Ratan, Ta-ta

Many in the Indian industry think they have lost a moral compass in the passing of Tata

- Snigdhendu Bhattacharya

IF it was a Tata, it was OK. Whether it was salt, steel or software, the Tata brand had infinite trust, an inherent honesty that millions of Indian consumers embraced blindly. A lot of credit for this goes to Ratan Naval Tata, who gave the behemoth the vision to do business his way.

The Tata Group was already a conglomerate when Tata took over its reigns from the group's patriarch JRD Tata in 1991. But the way he steered the group in the next three decades by taking it to uncharted export markets and at home, and the way the Tatas fought to be relevant and get into leadership position in an increasingly hostile and politically aligned business environment was due to Tata's dignified and firm personal traits.

Tata is known in the industry circuit as a reserved, humble and private person who did not like to display his wealth or power, cared for the company's employees, was an ardent animal lover and was also known to be a man of steely resolve. The industrialist-philanthropist repeated, at least on three occasions, that no one could make him agree to their demands by holding a gun to his head.

It is very difficult to build a mega business institution in India, as it is in many other countries, without the political clout of one party or the other. The Tatas largely managed to be neutral and cut business deals on their terms. The one instance when Tata ran into rough political weather was over his dream project-Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car.