Humiliated by Ford officials, Ratan Tata took revenge by buying Jaguar and Land Rover

MUMBAI: The story of two iconic brands Jaguar and Land Rover entering the Tata stable began with an insult Ratan Tata couldn't bear.

Back in 1998, the legendary industrialist launched his dream project, Tata Indica - India's first hatchback with a diesel engine. But sales initially were slow and Tata Motors decided to sell off its fledgling car business within a year of its debut.

US auto giant Ford was seen as an ideal candidate. The company acceded to a meeting requirement from Ford Motors. Officials of the US firm came to Bombay House for talks sometime in 1999. During the meeting at the Tata headquarters, the American company evinced interest in buying out the business. To take the deal forward, Ratan Tata and his team flew to Detroit to meet Bill Ford, the then chairman of Ford.