquarters of the Tata Group. After initial introductions, I could sense Ratan’s keen interest in the subject, which was essentially about legal issues involved in the licensing and transfer of technology and transfer pricing by the multinationals.

This was also the time when global conversations about the establishment of a third-world-led new international economic order had gained traction. The facilitation of technology transfer to developing countries was at the centre of these conversations. Ratan’s deep knowledge of the pivotal role of technology in the transformation of businesses was evident even then, and that is what explains the turnaround of several Tata Group companies over the years under his leadership. That a nobody like me could have his attention in an atmosphere of easy informality speaks for itself.

Time passed and as life unfolded, I lost contact with Ratan until several years later when I was elected to the Rajya Sabha and had occasions to meet him. But the foundation of our relationship had been laid in the initial meeting when first impressions were formed. He knew that I belonged to a family of freedom fighters and that we had shared values. This was reflected in his unfailing courtesies and gestures over the years towards someone from whom he had nothing to gain. It is impossible to imagine his non-assuming persona without experiencing it first-hand. On two occasions, first, when I went to see him at his new office in 2022 after he had retired as Chairman of the Group, and later at his residence in 2024 to present copies of my latest publications, not only did he find time for a relaxed conversation, he insisted on seeing me out himself after our meetings, and on the last occasion when I saw him at his Colaba residence in Mumbai only a few weeks ago, he waited at his door till my car had moved and was out of sight. Despite my repeated requests not to take the trouble in view of his frail health, he insisted on personally walking me to the door. Little did it matter to him that I was no longer a Union Minister and there were no protocols to be observed. Personal courtesies were sacrosanct for him.

In 2006, I was inducted in the Union Cabinet as Minister of State for Industry. Ratan Tata wanted to make a courtesy call. Despite my suggestion of meeting him at my residence for his convenience, he insisted on meeting me at my office in Udyog Bhawan simply because he was seeing me in my official capacity. On another occasion in Mumbai, he invited me to tea at Chambers in the Taj Hotel instead of at his office, in deference to my then position as a Union Minister even though it was I who had asked to see him for his insights that could give a boost to manufacturing in Punjab.

His willingness to fight for a principle led him to take on Mamata Banerjee in Singur nor did he flinch from moving the Supreme Court to protect his privacy and to vindicate a constitutional fundamental in the Niira Radia case. When asked by me on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi in honour of their Imperial Majesties of Japan, as to whether he felt let down by Cyrus Mistry, he chose silence in a characteristic show of restraint and on account of his instinctive preference not to say anything negative about persons. Despite suffering losses, not once did he succumb to the temptation of compromising his ethical standards for business gains.

Ratan was all of the above and much more, which explains the send-off befitting a Head of State that he has received. The anecdotal recall above is but a peep into his innate humanity that defined his qualitative distinction. History’s judgment on Ratan Tata’s life will doubtless validate the noted historian [Thomas] Carlyle’s theory that the history of human civilisation is the sum total of the contribution of the great men and women of our times. His place in history’s hall of fame is assured.

Farewell my friend! May the gods receive you in their abode reserved for the special few and may your last journey be shaded by the blessings of the countless whose lives were touched by your benevolence.

Ashwani Kumar is former Union Minister for Law and Justice, and Senior Advocate, Supreme Court. The views expressed here are personal.