Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, or JRD was an industrialist, philanthropist, and the beloved "Father of Indian civil aviation".
Born in Paris in 1904 to an Indian Parsi family, J. R. D.'s early life had a distinctly French flavour, so much so that French was his first language. His father was the first cousin of Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group.
Despite his French upbringing, India was always calling. He eventually found himself at Bombay's Cathedral and John Connon School. Later, a stint in Japan and then England followed. But duty called, and as a French citizen then, he had to join the French army for a year, ending up as a colonel's multilingual, typing-proficient secretary.
Inspired by aviation pioneer Louis Blériot (a neighbour, no less!), J. R. D. caught the flying bug. In 1929, he snagged the very first pilot's license issued in India. That year he had also renounced his French citizenship and became an Indian citizen. He went on to found Tata Airlines in 1932, personally piloting the first commercial mail flight to Juhu in a de Havilland Puss Moth. This airline later blossomed into Air India. He lovingly nurtured this "airline baby" until 1953 when the government nationalised it, although they wisely kept him on as its first Chairman for a good 25 years. Beyond business, JRD's great love was undoubtedly flying. He was honored with the rank of Group Captain by the Indian Air Force in 1948, promoted to Air Commodore in 1966, and further elevated to Air Vice Marshal in 1974.
In 1938 at the young age of 34, he took over as the Chairman of Tata Sons from his second cousin Nowroji Saklatwala, steering the ship of one of India's largest industrial groups for decades. Under his watchful eye, the Tata Group zoomed from a US$100 million empire to over US$5 billion, growing from 14 to a whopping 95 enterprises. He had a hand in founding a whole host of companies, including Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Titan Industries, and Voltas. Quite the entrepreneurial spirit!
As a trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, he guided the Trust to establish Asia's first cancer facility, the Tata Memorial Centre for Cancer, Research and Treatment, Bombay in 1941. He also founded the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS, 1936), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR, 1945), and the National Center for Performing Arts.
While he wasn't particularly religious, finding some Parsi customs "irksome", he did stick to the core principles of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.
While he led the Tata group to great heights, JRD confessed that being a businessperson or industrialist "didn't excite me" initially. What did spark his interest was "the opportunities to create something new" – a new factory, a new plant, new work being done. Interestingly, the creation of wealth held no allure for him personally.
Despite being deeply involved in Indian industry, JRD considered himself "almost apolitical". He had a unique dynamic with Prime Minister Nehru, whom he liked and admired. His interactions with Mahatma Gandhi, though few (only about three personal calls), were "wonderful", with Gandhi being immediately welcoming and even cracking jokes. This left JRD with a lasting impression about the power of a simple smile.
Interestingly, he supported the declaration of emergency powers in India in 1975, feeling that things had become rather chaotic with strikes and demonstrations.
JRD, born to a Parsi father and a French mother who converted to Zoroastrianism, was agnostic. He found some Parsi customs, like funeral rites and exclusiveness, irksome but adhered to the basic tenets of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds without professing belief or disbelief in God.
In his later years, JRD was also passionately committed to Family Planning in India, a topic that had somewhat faded from the political agenda. This commitment even led Tata Steel to open family planning centres and offer incentives for sterilisation, a move for which he received the 1992 United Nations Population Award.
In 1982, he was awarded the French Legion of Honour and in 1955 and 1992, he received two of India's highest civilian awards: the Padma Vibhushan and the Bharat Ratna.
Even in death in 1993, at the ripe old age of 89, J. R. D. received an unusual honour: the Indian Parliament adjourned in his memory, a gesture typically reserved for members of parliament.
Ranked as the sixth "The Greatest Indian" in a later poll, it's clear that J. R. D. Tata left a lasting and significant mark on India. He certainly wasn't your average industrialist – he was a pilot with a vision, a leader with ethics, and a Frenchman at heart who became a true son of India.