Remembering Shashi Ruia

A silent philanthropist, SHASHI RUIA was also a member of 'The Elders', a group of such luminaries and humanitarians as Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan and Jimmy Carter and worked alongside them to address the world's most pressing problems

- BW Online Bureau

ON 25 NOVEMBER, 2024, India lost a visionary and a stalwart of the business world with the passing of Shashi Ruia. A pioneering entrepreneur, he played an instrumental role in shaping the nation's industrial landscape, leaving an indelible mark on India's economic growth.

Ruia was not just a successful businessman; he was a visionary who foresaw the opportunities that would drive the country's growth in the global economy. The entire industry, along with political leaders, mourned his loss.

The measure of a life isn't in the span of years lived, but how those years were lived.

By that reckoning, Shashi Ruia's life was nothing short of extraordinary.

Born into a Marwari business family, entrepreneurship ran through his veins. In an apocryphal moment, he jokingly told an audience at IIM-Ahmedabad, in his trademark jovial manner, that while he wasn't an MBA like them, he perhaps held an even more prestigious business degree: MBB. When his audience looked on in confusion, he grinned and clarified that MBB stood for "Marwadi by birth!" But, destiny had a grander vision for him. Destiny anointed him nation-builder. The man who possessed the Midas touch but never lost the common touch, helped a country emerging from the ashes of colonialism, rediscover its confidence.

Conquering everything from the high seas to the airwaves, all the while championing uniquely Indian values like loyalty and family, he gave an entire people a sense of pride in their Indian-ness.