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In 1991, few expected Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, better known as ‘JRD’ Tata, to hand over the reins of Tata Group to Ratan Tata as there were several senior contenders. The decision not only came as a surprise to company veterans like Russi Mody, but was a pivotal moment that saw the firm turn into a salt-to-software conglomerate. In a 1997 interview with actor and talk show host Simi Garewal, Ratan Tata shared his insights on the lesser-known story.
Appearing on ‘Rendezvous with Simi Garewal’, Ratan Tata said JRD Tata decided to hand over the reins of the company after he was hospitalised with a heart condition at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital. Ratan Tata, 86, died on Wednesday at Breach Candy Hospital.
“We were in Jamshedpur for a function, and I had to travel to Stuttgart for some negotiations with Mercedes-Benz. When I returned, I learnt he (JRD Tata) had a heart problem and was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital. He stayed there for a week, and I visited him every day. He was discharged on a Friday, and the following Monday, I went to see him in the office,” Ratan Tata shared.
However, JRD Tata had something important to say that day. “What has happened to me in Jamshedpur has made me think that I need to step down, and I have decided that you should take my place,” Ratan Tata said, recalling the words of JRD Tata.
Shortly after, the decision was presented to the Tata Group’s board on March 25. Ratan Tata said JRD reflected on his decades-long association with the company in the board meeting.
“Many of my colleagues have said that it was a historic day. Apart from stepping down from a position he had held for 40 to 50 years, there was deep emotion attached to him relinquishing this role to someone else,” Ratan Tata recalled.
However, it wasn’t just the transition that made the moment so significant. “He reminisced through years at that meeting and I can’t reproduce it emotionally or otherwise, but that meeting went on like an archival recount of all his days in Tata. Never his own praise but his experiences as he went through. There was history that day. We all came out very moved,” he further shared in the interview.
Two years after JRD Tata handed him the baton, he passed away in Geneva, Switzerland.