'No family of his own... but 1.4 billion people in mourning': Suhel Seth on Ratan Tata

Ratan Tata (file photo)

Businessman and author Suhel Seth paid rich tributes to former Tata Sons’ chairman Ratan Tata, who passed away in a Mumbai hospital late on October 9, saying his exemplary life made “every Indian his own family”.

“The remarkable thing about Ratan Tata was he had no family of his own. And yet every Indian was a member of his family. It’s rare that 1.4 billion people go into mourning for one man.  That was the man Ratan Tata was. And will remain,” the columnist said in a post on X.

The remarkable thing about Ratan Tata was he had no family of his own. And yet every Indian was a member of his family. Its rare that 1.4 billion people go into mourning for one man.That was the man Ratan Tata was. And will remain.

SUHEL SETH (@Suhelseth) October 9, 2024

Tata, who was chairman of the conglomerate for more than two decades, breathed his last at south Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital at 11.30 pm. He was 86.

The iconic industrialist is credited with transforming the group into India's largest and most influential conglomerate with a string of eye-catching deals.

In an exclusive 2017 interview to Network18, Ratan Tata discussed various topics, including his perspective on a new urban India, the meaning of the Tata legacy and its implications for philanthropy. You can watch the exclusive interview between Tata and Suhel Seth here.

During the interview, Tata said that the founders of the group, back in 1868, had a different view on ownership. He said that when they set up Tata Steel, it was set up for the good of the nation, a colonial country at that time with severe disparities.

"Mr JRD Tata often used to refer to the Tatas as the trustees of the people. The Tata family could have become really wealthy... but most of the institutions such as Tata Steel were set up as the institution for the country," Tata had said.

The Tata Trust has set up cancer hospitals, institutions of learnings and provided scholarships to talented individuals, he said. The former Tata Sons chairman also said that Swami Vivekanand and Sir Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the group, inspired each other.