Throwaway account here, but I think we should be cautious about hero worship.
While it's true that Tata has contributed positively in many areas, there are also significant controversies surrounding his legacy—like leasing coal mines for just 25 paise for 999 years before independence(1), among other issues(2)
It's important to consider both the positives and negatives to form a well-rounded opinion. Let's aim to be informed and objective rather than blindly idolizing anyone.
I too am a big fan of not supporting hero worship. But what we should recognize is the deeds that they perform and the values that they uphold rather than supporting them in everything they do.
Having met the guy multiple times growing up he always stood out to me as a very humble man that loved the people and the institution he built. His love for dogs was something that helped me be closer to animals.
With regards to the comments about post-independence industrialization, most countries go through that phase where industrialists of the time stand to gain very lucrative opportunities to build value.
> Despite repeated reminders, the company (Tata Steel) didn’t comply with the rules,” the confidential letter reads.
> And when threatened with recourse to the law, “the company started submitting the correct royalty.
IOW they continued doing what they had always been doing, and ignored a bunch of letters saying they should pay more. When the government took a more serious approach they started paying the royalty they were supposed to under the new rules.
So Ratan Tata was responsible for leasing coal mines in 1946 when he was 9 years old? At those prices, the guy was a **ing prodigy.
This is like aiming for the trees and missing the forest - the corrupt entity here is the Indian government which facilitates such corruption and monopolization and makes it hard for new entrants to compete.
I have no doubt that we humans would find fault with Buddha as well, so I am a little intrigued by this criticism (as someone mentioned he would be 9 years old when coal mining incident happened) but not totally surprised
But yeah, lets find fault with everyone to form a "well-rounded opinion", because that is what we should strive to achieve
While it's true that Tata has contributed positively in many areas, there are also significant controversies surrounding his legacy—like leasing coal mines for just 25 paise for 999 years before independence(1), among other issues(2)
It's important to consider both the positives and negatives to form a well-rounded opinion. Let's aim to be informed and objective rather than blindly idolizing anyone.
(1) https://www.firstpost.com/business/a-tata-coalgate-999-yr-mi...
(2) https://www.bhopal.net/the-ugly-face-of-tata/