Jamshetji Tata was born on 3rd march, 1839 and such people take birth once in a century. There have been many men who lighted lamps of progress in darkness from Dadabhai Naoroji to Jawaharlal Nehru. Men like Phiroz Shah, Tilak, Tagore, Motilal Nehru, Gokhale, C.R. Das, Vallabhai Patel and above all Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders may have brought political freedom to this country but the real freedom i.e. the freedom of Self Reliance and Self Development, the foundation of modern Indian Industry which he laid in three categories of Steel, Electrical Power and technical education combined with research were results of the thought process and actions of Jamshetji Tata. The talk of Electrical Power and Technical Education may seem obvious today but imagine the man who thought of all these a hundred years age, when the prevailing conditions in India were only geared to satisfy colonial needs and when such activities were fairly discouraged and ridiculed. J N Tata had an exceptionally lucid and well furnished mind, to shape his vision. He had the courage and determination to see basic issues clearly and also plan the programmes for action. He died much before the Steel Plant at Jamshedpur, Tata Electric Power House and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore were established. But the enthusiasm and devotion which he inspired in his sons and lieutenants and the feeling of belongingness and ownership that he had developed in his people, brought the three projects into beings. Such leaders are born as I have said, once in a century. Therefore, let us pay tribute to the founder not only of the Tata group but also to the founder of modern Indian Industry.

Yashpal Bhalla
General Manager - HR
Wander Limited, Mumbai

The foundation of good Human Resource Management, in India was laid by J N Tata in his scheme of things for the Jamshedpur TISCO plant. He had advised to have hospitals, quarters, wide roads, plantations and other welfare activities for employees. He emphasised application of science and modern techniques in industrial management, generous and realistic acceptance of need & rights of works, insistence on absolute standard of integrity and sense of trust. The same spirit still continues. The Tata group owes its HRM excellence to the vision of J N Tata. Our tribute to the founder of national development of India.

V L Nagarkar, General Manager (P&A)
Tata Consultancy Services, Mumbai