THE ILLUSTROUS TATA FAMILY.

 

JAMSHEDJI NUSSERWANJI TATA was born in 1839 into a Parsi family of poor Zoroastrian priests. 

His father NUSSERWANJI TATA fled from Persia to India on account of persecution. He became the first businessman in his family when he established an Export trading firm in Mumbai in 1868. 

Jamshedji Tata showed exceptional abilities in mental arithmetic and graduated from Elphinstone College Mumbai. 

Jamshedji worked in his father's company till he was 29 years old. Then he established the Tata group and later Tata Steel in 1911 and also established the city of Jamshedpur. 

By 1939 TISCO had the largest steel plant in the British Empire. He then moved into textiles and other areas. 

Jamshedji was named number 1 in the list of Philanthropists of the 20^th century published by EdelGive Hurun Philathropists of the century. The report projects the current value of his donation, mainly to education and healthcare to be 102.4 billion USD after adjusting to inflation and USD Rupee value. 

His sons DORABJI TATA and RATANJI TATA succeeded him when he stepped down. JRD TATA is the son of RATANJI TATA. So JRD is Jamshedji’s grandson.    

RATAN TATA does not come from the direct TATA family. He went into that family by a chance adoption. 

Ratan Tata despite not being from the original Tata family, has inculcated that family's culture and charity on account of his upbringing by the JRD family and did the family proud. 

The father of Ratan Tata was NAVAL TATA who was the son of JEHANGIR RATANBHAI  DADABHOY TATA’s (JRD Tata) WIFE’s niece. Despite the same surname no known relationship existed between Naval Tata’s family and JRD’s family other than the one through JRD’s wife. 

Naval was born to the parents of a middle-class family. When his father HORMUSJI TATA who was a spinning master in one of Ahmedabad's textile mills died his mother did not have enough financial means to raise him and his brother and sent both of them to a Parsi orphanage. JRD had no sons and JRD's wife adopted Naval Tata from the orphanage. 

His adopted father JRD Tata was born to Businessman RATANJI DADABHOY TATA (son of JAMSHEDJI TATA) and his French wife Suzanne Briere in the year 1904. JRD spent most of his childhood in France and French was his first language. 

JRD founded several industries of the Tata group like TCS, Tata Motors, Titan Industries, Tata Salt, Voltas and of course Air India. 

JRD was awarded the Bharat Ratna as well as the French Legion of Honour which is the highest French award that is given for the highest merit in both military and civil combined, unlike the Bharat Ratna which is merely the highest Civilian award. 

Only after his wife's (JRD's mother)death at the young age of 43, his father Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata moved his family to India. For some time JRD also worked in the French army. Then his father brought him back and he joined the Tata and Company. Only in 1929 JRD relinquished his French citizenship and become an Indian citizen. 

Although his mother converted to a Parsi, JRD was agnostic and he found some Parsi customs not to his liking.  But he did adhere to the three basic tenets of Zoroastrianism; good thoughts, good words and good deeds despite not professing faith or unfaith in God. 

He founded India's first commercial airline Tata Airlines in 1932 which later became Air India International in 1948 and had its first international flight. 

The first flight of Indian aviation was from Karachi to Madras and JRD himself flew it. When Nehru nationalised the Airline in 1953 JRD fought back with all his might. 

JRD did not inherit Tata Sons just like that. He joined Tata Sons as an unpaid apprentice in 1925. Only in 1938 at the age of 34 he was elected as the Chairman of Tata Sons which was then the largest industrial group in India. Stunningly he succeeded in business by maintaining high ethical standards and refused to bribe politicians or use the black market. 

When he took over Tata Group had assets worth 100 million USD with 14 companies. Under him, the assets grew to USD 5 billion with 95 enterprises. He achieved that in 50 years’ time till he left in 1988.