“Ups and downs in life are very important to keep us going because a straight line even in an E.C.G. means we are not alive”— Ratan Tata
Grumbling, complaining, carping, expressing helplessness, going into depression, feeling dejected, blaming destiny or conspiracies for failures, suicides; are all easy way-outs for myriads of human beings around the world. There is a universal tendency to savor a life where basic comfort overpowers troubles allowing people to maintain a status quo at whatever level of social structure they may belong. While a great number are happy to skimp on with their own lives, very few feel the necessity of extending their benefits to those around them. They are the ones who are endowed with leadership qualities that can bring around true qualitative changes in the world in whichever field they excel. In Ratan Tata’s words: “One day you will realise that material things mean nothing. All that matters is the well-being of the people you love”.
Indeed, someone who became a legend during his lifetime is none other than the great Ratan Tata (1937-2024). Son of Naval, who was adopted by Ratanji Tata, whose father was Jamsetji Tata, founder of Tata Group, Ratan grew up to join the group in 1962 and from a humble position, he went on to become the chairman of this vast Indian conglomerate of industries.
During Ratan’s association with such a formidable group for around twenty-one years until his death, revenue went up forty-six times and profits, over fifty times—one wishes his replica could lead our extremely famished Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) to take it up to dizzying heights. From mere local commodity sales, this dynamic leader converted trade into brands that gained popularity around the globe bringing in almost 67% revenue from international operations alone.
Business acumen and visionary foresight are not everyone’s forte but Ratan Tata had both because of which he was able to filter out low revenue-yielding companies and diverted to software, telecommunications, finance, and retail. In an interview available on the group’s website, while talking about his most satisfying moments as chairman he said: “It was the welding of the organisation together in a more cohesive way than it had been in the past, that it was able to identify itself more as a group”.
Pakistan desperately needs political and business leaders blessed with this kind of commitment to see a more unified and economically strong country.
Focusing on human resources is the key to success and prosperity, whether for governments or private organisations. Those countries that do not pay attention to this factor alone are the ones, which remain lagging in all spheres of development and are either forced into submission by the powerful or eventually wiped out of existence.
Handling the affairs of a vast consortium of companies churning out revenue of more than $165 billion (nearly half of Pakistan’s GDP and more than five times our total exports) during the financial year 2023-2024 with the number of employees exceeding one million (1,028,000), is no small task. The amount of dedication required to oversee a mammoth business empire of this caliber can well be imagined.
There can be no doubt about the magnitude of strength, power, and confidence that Ratan Tata exuded. Few may know about his desire to establish an Information Technology (IT) Institute in Pakistan during General Pervez Musharraf’s dictatorship, to train and equip the Pakistani youth with IT knowledge for which he was ready to invest a heavy amount. Unfortunately, our poor diplomatic relations with neighbouring countries became an obstacle to the realisation of this dream. How we have failed to take advantage when opportunity knocks at our door can be understood from this episode. Simultaneously, one cannot help appreciating the wisdom of this man in attempting to soften cross-border relations even though he was not a politician.
Besides improving the overall health of the Tata Group, Ratan was infused with the idea of serving humanity. Education, medicine, rural development, and animal care were all very close to his heart. His philanthropic pursuits amount to nearly US$ 1.20 billion covering a vast expanse of projects undertaken to provide for the destitute living beings. This is in addition to donating heavy amounts to well-known foreign universities including Harvard, Cornell, New South Wales, and San Diego, to cater for the educational expenses of deserving students from India. In his home country, he endowed the Indian Institute of Technology with ₹950 million, provided a grant of ₹750 million to the Indian Institute of Science to conduct research in order to meet the needs of people and communities with limited resources.
His love for humanity can be gauged from his donations of trucks through Tata Motors to affected Sikh survivors who lost their livelihoods following the 1984 Sikh genocide. The list of his charitable endeavors is quite long which, if squeezed in these lines would be a disservice to the man. He deserves to be appreciated and applauded with full honor for detailing every single work he did and every penny he spent in serving the public. Focusing on human resources is the key to success and prosperity, whether for governments or private organisations. Those countries that do not pay attention to this factor alone are the ones, which remain lagging in all spheres of development and are either forced into submission by the powerful or eventually wiped out of existence.
Ratan Tata has left a permanent mark not only in India but the world as well. Since death is inevitable yet when his type of personality transitions, it leaves a vacuum that remains unfilled until someone takes on their responsibilities with the same or greater vitality. His thinking is reflected in every aspect of his work. No person is a perfect human being but many achieve perfection when they bank upon their positivity rather than waste their energy on negativity. The more we linger on destructive thoughts, the more we are prone to losing our direction because we are responsible for changing our fate, no one else. In Ratan Tata’s own words:
“None can destroy iron, but its rust can. Likewise, none can destroy a person but his own mindset can”.