How A Parsi Family Scripted India's Biggest Business Story

The history of Tata Group is also the history of Indian industry. Here's looking at the behemoth at 150

- Rachna Tyagi

T.R. Doongaji hails from Nagpur, the place where Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata started his first venture, Empress Mills, in 1877. When he was around six years old, Doongaji's cousin would take him to the fire temple where, before entering, he would ask him to touch his head to a bust of “the founder” placed on a pedestal. “I did what he asked me to,” says Doongaji. “Today, I realise that my entire identity is this name.” A J.N. Tata scholar, he spent 52 years (42 in executive capacity) with Tata Group and was managing director in three group companies.

A few years ago, some politicians in Nagpur wanted to rename the convocation hall of Nagpur University, the J.N. Tata Hall, to a local leader’s name. A friend from Nagpur called Doongaji, asking if he knew about it. Doongaji dug into the Tata Central Archives to see how the hall was given the name. “We found that the Empress Mills Nagpur had contributed to the funding of the hall, and we had the complete record. We recently won that case in the High Court. I will not allow anybody doing anything with Tata’s name or property,” says the proud Parsi.

Few companies command this kind of loyalty from its people. And, Doongaji attributes it to the leadership of Tata Group. “Between the founder and Cyrus [Mistry], there have been four chairmen—three were knighted and one is a Bharat Ratna,” says Doongaji. “How many groups can claim that quality of leadership?”

It all started when Jamsetji bought a tenacre piece of marshy land from the Nagpur king and set up Empress Mills. (It was registered in Bombay in 1874 as Central India Spinning, Weaving and Manufacturing Company Limited. Jamsetji had started a trading company in 1868.)