Thank God For The TATA's - By L. N. Mittal
Subject: Thank God For The TATA's - By L. N. Mittal ......
a wonderful article
________________________________
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 23:18:10 -0700
A TRIBUTE - Thank God For The TATA’s.
By Lakshmi Mittal
As Lakshmi Mittal says ......... we have more to be proud off than
what the Infosys and Wipro's of India provide ...........
I visited Jamshedpur over the weekend to see for myself an India that
is fast disappearing despite all the wolf-cries of people like
Narayanamurthy and his ilk.
It is one thing to talk and quite another to do and I am delighted to
tell you that Ratan Tata has kept alive the legacy of perhaps India's
finest industrialist J.N. Tata.
Something that some people doubted when Ratan took over the House of
the Tata's but in hindsight, the best thing to have happened to the
Tata's is unquestionably Ratan.
I was amazed to see the extent of corporate philanthropy and this is
no exaggeration.
For the breed that talks about corporate social responsibility and
talks about the role of corporate India, a visit to Jamshedpur is a
must.
Go there and see the amount of money they pump into keeping the town
going; see the smiling faces of workers in a region known for
industrial unrest; see the standard of living in a city that is almost
isolated from the mess in the rest of the country. This is not meant
to be a puff piece. I have nothing to do with Tata
Steel, but I strongly believe the message of hope and the message of
goodness that they are spreading is worth sharing. The fact that you
do have companies in India which look at workers as human beings and
who do not blow their software trumpet of having changed lives. In
fact, I asked Mr. Muthurman, the managing director, as to why he was
so quiet about all they had done and all he could offer in return was
a smile wrapped in humility, which said it all.
They have done so much more since I last visited Jamshedpur, which was
in 1992. The town has obviously got busier but the values thankfully
haven't changed. The food is still as amazing as it always was and I
gorged, as I would normally do. I visited the plant and the last time
I did that was with Russi Mody. But the plant this time was gleaming
and far from what it used to be. Greener and cleaner and a tribute to
environment management.
You could have been in the mountains. Such was the quality of air I
inhaled! There was no belching smoke, no tired faces and so many more
women
workers, even on the shop floor. This is true gender equality and not
the kind that is often espoused at seminars organised by angry
activists. I met so many old friends. Most of them have aged but not
grown old. There was a spring in the air which came from a certain
calmness which has always been the hallmark of Jamshedpur and
something I savoured for a full two days in between receiving messages
of how boring and decrepit the lack luster Fashion Week was.
Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata had created an edifice that is today a
robust company and it is not about profits and about valuation. It is
not about who becomes a millionaire and who doesn't'. It is about
getting the job done with dignity and respect keeping the age-old
values intact and this is what I learnt.
I jokingly asked someone as to whether they ever thought of joining an
Infosys or a Wipro and pat came the reply: "We are not interested in
becoming crorepatis but in making others crorepatis." Which is exactly
what the Tata's have done for years in and around Jamshedpur. Very few
people know that Jamshedpur has been selected as a UN Global Compact
City, edging out the other nominee from India, Bangalore. Selected
because of the quality of life, because of the conditions of
sanitation and roads and welfare. If this is not a tribute to
industrial India, then what is?
Today, Indian needs several Jamshedpur’s but it also needs this
Jamshedpur to be given its fair due, its recognition. I am tired of
campus visits being publicises to the Infosys and the Wipro's of the
world. Modern India is being built in Jamshedpur as we speak. An India
built on the strength of core convictions and nothing was more
apparent about that than the experiment with truth and reality that
Tata Steel is conducting at Pipla.
Forty-eight tribal girls (yes, tribal girls who these corrupt and evil
politicians only talk about but do nothing for) are being educated
through a residential program over nine months. I went to visit them
and I spoke to them in a language that they have just learnt :
Bengali. Eight weeks ago, they could only speak in Sainthali, their
local dialect. But today, they are brimming with a confidence that
will bring tears to your eyes. It did to mine. One of them has just
been selected to represent Jharkand in the state archery competition.
They have their own women's football team and what's more they are now
fond of education. It is a passion and not a burden.
This was possible because I guess people like Ratan Tata and Muthurman
haven't sold their souls to some business management drivel, which
tells us that we must only do business and nothing else. The fact that
not one Tata executive has been touched by the Naxalites in that area
talks about the social respect that the Tata's have earned.
The Tata's do not need this piece to be praised and lauded. My intent
is to share the larger picture that we so often miss in the haze of
the slime and sleaze that politics imparts. My submissions to those
who use phrases such as "feel-good" and "India Shining" must first
visit Jamshedpur to understand what it all means.
See Tata Steel in action to know what companies can do if they wish
to. And what corporate India needs to do. Murli Manohar Joshi would be
better off seeing what Tata Steel has done by creating the Xavier
Institute of Tribal Education rather than by proffering excuses for
the imbroglio in the IIMs.
This is where the Advani's and Vajpayee’s need to pay homage. Not to
all the Sai Babas and the Hugging saints that they are so busy with.
India is changing inspite of them and they need to realise that. I
couldn't have spent a more humane and wonderful weekend. Jamshedpur is
an eye-opener and a role model, which should be made mandatory for
replication. I saw corporate India actually participate in basic
nation-building, for when these tribal girls go back to their
villages, they will return with knowledge that will truly be
life-altering.
Corporate India can do it but most of the time is willing to shy away.
For those corporate leaders who are happier winning awards and being
interviewed on their choice of clothes, my advice is visit Tata Steel,
spend some days at Jamshedpur and see a nation's transformation. That
is true service.
Tata Steel celebrated 100 years of existence in 2007. It won't be just
a milestone in this company's history. It will be a milestone, to my
mind of corporate transparency and generosity in this country. It is
indeed fitting that Ratan Tata today heads a group that has people who
are committed to nation building than just building influence and
power.
JRD must be smiling wherever he is. And so must Jamshedji Nusserwanji.
These people today have literally climbed every last blue mountain.
And continue to do so with vigour and passion.
Thank God For The Tatas!
a wonderful article
________________________________
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 23:18:10 -0700
A TRIBUTE - Thank God For The TATA’s.
By Lakshmi Mittal
As Lakshmi Mittal says ......... we have more to be proud off than
what the Infosys and Wipro's of India provide ...........
I visited Jamshedpur over the weekend to see for myself an India that
is fast disappearing despite all the wolf-cries of people like
Narayanamurthy and his ilk.
It is one thing to talk and quite another to do and I am delighted to
tell you that Ratan Tata has kept alive the legacy of perhaps India's
finest industrialist J.N. Tata.
Something that some people doubted when Ratan took over the House of
the Tata's but in hindsight, the best thing to have happened to the
Tata's is unquestionably Ratan.
I was amazed to see the extent of corporate philanthropy and this is
no exaggeration.
For the breed that talks about corporate social responsibility and
talks about the role of corporate India, a visit to Jamshedpur is a
must.
Go there and see the amount of money they pump into keeping the town
going; see the smiling faces of workers in a region known for
industrial unrest; see the standard of living in a city that is almost
isolated from the mess in the rest of the country. This is not meant
to be a puff piece. I have nothing to do with Tata
Steel, but I strongly believe the message of hope and the message of
goodness that they are spreading is worth sharing. The fact that you
do have companies in India which look at workers as human beings and
who do not blow their software trumpet of having changed lives. In
fact, I asked Mr. Muthurman, the managing director, as to why he was
so quiet about all they had done and all he could offer in return was
a smile wrapped in humility, which said it all.
They have done so much more since I last visited Jamshedpur, which was
in 1992. The town has obviously got busier but the values thankfully
haven't changed. The food is still as amazing as it always was and I
gorged, as I would normally do. I visited the plant and the last time
I did that was with Russi Mody. But the plant this time was gleaming
and far from what it used to be. Greener and cleaner and a tribute to
environment management.
You could have been in the mountains. Such was the quality of air I
inhaled! There was no belching smoke, no tired faces and so many more
women
workers, even on the shop floor. This is true gender equality and not
the kind that is often espoused at seminars organised by angry
activists. I met so many old friends. Most of them have aged but not
grown old. There was a spring in the air which came from a certain
calmness which has always been the hallmark of Jamshedpur and
something I savoured for a full two days in between receiving messages
of how boring and decrepit the lack luster Fashion Week was.
Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata had created an edifice that is today a
robust company and it is not about profits and about valuation. It is
not about who becomes a millionaire and who doesn't'. It is about
getting the job done with dignity and respect keeping the age-old
values intact and this is what I learnt.
I jokingly asked someone as to whether they ever thought of joining an
Infosys or a Wipro and pat came the reply: "We are not interested in
becoming crorepatis but in making others crorepatis." Which is exactly
what the Tata's have done for years in and around Jamshedpur. Very few
people know that Jamshedpur has been selected as a UN Global Compact
City, edging out the other nominee from India, Bangalore. Selected
because of the quality of life, because of the conditions of
sanitation and roads and welfare. If this is not a tribute to
industrial India, then what is?
Today, Indian needs several Jamshedpur’s but it also needs this
Jamshedpur to be given its fair due, its recognition. I am tired of
campus visits being publicises to the Infosys and the Wipro's of the
world. Modern India is being built in Jamshedpur as we speak. An India
built on the strength of core convictions and nothing was more
apparent about that than the experiment with truth and reality that
Tata Steel is conducting at Pipla.
Forty-eight tribal girls (yes, tribal girls who these corrupt and evil
politicians only talk about but do nothing for) are being educated
through a residential program over nine months. I went to visit them
and I spoke to them in a language that they have just learnt :
Bengali. Eight weeks ago, they could only speak in Sainthali, their
local dialect. But today, they are brimming with a confidence that
will bring tears to your eyes. It did to mine. One of them has just
been selected to represent Jharkand in the state archery competition.
They have their own women's football team and what's more they are now
fond of education. It is a passion and not a burden.
This was possible because I guess people like Ratan Tata and Muthurman
haven't sold their souls to some business management drivel, which
tells us that we must only do business and nothing else. The fact that
not one Tata executive has been touched by the Naxalites in that area
talks about the social respect that the Tata's have earned.
The Tata's do not need this piece to be praised and lauded. My intent
is to share the larger picture that we so often miss in the haze of
the slime and sleaze that politics imparts. My submissions to those
who use phrases such as "feel-good" and "India Shining" must first
visit Jamshedpur to understand what it all means.
See Tata Steel in action to know what companies can do if they wish
to. And what corporate India needs to do. Murli Manohar Joshi would be
better off seeing what Tata Steel has done by creating the Xavier
Institute of Tribal Education rather than by proffering excuses for
the imbroglio in the IIMs.
This is where the Advani's and Vajpayee’s need to pay homage. Not to
all the Sai Babas and the Hugging saints that they are so busy with.
India is changing inspite of them and they need to realise that. I
couldn't have spent a more humane and wonderful weekend. Jamshedpur is
an eye-opener and a role model, which should be made mandatory for
replication. I saw corporate India actually participate in basic
nation-building, for when these tribal girls go back to their
villages, they will return with knowledge that will truly be
life-altering.
Corporate India can do it but most of the time is willing to shy away.
For those corporate leaders who are happier winning awards and being
interviewed on their choice of clothes, my advice is visit Tata Steel,
spend some days at Jamshedpur and see a nation's transformation. That
is true service.
Tata Steel celebrated 100 years of existence in 2007. It won't be just
a milestone in this company's history. It will be a milestone, to my
mind of corporate transparency and generosity in this country. It is
indeed fitting that Ratan Tata today heads a group that has people who
are committed to nation building than just building influence and
power.
JRD must be smiling wherever he is. And so must Jamshedji Nusserwanji.
These people today have literally climbed every last blue mountain.
And continue to do so with vigour and passion.
Thank God For The Tatas!
posted by Mega at 6:23 PM
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