Rahul Bajaj, Chairman emeritus of the Bajaj group is no more!
Now, calling Mr. Rahul Bajaj, just that, is limiting the scope of his influence on Indian business culture, representation and attitude. In many ways, he was the voice of Indian industry. The one un-stifled voice that never gave a damn!
Today, a Bajaj is no more! In many ways this represents the passing of a doyen of Indian industry, who fought every odd at every turn, literally from the days of license-raj onwards. To that extent he was the one-stop living source of business history that evolved in India over the years. With his passing, the most outspoken man of Indian industry is no more. Mr. Rahul Bajaj represented the spine of Indian industry that refused to kowtow to anybody in power, or out of it, never mind which political party it was. He will be remembered for fighting the good cause, stating the fact as a fact, and standing by it when push came to shove.
My meetings with him, oftentimes at AIMA, CII, or FICCI meets, were always filled with awe. He would invariably be the Inaugural or Valedictory keynote speaker, and I would look forward to it with anticipation. He spoke totally “dil se” (from the heart, if not the liver) and every word was a measured word. Ministers, bureaucrats, business folk of every kind, would be on tenterhooks to hear what he would say next. And many were embarrassed for sure. Many covering up their embarrassment with hearty laughs. And there sure were many hearty laughs when he spoke. He was never dry. He spoke from the pulpit of fact, oftentimes fact no one could refute.
My first meeting with Mr. Rahul Bajaj was at a CII meet some two decades ago, where I was the final speaker of the day. This was to be followed by the Valedictory address that Mr. Bajaj was to deliver. Even as I was about to start, I saw him being ushered in, as he sat in the front row sofas, listening intently to my address. As a rookie speaker, I was petrified to see him there. I continued. At the end of my rather long talk of 30 minutes, we crisscrossed on stage. I remember him stopping by, shaking my hand in his powerful gregarious manner, and saying just one thing twice: “I love your passion young man! I love your passion!” I was thrilled to bits, this coming from the boss of a company whose Bajaj Chetak was my first set of wheels ever.
I met Mr. Bajaj many times over in later days, all in the course of work and discussions relating to marketing and the subject of change. Change fascinated him. And bullshit of any kind just put him off totally. Never mind whether it came from the government in power, its Ministers, its bureaucrats, or its anyone!
In an era where businessmen felt the best thing to be was prudent, Mr. Rahul Bajaj swam upstream. He would state the fact, oppose what was to be opposed, be blunt where he was meant to be blunt, and at the end of the day spoke for an entire industry, when few in it had the courage to be as open or as blatant as he was. And that’s Hamara Bajaj!
He’s a forever Bajaj! The light has gone out of Indian industry for sure. Heaven is going to be an interesting place now, with the wit, savvy, bluster and brain of Mr. Rahul Bajaj to encounter.
Om Shanti! RIP sir!
(Harish Bijoor is a Business & Brand–strategy expert & Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.)
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