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Introduction
editJehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was an Indian aviator, entrepreneur, chairman of Tata Group and the shareholder of Tata Sons.
Early life
editJRD Tata was born as Jehangir on 29 July 1904 into a Parsi family. He was the second child of businessman Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and his French wife, Suzanne "Sooni" Brière.[1]
France
editAs his mother was French, he spent much of his childhood in France and as a result, French was his first language. He attended the Janson De Sailly School in Paris.[2]
Education
editHe attended the Cathedral and John Connon School, Bombay. Tata got educated in London, Japan, France and India.[3]
Military service
editTata also served for one year in a Spahis regiment during the Second World War.[4]
Moving to India
editAfter a 12-month period of conscription in the French Army, Tata wanted to proceed to Cambridge for further education, but his father decided to bring him back to India and he joined the Tata Company.[5]
Career
editIn 1929, JRD renounced his French citizenship and became an Indian citizen, and started working at Tata. In 1930 JRD married Thelma Vicaji.[5]
Pilot license
editWhen Tata was in tour, he was inspired by his friend's father, pioneer Louis Blériot, the first Man to fly across the English Channel, and took to flying. On 10 February 1929, Tata obtained the first pilot licence issued in India.[6]
Tata Airlines
editHe later came to be known as the father of Indian civil aviation. He founded India's first commercial airline, Tata Airlines, along with Nevill Vintcent in 1932, which became Air India in 1946, now India's national airline.[7]
Air India
editTata nourished and nurtured his airline through to 1953, when the government of Jawaharlal Nehru nationalized Air India. It was a decision JRD had fought against tooth and nail.[5]
Tata Sons
editHe joined Tata Sons as an unpaid apprentice in 1925. In 1938, at the age of 34, JRD was elected Chairman of Tata Sons making him the head of the largest industrial group in India. Under his chairmanship, the assets of the Tata Group grew from US$100 million to over US$5 billion.[8]
Rise of Tata Sons
editHe started with 14 enterprises under his leadership and half a century later on 26 July 1988, when he left, Tata Sons was a conglomerate of 95 enterprises which they either started or in which they had controlling interest.[8]
NCAER
editHe was also a founding member of the first Governing Body of NCAER, the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi, India's first independent economic policy institute established in 1956.[9]
TCS
editIn 1968, he founded Tata Consultancy Services as Tata Computer Centre.[9]
Awards and honours
editSeveral international awards for aviation were given to him – the Tony Jannus Award in March 1979, the Gold Air Medal of the Federation Aeronautique International in 1985, the Edward Warner Award of the International Civil Aviation Organisation Canada in 1986 and the Daniel Guggenheim Medal in 1988.[10]
Honorary Group Captain
editHe was conferred the honorary rank of group captain by the Indian Air Force in 1948, was promoted to the Air Commodore rank on 4 October 1966, and and was further promoted on 1 April 1974 to the Air Vice Marshal rank.[11]
Padma Vibhushan and Legion of Honour
editHe received the Padma Vibhushan in 1955. The French Legion of Honour was bestowed on him in 1983.[12]
Death
editJRD Tata died in Geneva, Switzerland on 29 November 1993 at the age of 89 of a kidney infection. Upon his death the Indian Parliament was adjourned in his memory – an honour not usually given to persons who are not members of parliament.[13]
Burial
editHe was buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.[13]
References
edit- ^ "J.R.D. TATA". Tata Central Archives. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ Pai, Anant. JRD Tata: The Quiet Conqueror. India Book House. p. 3. ISBN 8175084200.
- ^ Pai, Anant. JRD Tata: The Quiet Conqueror. India Book House. p. 6. ISBN 8175084200.
- ^ "29 NOVEMBER 1993..." unitedstatesofindia.com. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ a b c R.M. Lala : Beyond the last Blue Mountains, Life of J.R.D Tata
- ^ "Bombay Flying Club First Annual Report". Flight Global. 1 August 1929. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Air India : The History of The Aircraft Fleet". airwhiners.net. Archived from the original on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ^ a b Guha, Ramachandran (25 July 2013). The glory of J. R. D (2007 ed.). India: Pan Books. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-330-54022-3.
- ^ a b "The glory of J. R. D", UN Global Compact Cities Programme, retrieved 25 July 2013
- ^ Sachin in IAF blues (23 June 2010). "Blog: Honorary commissions in the IAF". StratPost. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Air Branch)". The Gazette of India. 15 October 1966. p. 634.
- ^ "Industrialists:JRD Tata – Made Tatas the largest Business House in India of his times". ewritersportal.com. 20 November 2010. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ a b Pai, Anant. JRD Tata: The Quiet Conqueror. India Book House. p. 32. ISBN 8175084200.