Tribute to the Tatas from their greatest rival.(Old article, but certainly worth a re-read)
A TRIBUTE - Thank God For The TATA’s.
By Lakshmi Mittal
As Lakshmi Mittal says ......... we have more to be proud of than what
the Infosys and Wipro's of India provide ...........
I visited Jamshedpur over the weekend to see for myself an India that
is fast disappearing despite all the wolf-cries of people like
Narayanamurthy and his ilk.
It is one thing to talk and quite another to do and I am delighted to
tell you that Ratan Tata has kept alive the legacy of perhaps India's
finest industrialist, J.N. Tata. Something that some people doubted
when Ratan took over the House of the Tata's but in hindsight, the
best thing to have happened to the Tata's is unquestionably Ratan.
I was amazed to see the extent of corporate philanthropy and this is
no exaggeration. For the breed that talks about corporate social
responsibility and talks about the role of corporate India, a visit to
Jamshedpur is a must. Go there and see the amount of money they pump
into keeping the town going; see the smiling faces of workers in a
region known for industrial unrest; see the standard of living in a
city that is almost isolated from the mess in the rest of the country.
This is not meant to be a puff piece. I have nothing to do with Tata
Steel, but I strongly believe the message of hope and the message of
goodness that they are spreading is worth sharing. The fact that you
do have companies in India which look at workers as human beings and
who do not blow their software trumpet of having changed lives.
In fact, I asked Mr. Muthuraman, the managing director, as to why he
was so quiet about all they had done and all he could offer in return
was a smile wrapped in humility, which said it all. They have done so
much more since I last visited Jamshedpur, which was in 1992. The town
has obviously got busier but the values thankfully haven't changed.
The food is still as amazing as it always was and I gorged, as I would
normally do. I visited the plant and the last time I did that was with
Rusi Mody. But the plant this time was gleaming and far from what it
used to be. Greener and cleaner and a tribute to environment
management.
You could have been in the mountains. Such was the quality of air I
inhaled! There was no belching smoke, no tired faces and so many more
women workers, even on the shop floor. This is true gender equality
and not the kind that is often espoused at seminars organised by angry
activists.
I met so many old friends. Most of them have aged but not grown old.
There was a spring in the air which came from a certain calmness which
has always been the hallmark of Jamshedpur and something I savoured
for a full two days in between receiving messages of how boring and
decrepit the lack lustre Fashion Week was.
Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata had created an edifice that is today a
robust company and it is not about profits and about valuation. It is
not about who becomes a millionaire and who doesn't'. It is about
getting the job done with dignity and respect keeping the age-old
values intact and this is what I learnt.
I jokingly asked someone as to whether they ever thought of joining an
Infosys or a Wipro and pat came the reply: "We are not interested in
becoming crorepatis but in making others crorepatis." Which is
exactly what the Tata's have done for years in and around Jamshedpur.
Very few people know that Jamshedpur has been selected as a UN Global
Compact City, edging out the other nominee from India, Bangalore.
Selected because of the quality of life, because of the conditions of
sanitation and roads and welfare. If this is not a tribute to
industrial India, then what is? Today, Indian needs several
Jamshedpurs but it also needs this Jamshedpur to be given its fair
due, its recognition. I am tired of campus visits being publicised to
the Infosys and the Wipro's of the world.
Modern India is being built in Jamshedpur as we speak. An India built
on the strength of core convictions and nothing was more apparent
about that than the experiment with truth and reality that Tata Steel
is conducting at Pipla.
Forty-eight tribal girls (yes, tribal girls who these corrupt and evil
politicians only talk about but do nothing for) are being educated
through a residential program over nine months. I went to visit them
and I spoke to them in a language that they have just learnt: Bengali.
Eight weeks ago, they could only speak in Sainthali, their local
dialect. But today, they are brimming with a confidence that will
bring tears to your eyes. It did to mine.
One of them has just been selected to represent Jharkand in the state
archery competition. They have their own women's football team and
what's more they are now fond of education. It is a passion and not a
burden.
This was possible because I guess people like Ratan Tata and
Muthuraman haven't sold their souls to some business management
drivel, which tells us that we must only do business and nothing else.
The fact that not one Tata executive has been touched by the Naxalites
in that area talks about the social respect that the Tata's have
earned.
The Tata's do not need this piece to be praised and lauded.
My intent is to share the larger picture that we so often miss in the
haze of the slime and sleaze that politics imparts. My submissions to
those who use phrases such as "feel-good" and "India Shining" must
first visit Jamshedpur to understand what it all means.
See Tata Steel in action to know what companies can do if they wish
to. And what corporate India needs to do. Murli Manohar Joshi would be
better off seeing what Tata Steel has done by creating the Xavier
Institute of Tribal Education rather than by proffering excuses for
the imbroglio in the IIMs. This is where the Advani's and Vajpayee’s
need to pay homage. Not to all the Sai Babas and the Hugging saints
that they are so busy with. India is changing in spite of them and
they need to realise that. I couldn't have spent a more humane and
wonderful weekend. Jamshedpur is an eye-opener and a role model, which
should be made mandatory for replication. I saw corporate India
actually participate in basic nation-building, for when these tribal
girls go back to their villages, they will return with knowledge that
will truly be life-altering. Corporate India can do it but most of the
time is willing to shy away. For those corporate leaders who are
happier winning awards and being interviewed on their choice of
clothes, my advice is visit Tata Steel, spend some days at Jamshedpur
and see a nation's transformation. That is true service. Tata Steel
celebrated 100 years of existence in 2007. It isn't just a milestone
in this company's history. It will be a milestone, to my mind of
corporate transparency and generosity in this country. It is indeed
fitting that Ratan Tata today heads a group that has people who are
committed to nation building than just building influence and power.
JRD must be smiling wherever he is. And so must Jamshedji Nusserwanji.
These people today have literally climbed every last blue mountain.
And continue to do so with vigour and passion.
Thank God For The Tatas!
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