AN INSPIRING ARTICLE BY LAKSHMI MITTAL ON TATAS

I visited Jamshedpur over the weekend to see for myself an India that is fastdisappearing despite all the wolf-cries of people like Narayanamurthy and hisilk. It is one thing to talk and quite another to do and I am delighted to tellyou that Ratan Tata has kept alive the legacy of perhaps India?s finestindustrialist J.N. Tata. Something that some people doubted when Ratan tookover the House of the Tatas but in hindsight, the best thing to have happenedto the Tatas is unquestionably Ratan. I was amazed to see the extent ofcorporate philanthropy and this is no exaggeration.For the breed that talks about corporate social responsibility and talks aboutthe role of corporate India, a visit to Jamshedpur is a must. Go there and seethe amount of money they pump into keeping the town going; see the smilingfaces of workers in a region known for industrial unrest; see the standard ofliving in a city that is almost isolated from the mess in the rest of thecountry.This is not meant to be a puff piece. I have nothing to do with Tata Steel, butI strongly believe the message of hope and the message of goodness that theyare spreading is worth sharing. The fact that you do have companies in Indiawhich look at workers as human beings and who do not blow their softwaretrumpet of having changed lives. In fact, I asked Mr Muthurman, the ManagingDirector, as to why he was so quiet about all they had done and all he couldoffer in return was a smile wrapped in humility, which said it all. They havedone so much more since I last visited Jamshedpur, which was in 1992. The townhas obviously got busier but the values thankfully haven't changed. The food isstill as amazing as it always was and I gorged, as I would normally do. Ivisited 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. Greenerand cleaner and a tribute to environment management. You could have been in themountains. 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 istrue gender equality and not the kind that is often espoused at seminarsorganized by angry activists. I met so many old friends. Most of them have agedbut not grown old. There was a spring in the air which came from a certaincalmness which has always been the hallmark of Jamshedpur and something Isavoured for a full two days in between receiving messages of how boring anddecrepit the Lacklustre Fashion Weak was. It is at times such as this that ourcity lives seems so meaningless. Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata had created anedifice that is today a robust company and it is not about profits and aboutvaluation. It is not about who becomes a millionaire and who doesn?t. It isabout getting the job done with dignity and respect keeping the age-old valuesintact and this is what I learnt.I jokingly asked someone as to whether they ever thought of joining an Infosysor a Wipro and pat came the reply: "We are not interested in becomingcrorepatis but in making others crorepatis," which is exactly what the Tatashave done for years in and around Jamshedpur. Very few people know thatJamshedpur has been selected as a UN Global Compact City, edging out the othernominee from India, Bangalore; selected because of the quality of life, becauseof the conditions of sanitation and roads and welfare. If this is not a tributeto industrial India, then what is? Today, India needs several Jamshedpurs butit also needs this Jamshedpur to be given its fair due recognition. I am tiredof campus visits being publicised to the Infosys and the Wipros of the world.Modern India is being built in Jamshedpur as we speak. An India built on thestrength of core convictions and nothing was more apparent about that than theexperiment with truth and reality that Tata Steel is conducting at Pipla.Forty-eight tribal girls (yes, tribal girls who these corrupt and evilpoliticians only talk about but do nothing for) are being educated through aresidential program over nine months. I went to visit them and I spoke to themin a language that they have just learnt: Bengali. Eight weeks ago, they couldonly speak in Sainthali, their local dialect. But today, they are brimming witha 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 archerycompetition. They have their own women?s football team and what?s more theyare now fond of education. It is a passion and not a burden. This was possiblebecause I guess people like Ratan Tata and Muthurman haven?t sold their soulsto some business management drivel, which tells us that we must only do businessand nothing else. The fact that not one Tata executive has been touched by theNaxalites in that area talks about the social respect that the Tatas haveearned.The Tatas do not need this piece to be praised and lauded. My intent is to sharethe larger picture that we so often miss in the haze of the slime and sleazethat politics imparts. My submission to those who use phrases such as"feel-good" and "India Shining" to first visit Jamshedpur to understand what itall means. See Tata Steel in action to know what companies can do if they wishto. And what corporate India needs to do. Murli Manohar Joshi would be betteroff seeing what Tata Steel has done by creating the Xavier Institute of TribalEducation rather than by proffering excuses for the imbroglio in the IIMs. Thisis where the Advanis and Vajpayees need to pay homage. Not to all the Sai Babasand the Hugging saints that they are so busy with. India is changing in spiteof them and they need to realise that. I couldn't have spent a more humane andwonderful weekend. Jamshedpur is an eye-opener and a role model, which shouldbe made mandatory for replication. I saw corporate India actually participatein basic nation-building, for when these tribal girls go back to theirvillages, 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 thosecorporate leaders who are happier winning awards and being interviewed on theirchoice of clothes, my advise is visit Tata Steel, spend some days at Jamshedpurand see a nation's transformation. That is true service and true nationalism.Tata Steel will celebrate 100 years of existence in 2007. It won't be just amilestone in this company's history. It will be a milestone, to my mind ofcorporate transparency and generosity in this country. It is indeed fittingthat Ratan Tata today heads a group which has people who are committed tonation-building than just building influence and power. JRD must be smilingwherever he is. And so must Jamsetji Nusserwanji. These people today haveliterally climbed every last blue mountain. And continue to do so with vigourand passion. Thank God for the Tatas!