Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839 – 1904) was an Indian industrialist. He is known as the father of Indian industry who laid the foundation of the multi-billion dollar conglomerate, Tata Group. He was an Indian philanthropist, patriot, humanitarian, manufacturer and entrepreneur who started from scratch by setting up his own textile mill in Nagpur, which laid the foundation of the Tata Group. The Tata Group now has 30 companies across ten business sectors. He is often called the Man of Steel who founded the steel city, Jamshedpur. He was a giant who ranked first in the list of the world’s top philanthropists of the 20th century with an estimated donation of US$102 billion. For his great works, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru once called him the One Man Planning Commission.
Wiki/Biography
Jamsetji Tata was born on Sunday, 3 March 1839 (age 65 at the time of death) in Navsari, Gujarat. He was brought up in a family of Parsi priests in Bombay.
Jamsetji Tata in childhood
His parents had faith in his abilities and tried to provide him with the best education facilities. He did his early education according to the British education given in India. He started helping his father at the age of 14. He graduated from Elphinstone College, Bombay in 1858.
family and caste
Jamsetji was born in a family of Parsi priests.
parents and siblings
His father, Nusserwanji, was the first businessman in the family, running an export trading business in Bombay (now Mumbai). His mother’s name was Jeevanbai Tata; Jamsetji was the only child of his parents.
Do you know that Jamsetji had three sons? Dorabji Tata, Ratanji Tata…and the Indian Institute of Science! pic.twitter.com/puu5hmUF9O
– Tata Group (@TataCompanies) 28 February 2018
wife and children
Jamsetji married Heerabai Dabbu at the age of 16. They had two sons, Dorabji Tata and Ratanji Tata. He was still a student when he got married.
family tree
tata group family tree
Click here to know more about the Tata family.
livelihood
Building a Successful Business During the British Raj
In 1858, when the British government established its rule in India by taking over the East India Company, the cotton industry witnessed a boom. At the time, the US was the largest producer and exporter of cotton. But the American Civil War affected cotton production and exports. At that time the British had their eyes on India regarding the demand for cotton. He started buying cotton from Indian growers under his monopoly. Demand for cotton increased in India, which remained high even after the end of the American Civil War. In the same year (1858), Jamsetji joined his father’s export trading business in Bombay. This time, he was more than helpful. He started participating in business operations and helped his father in growing the business. He worked hard to establish branches of his father’s business in Europe, Japan, China and the United States. Once his father sent him to Hong Kong to learn the opium trade. During this trip he saw the boom in the textile industry. He already knew that India could become a major cotton producer and exporter. This was clear to him from three factors:
- India had vast fertile land to produce cotton in large quantities.
- The country had a large enough population to provide labor for cotton harvesting.
- and well-connected ports for viable cotton and textile exports.
Jamsetji decided to invest in India’s potential and was thrilled with the idea of starting his own business.
Laying the foundation of Tata Group
In 1869, Jamsetji finally decided to start his first business venture. For this he bought a bankrupt oil mill in Chinchpokli neighborhood of South Mumbai. He converted it into a cotton trading mill and named it Alexandra Mills. With a minimum capital investment of Rs. 21,000, it took him a year to turn it into a profitable textile trading firm. He ran this mill for two years and then sold it at a profit to a cotton merchant. In 1874, he planned to start a textile manufacturing unit and chose Nagpur as its physical location. Bombayites criticized him for choosing Nagpur instead of Bombay to start his mill. But Jamsetji knew what he was doing as he had done extensive research about setting up a textile manufacturing unit in Nagpur before venturing into this business. He spent his time visiting Western countries and studying their textile production models. He traveled to England, Russia, Turkey, Egypt and Syria to study the advanced industrial ecosystem, which was much more advanced than India. There, he also saw the potential of the railway network and how it could be used as an effective means of transportation. India, on the other hand, was severely lacking in infrastructure, and Jamsetji took steps to overcome these constraints. With all the knowledge he gained from his research, he chose Nagpur because it was located in a cotton producing district, which was beneficial for his textile unit. Nagpur was more than 800 kilometers away from the ports of Mumbai, making transportation of produce challenging. To overcome this obstacle he relied on the newly developed railway network. Keeping all these factors in mind, he laid the foundation of the Tata Group with its Empress Mills in Nagpur, which was successful.
new business vertical
After his success in the textile industry, he began working on new business areas with his sons. In 1901, Jamsetji and his sons (Dorabji Tata and Sir Ratanji Tata) began work on the first large-scale ironworks project in India, now known as Tata Steel. His sons set up this plant in Sakchi, Jharkhand. Later this village developed and merged into Jamshedpur, which is also known as Tatanagar. His second dream was to build a hotel. This hotel was inaugurated on 3 December 1903 in Mumbai and was named Taj Mahal Hotel.
Taj Mahal Palace was built by Jamsetji Tata
a businessman with a big heart
Jamsetji Tata was not a businessman who worked only with the intention of making profits. Instead, he was a humanitarian who worked for the public welfare and focused on improving labor protection policies.
Jamsetji’s initiative to create an airy working environment in the mills
He was a man who introduced properly ventilated workplaces, reduced working hours, organized events like sports days, provided free medical aid for his employees and also started crèches for young working women.
WATCH: The life and times of Jamsetji Tata, whose philosophy and values guide the Tata Group #JNTata #founders Day pic.twitter.com/XbKTfmpH3X
– Tata Group (@TataCompanies) 3 March 2017
To cover their retirement, he was the first to implement provident fund schemes and gratuity schemes to ensure the welfare of workers. He started a pension fund in 1886 to cover his employees even after their retirement. Later, he realized the importance of accident compensation and introduced it in 1895. He initiated these changes when slavery and abuse were the norms adopted around the world for labor. Thus, he was ahead of his rivals in terms of revenue and workforce loyalty. On the 183rd birth anniversary of Jamsetji Tata, Ratan Tata paid his tribute to the legend and tweeted about his values and ethics.
Shri Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata has given us his inspiration, his ethics, values and selflessness which has provided dignity and livelihood to thousands of citizens. My best wishes to all the employees of the Tata Group on the birth anniversary of our founder. pic.twitter.com/v8YXYluIZS
– Ratan N. Tata (@RNTata2000) 3 March 2022
famous philanthropist
Not everyone knows that Jamsetji was the top philanthropist of the last century, with an estimated donation of US$102.4 billion; This amount is considered to be much higher than that of the highest philanthropist of modern times.
Jamsetji shares his vision of building townships for Tata workers
Death
In 1900, Jamsetji went on a business trip to Germany, where he fell ill. He was 65 years old when he died on 19 May 1904 in Bad Nauheim, Germany. He was buried in Brookwood Cemetery in Woking, England.
Facts/General Knowledge
- He wanted to achieve four things in life: establish an iron and steel company, build a world-class educational institution, build a hotel and establish a hydroelectric plant.
- In his spare time, he loved reading various books, novels and treatises.
- He installed the first humidifier and fire sprinkler in India.
- His family belonged to the minority Parsi community that came to India from Iran.
- He was a great supporter of the Swadeshi movement and built a mill in 1886 and named it Swadeshi Mill.
- Sir Dinshaw Edulji Wacha, one of the founders of the Indian National Congress, wrote a biography of Jamsetji in 1915 as The Life and Life Work of JN Tata.
- His second biography was written by RM Lala (2006), titled For the Love of India: The Life and Times of Jamsetji Tata.
- He supported the development of new vaccines including the bubonic plague vaccine and received the first dose himself.
- The Cricket Club of India with solar roofs realizes his dream of a green Mumbai.
- He created a roadmap for today’s Mumbai.
- His company Tata Steel supported the construction of some of the country’s major infrastructure, including Mumbai’s sea link and Kolkata’s Howrah Bridge.
- Today’s famous Mysore silk developed from his experimentation with sericulture.
How is a man born in 1839 still a part of our lives? On the 183rd birth anniversary of our founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, we celebrate the visionary whose #LegendLivesOn, #JNTata #thisistata pic.twitter.com/RDSN3PzXAM
– Tata Group (@TataCompanies) 2 March 2022
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn