Life and the Life Work of JN Tata

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The Life and Life WorkofJ N. Tata

BY

D. E. WACHA

SECOND EDITION

MADRASGANESII & Co., PUBLISHERS


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THE CAMBRIDGE PRESS MADRAS


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CONTENTu.PAGE.

ForewordIntroduction 1Early Career 12His Meridian of Prosperity 23Epoch Making Enterprise 45The Labour Problem for Cotton Mills 72Sociology and Public Affairs QSOne of India's" Greatest Sons" 113Appendix 126;


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First EditionSecond Edi tion

December 1914February 1915

All rights reser . ed


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FOREWORD.THE name of the late Mr. Jamsetji N. Tata

is a household word in India. I t is intimatelyassociated with Science and Industrialism thegreater advancement of which he had inces"anlly striven to promote with the great wealthat his command and with that energy, perseverance and singleness of purpose whichwere the marked traits of his character. Assuch he has already inscribed his name onthe pages of Indian history as one of thegreatest sons of India. To me, who hadintimately known him, it is a source of pecu-liar pleasure to have been recently requestedhy Messrs. Ganesh & Co., the well-knownpublishers of Madras, to write a brief narra-tive of his life and life work for popularappreciation. This bOGklet is the result which,I need hardly say, has been to me a labourof bvc.BOMBAY. D. B. WACHA.


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NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION.I have availed myself of the opportunity

offered by the publication of this secondedition to add a chapter illustrative of theviews Mr. Tata had entertained 011 the stillburning problem of factory labour and onimportant public questions relating to irriga-tion, agriculture, land revenue, currency andso forth. I have also made clear the fact solittle known to the public, that Mr. Tata "a sas keen and robust in matters political ashe Wi1t5 courageous and enterprising in mattersindustrial.

D. E. WACHA.


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THE

Tata Hydro-Electric POWOI' Supply CD,)LIMITED.

Board of Directors .

Cb,lirm,ll1.Sir D. J. Tata, Kt.

D i m l ~ r s .Sir Sassoon Davin, Bart.

Ratan Tata, Esq.Sir Shapurji B. Broacha, Kt.

Sir Vithaldas D. Thackersey, Kt.The Hon'ble Mr. lalubhai Samaldas, C.I.E.

Narottam Morarjee Goculdas, Esq.R. D. Tata, Esq.A. N. Datar, Esq.M. A. Tana, Esq.H. J. Bhabha, Esq.A. J. Bilimoria, Esq.


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TH C scheme comprises four di"t inct operat ionsthe s.torage of the rainfall on Ihe Ghats., thetransler of Ihe water to the loot of the Ghats,

the conversion of this hydraulic energ" into electric,,1t"nergy and its trans'mission to Bombay; and thecOrl\'ersion of the electricai energy into mechanicalen("rm at the mill ....

The rainfall is ~ t o r e d in three lakes at Lanzl\la,\V(lllw.an and Shr


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b.:lck again to mechanic


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J. N. TATA.


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Wrought steel

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Turbine and Generator Room. Full load Capacity of each main se t 13)/50 B.H.P. Generation Yoltage 5,000.


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Oil immersed electrically operated 100,000 Volt Switches.


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u:CUO \ 'olt Automatic Oil Switches cO!ltrol\illg all Outgoing Feeders to the Mills.

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CtJ"ndus layiflg linc1ergroulld Feeder CabJes from th e Receiving Station to the 1Iills.


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Electric Motors coupled to and driving the shafting in the Simplex Mill.


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JAMSETJI N. TATAINTRODUCTION.

BORN with no silver spoon in his mouthand trained during his boyhood in the schoolof comparative poverty, the late Mr. JamsetjiN usservanji Tata was the architect of his ownfortune. He was a type of those men whohave amassed great wealth by sheer force ofcharacter and untiring energy, combined withexemplary self-reliance and an unquenchablespirit of high enterprise. Endowed by Naturewith remarkable shrewdness and keBn powersof observation, he was, as years rollod on, ableto impress his massive personality on everything to which he put his hand. Of greatperseverance and tenacity of purpose whichnever knew disappointment or defeat, Mr. Tatabegan, as wealth accumulated and experiencegrew, to entertain and carry out large ideaswhich presented themselves to his active andfertile mind with courageous resolution andremarkable success. His greatest and mostfar reaching schemes, however, were unfortun-ately left incomplete, but, which, it is gratifying


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Life of Jamselji N. Tala.to note, his sons have brought to fruition ina spirit of filial revel'ance and devotion whichis indeed most laudable.

Passionately fond of travel and ever eagerto imbibe new ideas, he was a veritable, peri-patetic, and unostentatious globetrotter withthe eyes of Argus. He had visited Europeseveral times from 1863 forward and sojournedalso in Japan and Australia. At the veryoutset of his mercantile career, somewhereabout 1858, he had stayed in Hongkong tocarryon his father's firm there. Next, busi-ness took him to London. He retu med toBombay fully equipped with mercantile ex-perience and enriched by observation. Thosestood him in good stead in his later activities.But the one valuable lesson he learnt was theuse to which great wealth should be put.He became fully alive to the fact that wealthwas only a means to an end, the end being todevote i t as far as possible to the service ofhis fellowcountrymen. Thus it was that hisinborn patriotism was kindled. Animated byits fire he spent in his later life no inconsider-able portion of his great riches on objects ofthe greatest benefit to Indian Society, leavingbehind him a name and fame the fragrance

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iHtroductioH.

of which is destined to endure for many ageneration to come.

Soon after he had his brief baptism ofcollegiate instruction, the Universites of Indiahaving then just been started on their noblecareer, he joined his father's firm. CJ.pium andcotton were the two staple commodities inwhich it traded, and young MI'. Jamsetji'sattention was soon engaged on them. Thetrade in the former took him to Hongkongfirst and that in the latter to London, andLiverpool later on. King Cotton was at thetime throwing into the lap of Bombay mer-chants trading in the raw staple, thanks tothe American Civil war of 1861-65, crores ofsilver and gold. Mr. Tata's personal presencehad, therefore, become necessary in Lanca-shire. He was the firm's representative onthe spot to dispose of the heavy consignmentsat Liverpool. Meanwhile, the wind of thefeverish share speculation blew fast andfurious in Bombay. The genius of Mr. Prem-chand Roychand sowed it in 1863-64 andfanned it gloriously. But the day of tribulationwas never thought of. The city reaped thewhirlwind of her own mad folly which endedin 1865-66 in almost universal insolvency

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Life of Jalllsefji N. Tata.and untold-of distress. Credit was destroyedand mercantile confidence had received anunprecedentedly rude shock. Depression of agloomy and protracted character prevailed.Mr. Tata's firm did not escape the effects ofthe disastrous cyclone. vVhen he returnedfrom London, Bombay was sitting on thestool of repentance, with sackcloth and ashes:while the disconsolate creditors held Dharm,at the door of their ruined debtors.

But as every evil has its good, so thedebacle of 1865-66 did lasting benefit to thecity. On the detritns of the financial earthquake there slowly came to be reared theedifice of Industrialism on a foundation broadand deep. There was a new departure astrade rfHdved and credit was restered. The eraof the cotton industry was courageouslyushered. I t was a gratifying economic pheno-menon. I t vastly contributed to the prosperityof the city along with the larger progressin inland and foreign trade. The industrylaid the first solid foundation of the fortunesof Mr. Tata. His prosperity was synchronouswith that of the great industry itself. In 1885Mr. Tata had already been recognised asan enterprising and flourshing mill owner.

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bztroductioll.He was a conspicuous figure on the industrialstage. Many indeed were the praiseworthyparts he played on it, earning the plaudit.of the appreciative world of India. Thoseparts he continued to play till the date ofhis somewhat premature death. The Jasttwenty years of his life were most gratifying.They were full of pride not for Bombay alonebut for the whole country.

And here it may not be inappropriate torecall the origin of the first cotton spinningfactory in the city. I t is a most curiou.fact but interesting which strikes an onlookerwho cares to study the rise and growth ofit in Bombay and institute a comparisonbetween its condition in 1855 and that in 1885when i t reached almost at a climax markingan epoch of the strenuous and successfulenterprise of the citizens of Bombay.

It was a Parsee gentleman, Mr. CowasjiNanabhoy Davar, of great courage and pluck,who first started the cotton factory in 1855 atTardeo, and it was again another band ofParsee gentlemen, equally plucky and enter-prising who practically deveJoped thQ industryand advanced it to a highly prosperous stage ageneration later, most conspicuous among

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L'fe of Jamselji N. Tala.whom were the late Mr. Merwanji FramjiPanday, the late Sir Dinshaw Manekii Petit,his brother, the late Mr. Nusserwanji Petit,and last but not the least, Mr. JamsetjiN. Tata. One cannot help admiring the greatpioneer, Mr. Davar especially when it is bornein mind the formidable difficulties amidst

, which he started his factory. Our Railwayswere in their infancy, so were the telegraphs.Steam navigation was still a potentiality ofthe future. Ships laden with foreign goodsand machinery took at least a hundred andtwenty days to reach Bombay from Liverpool,in fair weather. Sea cables were unknown.Transportation and haulage were of a mostprimitive character. Skilled indigenous arti-

( sanship was rare. I t was difficult to findeven a fairly trained common fitter. La.bourwas of course, cheap and abundant but ithad to be labouriously trained amidst manytroubles. Organisation was quite unknown.Contrast that conrlition of matters with thatwhich prevailed in 1885 as it will give one avivid idea of the difficulties under which theParses pioneer engineered his enterprise whichwas so prolific of good to the generation afterhim. Railways, telegraphs. and cables were

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I ntrodHctioll.familiar to all. The great trunk lines had beenconstructed between Bombay and Calcutta andMadras. The Indo-European and Red Seatelegraphs were fairly working. The Canalwas opened which paved the way for theera of navigation to the east by steam and forthe construction of the first large wet dock.The rudimentary method of haulage andtransportation was superseded by the moremodern system of labour saving appliances ofwhich many more are yet to come. Labourwas still cheap and abundant but betterorganised and somewhat skilled. Mechanicalartisans were to be seen in fair numbers.Above all there had been two large manufacturing districts. What were really ruralareas and suburban places were convertedinto localities for housing the growing millpopulation in Tardeo and Parell. Theresidential quarters of the Governor in thelatter place for wellnigh three quarters of acentury had to be shifted to the more secludedand salubrious Malabar Point, and the less ex-alted officials had to retire to Malabar hill,where two new roads, Pedder and Gibbs hadmeanwhile been constructed. Lastly the industry had so far developed as to have driven

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Life of Jamselji N. Tala.Lancashire altogether from the Indian andChinese trade in coarser yarns. As many as49 mills were working in the city of Bombayalone. Those were the marvelous changes inthe course of a generation. The cotton in-dustry was firmly established and flourshingbeyond the dream of its original promoter!

As there is a tide in the affairs of menwhich carry them to the pinnacle of goodfortune so there was a tide in the prosperityof Mr. Tata from 1885. Between that yearand the date of his death he was continually,eeking for fresh industrial fields and pasturesand it goes without saying that not only hediscovered but cultivated them benefittinghimself and the country. Mr. Tata was a Swa-deshi of Swadeshists long before Swadeshismwas boomed in Bengal. As soon as he becameau courant with every minutice of the cottonindustry the conviction grew on his mind thatIndia had a vast potentialit)' in it which theprogress of time would make it realize. Thosein the industrial line had only to huild step bystep so as to climb to the very summit. Fullyimpressed by this idea he, in 1886, projectedanother mill in Bombay which he appro-priately named the .. Swadeshi Mills." Th.

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I,ttrodactiou.original scheme was to spin finer yarn andmanufacture finer cloths, in which Manchesterexcelled, as the coarser yarns and cloths weredriven out. So he had the honorable and patri-otic ambition to compete with Lancashire inthe finer goods so as to materially reduce theimports. Given the requisite class of menand the needed capital and enterprise and itwas his settled conviction that in the long runIndia, as of yore. would become her ownmanufacturer of all kind, of cloth and even bea large exporter. The golden vision of the dayswhen she was the sale maker of all the finergoods which had brought fame to her primi-tive handlo::>m weavers was ever before hiseyes. In divers directions, ho was unstint-ing in his expenditure on trials and tests.The ring spindle found in him the fi"t and thefirmest frie"d notably when the greatestscepticism prevailed 2.mong the older makersof machinery. But undaunted he fearlesslyintroduced that new spindle which )'eplacedthe throstle and proved to those very manu-facturers what a revolution that spindlewould make. His prophecy, based on hispersonal expe rience, derived at great cost, hasbeen amply verified. The .uccess of the ring

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L'fe of Jamselji N. Tala.spindle logically led to a fresh survery of theimprovement of the indigenous varieties 0long stapled cotton and the more extensivecultivation there-of on the Egyptian method.Fine yarn signifies cotton of a superior gradeand strong test. Mr. Tata, here too, was thevery first to draw the attention of his brothermill owners jn a practical manner. His thirdgreat enterprise was also in reference tothe cotton industry. I t was the serious question of freight of yarn bales exported to China.There was a combine of the principal navi-gation companies, detrimental to the largeexporters of yarn to Hongkong and Shanghai.Absence of competition was the opportunityof the combine. The monopoly in freightMr. Tata strenously strove to break down.Alone he did it. He interested some of themore important Japanese Liners to bring silksand coal from Japan and carry in returncotton and yarn. At the time Japan was nocompetitor in the markets of China for Indianyarn. But it absorbed itself a large quantity ofthe same. Again, its imports of Indian cottonwere a trifle. Thus it suited the Japanese linesto carry freight to and fro. The enterprise wasfull of risk and exceedingly bold. But bold-

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Introdfictiol1.ness in trade was one of the principal traits ofMr. Tata's character. How the enterpriseafterwards broke down owing to the failure ofthe promised support by the selfish mill-ownersis a different tale which will be more minutelydescribed in the sequel.Thereafter Mr. Tata, diverted his attentionin reference to the expansion of the Indianindustries, to the founding of a ScientificResearch Institute for which he set apart aprincely sum of 30 lacs. The patriotism ofMr. Tata was fired and thenceforward hiswhole time and attention were concentratedon the two gigantic and costly entel'priseswhich will for ever be associated with hisname. They were his ma[jllUn1 opus, the manu-facture of pig iron and steel from Indian ironores and the utilization of water power bymeans of electricity.

Life, however, soon ebbed away, a1as! alittle too prematurely. But all the same thename of Mr. J. N. Tata is already inscribed onan enduring fllOnument in this country as agreat captain of industry and a patriot of thepurest ray serene. The career of Mr. Tata issuch as to leave a fragrance behind which weare sure wil11ast for many a generationto come.

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EARLY CAREER.MR. TATA was born at Navsari in 1839 of

poor but respectable parents belonging tothe priestly caste. Navsari, which is "fairlypopulous town in the territory of H. H. theMaharaja of Baroda, is situated only a fewmiles from Surat. I t has been the strong-hold of Zoroastrian priesthood for upwardsof a thousand years, say, from the daysthat colonies of refugees, flying from theMahomedan persecution in Persia, came tosettle in different places in Guzerat. Manyhave been the traditions and anecdotes ofacrimonious and animated theological controversies in that citadel of Zoroastrian orthodoxy,sometimes behveen the rival priestly factionsfor theocratic supremacy, sometimes betweenthe laityand the clergy,andsometimes betweenforeign missions and the divided clergy. Thatbeing the case it is quite believable thatNavsari had had from time to time its ownAthanasiuse. Perhaps nowhere was the odiumtheolcqicum more rife t:,an in that little town

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Early Career.otherwise a sleepy hollow. Self-contained andopinionated, obtuse and aggressive. the hierarchy disdained to be illumined by the outerlight of civilisation and progress. Devout andfaithful followers of their pristine creed whichteaches Light as the Spirit Divine of the goodHormuzd, those zealots, by a curious irony offate, preferred to live in Darkness over whichpresides the evil spirit of Ahreman. Thus theZoroastrian priesthood of Navsari dwelt anda cimmerian cosmos of their own and theirangry discussions were like unto Vesuvius ineruption. There was ample and enough tospare of their theological lava and brimstone.When, however, we clear the ground of themolten mass, we are able clearly to discernthat at the bottom of it all was the burningdesire to keep alive pnre and undefiled thefaith of their great Teacher, mixed as it was bycontact with Hinduism in the midst of whichthey had to live, move, and h"ve their being.What was originally prescribed in the Avestaand what were the ancient customs, cere-monials and usages were the theme of thoseanimated controversies. Thus they came tobe practised controversialists. Each debatercame to display his own strong conviction

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Life of Jamsetji N. Tara.with a. doggedness and persistence which onecannot but admire. Doggedness and perseverance were the two principle traits of thecont.roversial clergy at Navsari.

Brought up in his boyhood in a communitypossessing such traits it is perfectly intelligiblewhat influence heredity and environmentsmust have exerted themselves on Mr. Jamsetjiwho all through his life was pre-eminentlydistinguished for his great force of characterand perseverance. Education in the sensewe understand it was nowhere in Navsari,but of religious instruction in the Zoroastrianscriptures there was enough and to spare.There were learned Dasturs who knew howto teach the young Pal'si idea to shoot.That instruction J amsetji had. A seculareducation in the three R's too, he had had,specially mental arithmetic which was greatlylooked after. But that was enough and inorder that Mr. Tata should have more moderneducation he was sent to Bombay in 1852 atthe age of thirteen.

The atmosphere to which Mr. Jamsetji wastranslated was of course wide asunder as thepoles from that in which he had passed his boy-hood. He found himself in an entirely new


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Early Career.

world of large population, different races andcreeds and above all of diverse occupation andactivities. He was in the midst of newenvironments socially, intellectually andmorally. Bombay was to him a new Jel'usalem.When he arrived there was a state schooland college under one l'oof which bore thehonoured name of the great Elphinstone.Mr. Jamsetji had the benefit of the excellentinstruction imparted there. His academiccareer, which was unaccompanied by anynotable incident, came to a close early in 1858,just about the time that the three PresidentialUniversities, having received their Charter ofincorporation under the benign statesmanshipof Lord Canning, had entered on their noblework of imparting higher learning. 1vIean-while his father was in the possession ofa modest fortune and had been trading withChina. Mr. Tata Junior was now at thedesk in the firm acquainting himself with thetrade and the mechanism of exchange. Opiumtrade was then mostly confined to a colonyof rich and enterprisir..g Parsees who had set-tled there long anterior to the acquisition ofHongkong by the British. The trade was akind of sealed book to the vast majority; and

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Life of Jamselji N. Tata.there being no competition they prosperedexceedingly. Let it be remembered that thosewere days when telegraphy, wireless or anyother, was nowhere, or at best in its infancywithin India alone, and the mercantile navi-gation service between Bombay and the farEast was also inadequate and slow. Thetrade was a kind of close monopoly and mostremunerative. Having acquainted himselfwith business details in his father's firmMr. Jamsetji was sent to Hongkong wherehe completed his training in respect of theChina trade and developed his native instinctof shrewdness and commercial sagacity.

But while at Hongkong there was happeninga great event, a fierce struggle in fact, inthe far west which transcended the War ofIndependence. The civil war between theNortheners and Southerners which lasted forfive years (1861-65) was disastrous not onlyto the 'belligerents themselves but to Lanca-shire which was famished for the regularsupply of cotton for its factories. Pricesof the raw staple began to rise slowly inLiverpool till 24d. was reached. As thesupply became more and more scarc'3 Indiacame to the help of Lancashire with great

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Early Carcer.profit to herself. Bombay, of course, was thechief beneficia.ry as it was the principalexporter of nine-tenths of the supply. Themerchants reaped a rich harvest of profits.These came mostly in the shape of nuggetsof gold and bars of silver which have beenauthentically recorded at 51 crores of Rupees.The firm of Mr. Tata at the time was tradingin cotton and had established good businessrelations with Mr. Premchand Roychand.This plethora of wealth led to an unprecedentedspeculation in the city reminding us of theSouth Sea Scheme. A variety of Banking andfinancial institutions were started and theirshares came awhile to be sold at a fabulouspremium. One of the earliest and most influential of those was the Asiatic Banking Corpora-tion with which Mr. Premchand had a greatdeal to do. It was arranged that a bank shouldbe opened in London also. Mr. Jamsetji Tatahad to return to Bombay in 1863 with a view toestablish such a bank there and at the sametime to look after the cotton consignments ofthe firm. The project of the bank, however,came to be abandoned and Mr. Tata devotedhis whole attention to the cotton shipments.

Those were the halcyon days of 1863 and172


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L,fe of J amselj i N. Tala.1864. Speculation was at a boiling point andMr. Premchand Roychand was the prince ofthat speculation. I t is irrelavent to refer tothat stirring epoch. An account of it may beread in the history of it which I published in1910 (Comb ridge & Co). But a passing re-ference all the same may be made to it in orderto illustrate the subject of this brief memoir.The American war came to an end early in1865 with the surrender of the Southern armyunder General Lee. The news came as a terri-ble bomb shell on the speculators in Bombayand on the cotton traders. Prices of cotton andshares began to fall from day to day till thecrisis reached its climax on 1st July 1865which is recorded as the black day in thecity. There was a disastrous aftermath.Old and wealthy firms were either plunged inheavy insolvency or in the greatest embarass-ments. The general population suffered impmensely. Credit was wrecked and distress ')fan intense character prevailed for a longtime. The law courts were over busy with

~ u i t s and liquidation orders. Debtors werecreditors and creditors debtors. The richbecame poor and the poor were impoverishedand in the direst straits. That was the condi-

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,E a r l ~ Career.

tion when the day of reckoning came. I t goeswithout saying that the firm of Tata was hardhit. Mr. J amsetji Tata had to liquidate thebranch in England and return to Bombay.The local head office was barely able to standon its legs, such was the general aftermath ofthe speculation.

There was a serious ebb in the fortune ofthe house of Tata While it was slowlyattempting to rehabilitate itself, an eventoccurred which was to restore its shatteredfortune and lay anew, ana solid foundation, thefuture prosperity of the firm. The Abyssynianwar was declared against Theodore, the kingor Negus of Abyssynia who had stupidlyrefused to relieve two British officers who hadgone as an embassy to him to get ConsulCameron relieved from his captivity. SirRobert Napier (afterwards Lord Napier ofMagdala), was in command of the army whichwas moved from Bombay. Having had pre-vious experience of commissariat contracts,Messrs. Tata, with a syndicate of othel' Con-tractors, were entrusted with the supply ofprovision and other equipments for the troops.

Sir Robert Napier had a most arduous anddifficult campaign before him. He would not

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Life of Jamsetji N. Tata.leave anything to chance. Neither would hecourt a defeat while the march to Magdalafrom Zoula Bay in the Red Sea was exceed-ingly difficult in a strange and unexploredcountry. He therefore demanded that a year'ssupply should be provided. The wa r was con-summately planned and by the time Sir Roberthad reached the capital, King Thevdore ratherthan suffer defeat, committed suicide. So thewar came to an end, a great deal earlierthan anticipated. The profits were said to belarge beyond the most sanguine anticipation.I t was a war in which much public monieswere wasted. The Bnmbay Gazette, then a mostpowerful and influential journal denouncedthe waste of public monies. That there was anenormous waste both in India and in Englandwas indisputably proved. When the lateprofessor Fawcett raised a debate in the Houseof Commons, a departmental committee ofenquiry was instituted and it was finallyascertained that the expenditure originallysubmitted to parliament at a million sterlinghad mounted to eleven millions bUL thewaste was more or less with the War Office inEngland and the Bombay government.

The firm of Tata was faidy rehabilitated20


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Early Career.and set upon its legs. Mr. Jamsetji Tatathen cast about for some other businessopening. The attention of a few sagaciousin the city was turned to the cotton industry.With two or three other partners an oilpressing factory, which had gone into liquid-ation was purchased and converted into aspinning and weaving mill. As yet the cottonindustry which had been absolutely paralizedduring the American war- i t being impossibleto work with cotton ranging from 500 to 700Rs. per candy-was in its infancy. In the earlypart of the seventies there were no more than8 Mills. The factory prospered and a hand-some profit was realised. A wealthy Hindumerchant Mr. Kessowji Naik, broker to theeminent house of Messrs. W. Nicol & Co.,having offered to buy it at a good profit. theconcern was sold out. But Mr. Jamsetji Tatadetermined that he should now establish afactory of his own, fully convinced by hispractical experience of the Chinchpogly mill,that the future prosperity of Bombay mustlargelydepend on cott0n spinning and weaving.With this conviction he resolved to proceed toManchester and make himself fully acquaint-ed with the condition of the industry there,

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Life of Jmsetji N. Tata.and how large a mill may be equipped inIndia so as to earn handsome profits. With hisdeparture to England for the second timeclosed the first period of Mr. Tata's vicissi-tudes of fortune and his earliest businesscareer.

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HIS MERIDIAN OF PROSPERITY.Returning from London, Mr. Tata husily

engaged himself exploring spots near and farwhere he might successfully plant his mill.He was firmly imbued with the convictionthat a cotton mill within a few miles' radiusof a district where cotton was ahundantlycultivated, was best situated and advantaged.That his view on this point was sound hasbeen demonstrated over and over by the manycotton mills which have since sprung inKhandesh, the Central Provinces and Guzeratwhich are all cotton growing districts. Nagpurattracted his greatest attention and aftervisiting many localities in pursuit of a site heeventually selected that city. The selectionwas wise. Nagpur is really the great dis-tributingcentre of the agricultural products ofthe Central Provinces, specially wheat andseed. I t is also the entre pot of all inland importsby rail. Piece goods, yarn, and other commo-dities, indigenous and foreign go there fordistribution among the consumers. So the

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Life of Jamsetji N. Tala.needed land, which at the time was cheapenough, was acquired and the building of themill and the equipping of it with machinerycommenced soon after in right earnest.Mr. Tata was indefatigable in his personalsupervIsIOn. Vigilance over the contractorsand efficiancy of the job were essential. Allhad been completed by the close of 1876 andthe first January of 1877 was fixed for thestarting of the mill with some ceremony.There was a large gathering of the !ocalcommunity ann also of those invited fromBombay. Sir John Morris, Chief Commis-sioner of the Central Provinces, who took thekeenest interest in the first important cottonfactory established in the province, presided.The occasion, auspicious as it was, wasdoubly memorable as on that day QueenVictoria was proclaimed Empress of Indiaand in commemoration of such an historicalevent the mill itself was named. "TheEmpress Mill," though of course, the nameof the company was the "Central IndianSpinning and Vvcaving Company Limited."The start was good but in the initial stagemany a difficulty in the practical working hadhad to be surmounted. 1\/[r. Tata, however, was

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His Mtridiall of P r o s p e r i t ~ .singularly lucky in the choice of his superiorstaff and manager. Mr. (now Sir) Bejonji

D adabhai was appointed Manager for hisgreat administrative ability which was so wellrecognized in his former post as assistantgoods Traffic Manager on the G. 1. P. Railway.Though no specialist in any branch of thecotton industry, by his great natural intelli-gence, penetrating insight, steady perse-verance, and indomitable capacity for thehardest and most complicated work, he soonproved his undoubted competency to manageand control, with the highest tact and judg-ment, so large an est.ablishment as a cottonmill. The choice has been justified a hundred-fold while the brilliant success the mill hasachieved all throughout is principally owingto Sir Bejonji. No mill manager has enjoyedthe unbounded confidence of the agents ashe and none has reciprocated it with suchexceptional ability and sagacity. In short, itmay be said here without a word of exaggera-tion that Sir Bejonji has shown himself inmill management a facile princeps in everyrespect. He is a rare example of what abilityand integrity can accomplish in the industry.

Apart from this, the unprecedented success25


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Life of ;tamselji N. Tala.which has all through attended the EmpressMill must be attributed to two distinct traitsof Mr. Tata's own personality, namely, courageand dogged perseverance. From the beginning he held before him a high ideal, everyway worthy of the sterling man of businessand practical enterprise. It is a trite saying," Nothing venture, nothing have." Mr. Tataventured everything which by any possibilitycould be made practical and he had hadhis reward. I t did lIot come all at once.Neither did it rain down from heaven in a trice.I t was the result of years of what may becalled laborious pioneer work. Mr. Tata wasfor ever assimilating new ideas and experimenting to see how far they might be success-ful. When he began a trial after due deli-beration, he never was deterred by preliminaryfailures from presevering with it. Manyindeed are the instances of the experimentshe made. Some, of course, came to naught; butall the experience acquired even by failureswas not wasted. But generally he was successful. His ardent desire was to see the millequipped to date and give the best results forall the outlay expended. Indeed, in India, hewas always the foremost in trying new inven-

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His Meridian of Prospertty,tions and appliances which might ultimatelyprove advantageous to the cotton industry.Thus almost all enterprises were embarkedon with courage and conviction of theirultimate success and in his case it mustbe said success led to success till his milltook the first rank in all India. Not only washe the first in point of efficient and productivemachinery; but he knew how to deal with thecommercial part of the business. The ques-tion of always looking about for hew marketsengrossed his constant attention. He wouldsend round travelling agents to discovercentres whence he might distribute the millproducts. Next, the problem of transport wasbrought under consideration. How goodsmay be sent by the shortest and cheapestroute possible was a question that alsoengaged his attention The sel ection of cottonfrom various districts, the planting of gins andpresses near the seats of production and soforth were all part of a great and compre-hensive whole. He had well conceived howthe chain of all the elements may be madestrong and effective and he endeavoured to theutmost of his power and ability to forge linkafter link for the purpose. I t was a most

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Life of Jamselji N. Tala.arduous and uphill work for the first ten orfifteen years. But he had as already observed,able co-adjutors and lieuteuauts who were capable of putting into execution his new ideas.Every time that he returned from his travelsto Europe, he brought with him a quiver fullof ideas. His keen and penetrating facultiesof observation were such that he went aboutmany a manufacturing town with his eyesopen and with a burni,ng desire to learn whatmay be useful. I t was the same when hevisited Japan. He returned to Bombay b r i m ~ful of a variety of ideas not only inreference to cotton spinning and weaving, butalso in respect to agriculture, coal, mining andso on. I t should also be remembered th'llduring the earlier years of working the mill,it was not all smooth sailing. Innumerablewere the small difficulties that had cropped upand which acted on the sensitive mind ofMr. Tata as so many pin pricks. But all thetroubles began to disappear as experiencewas acquired year after year. The financialsuccess of the mill was assured while SirBejonji had not only strengthened its stabilitybut had crowned its edifice. I t is not surprising that with all this exercise of patience

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His Mertdiafl oj Prosperity.and perseverance, of trials and disappoint-ments, and the earnest desire to do the verybest, prosperity accompanied the mill as yearswent on. The dividends were handsome, whilelarge sums were set apart for repairs andrenewals and replacement of worn out machi-nery. From the commencement of the startingof the mill for work up to 31st December 1913dividends amounting to Rs. 2.43,45,007 havebeen paid to the proprietary on a fully paidup share of the value of Rs. 500. There hasbeen paid by way of a bonus from reservedprofits 2Ys shares fully paid up of Rs 500eac}, to the shareholders. In other words, thecompany has made a present to the share-holders of 2Ys shares per share. They hadnot been asked to pay any call on the newissue. The amount was as it were transferredfr;)lTI the reserve to capital account which nowstands at Rs. 46,8, ,000. Lately, in order toavoid borrowing publicly monies from time totime at varying rates, preference shares havebeen issued bearing interest at 5 per cent. thusbringing up the amount of the capital toRs. 96,87,500. This preference stock of thevalue of fifty lakhs has become a most popularform of investment. Thus, it will be seen

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Life of Jamselji N. Tala.how a well-managed mill, equipped up-to-date,has been able to benefit the proprietary andbecome the subject of high encomiums allround in the cotton industry. But Mr. Tatawas not satisfied with advancing the p r o s ~perity of the company alone. With a largemind and heart he took the greatest pains topromote the material welfare of those bywhose hands alone the mill was made asuccess. The contentment and wellbeing ofthe operatives themselves was his constantcare. By means of a well considered ,andgenerous scheme a vanety of prizes wereinstituted for the best attendance and greatestefficiency among the hands. The institution of prizes has had the agreeable effectof stimulating healthy rivalry among theoperatives. Besides, there is paid an annualbonus to all hands and the yearly bonusand prize distribution day is kept as ageneral holiday. Provision is also made formel'ito1'iolls service after a long retirement.Gratuities and compensations aTe awarded tothose deserving and physically incapacitated.The combined result of all this is that theoperatives are devotedly attached to the mill.They have made the fortunes of the mill their

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His .Ueridian of Prosperif:;.

own. They have become conscious of the factof identity of interests. Several Bombaymills have followed the example first set byMr. Tata. Again, the subordinate staff ofemployees have not been forgotten. Therewell-being, too, has been considered. Thereis a reading room and Library and a recrea-tion ground for them. These amenities byway of relaxation after a hard day's labour aregreatly appreciated. Lastly, Mr. Tata instituted the system of apprenticeship wherebyfairly educated young men are admitted in acertain proportion every year for the purposeof getting themselves trained in the differentbranches of the industry. Each has to sign anapprentice bond for a period of three yearsduring which he is allowed a small guaranteedsalary for maintaining himself, subject, ofcourse, to efficiency, good conduct, and perfectintegrity to the employers. The companyreserves to itself the option to engage himafter three years' prohation in some depart-ment or other for which he may have qualifiedhimself on a fair salary.

Ten years' experience of the practical work-ing of the mill prompted Mr. Tata to embarkon another kindred enterprise but having for

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Life of Jamsetji N. Tata.its object the spinning and weaving of fineryarns in cloth. By 1885, numerous mills hadsprung np in Bombay and elsewhere. Buteveryone without exception was equipped forturning out coarser kinds of goods. :rdr. Tatawith his individuality thought that the timehad come for taking a new departure in theindustry. Firmly of conviction that with alonger stapled variety of cotton, fine I ' goodscould be successfully manufactured, he starteda new company for the purpose which he veryappropriately named the Swadeshi. Land waspurchased in the vicinity of the VictoriaGardens and all other preliminaries had beencompleted. I t so happened, however, that atthe time the largest mill in the Presidency,known as the Dharamsi, was put up publiclyfor sale. Mr. Tata bid for it and it wasknocked down to him for twelve and a halflakhs. The mill had cost over fifty lakhs andit was thought a cheap bargain at the time.

But soon aftcr the acquisition of the factoryit gradually became transparent that the millwould require extensive overhaul of a mostradical character, so much so that what wasonce exultingly considered to be the cheapestwas going to be the dearest concern. Mr. Tata

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His Meridiall of Prosperity.however, had put his foot on it in spite ofexpert advice to the contrary. I t was one ofhis few great blunders. The mill gave infinitetrouble in the matter of renovation and recon-struction for well nigh ten years. Many indeedwere the vicissitudes and crises through whichit had to pass before being made a fairly up-to-date mill giving moderate dividend. Thoughrepentant Mr. Tata, bated not a jot, andcourageously persevered in order to make it areally first class concern, a sister in fact ofthe successful one at Nagpur. Here againwhile the transition stage lasted he displayedthat doggedness and tenacity of purpose whichall through were so prominent in his industrialcareer. Robustly following his principle,never to be defeated. he put his shoulder to thewheel of the rotten" Dharamsi (rechristenedSwadeshi)," till at last he made it an absolutesuccess. This instance of how a worn out mill,by.dint of perseverance and liberal but judicious expenditure might be converted into agoing and remunerative concern is indeed mostremarkable. For it is not known in the annalsof the cotton industry in Bombay that anymill owner has ever been able to set upon itslegs a hopelessly tumble down concern as the

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Llfe of Jamsetji N. Tala.old Dharamsi mill was. No doubt the initialmi:;;;take cost a large amount of money butCall rage and perseverance and a deep andahiding faith in success eventually crownedhis efforts. And to-clay the" Swadeshi .. millshares are as much of gilt edged securitiesand in great demand as those of the Empressmills at Nagpur and stand in the front rank ofmill shares on the local stock exchange. Welldoes he deserve, after the unprecedentodfeat he achieved, the soubriquet of a sterling"Captain of Inuustry," Having been closelyassociated with this reconstruction of the" Swadeshi " for the first se\-en long years thepresent writer cannot withhold his admirationof the indomit


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His JIeridialt of ProsperifjJ.Mr. Tata, In connection with the Nagpur millsmanaged for years withollt Gny commission at allbeyond a nominal honorarium of Rs. 6,000per annum when the commission on theconventional scale might have been ten timesas much! That was a special feature of the.. Empress" mills which the proprietarygreatly appreciated. In the case of the.. Swadeshi," it was deemed right and properfor more than one weighty reason to fix aremuneration of 10 per cent on nett profitsAnd later on the allowanee was reduced toRs. 2,000. Eventually a commission of 5 percent only on nett profits ,vas fixed for the" Empress."

Though ring spindles had been somewhatknown, it is a matter of common knowledgein the annals of cotton industry in Indiathat Mr. Tata, with his keen observationand shrewed commercial sagacity, greatlymatured by experience, was the first tointroduce them in the II Empress" mill.sfor practical purposes. By repeated experi-ments he was amply convinced that theRabbeth ring spindle must supercede theold throstle, having regard to its easierworking and its capacity to give a larger

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Life of Jamsetjj N. Tafa.production. In vain did he contend withMessrs. Platt Brothers to construct ringframes which one or two other Manchestermachine makers had actually commenceddoing. In vain, he pleaded for their efficiencyand productive capacity; that first class firmwas obdurate. Its conservatism was sodeep rooted that it would not look at therival spindle which was in a few short yearsdestined to revolutionize the wtole spinningindustry. Failing to persuade Messrs. Platt's,Mr. Tata boldly went forward in replacinghis U Empress" mills with those new spindles.Messrs. Brooks and Doxey, the rival manu-facturers and the pioneers, were thus ableto secure Mr. Tata's custom. And everydefect in working was pointed out to them,so that they might improve on their originalpattern and make the machine a perfect one.As a result, mill after mill began to followthe lead of Mr. Tata who had the unboundedsatisfaction to see at last the conservativeMessrs. Platt 's falling into a line with theirrivals who meanwhile firmly established theirreputation. The incident, again, tells usplainly what a great leader Mr. Tata was inthe line and how he enhanced his own

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His Meridian of y o s p e r i t ~ .reputation while conferring an immeasurablebenefit on the other mills. In short, no newimprovement or any new invention inspinning and weaving machinery ever escapedthe lynx eye of Mr. Tata. He was alwaysfor giving each a full and fair trial and hewould not swerve from his determination tointroduce it unless his trials conclusivelydemonstrated the futility of it. Similarly,long long before the days of working a factoryat night with electric lights Mr. Tata ex-perimented with them at the " E m p r e s ~ " mills.It owes its intimate popularity to Mr. Tata whointroduced it at a time when i t was almostunknown in India. So far as working by thatlight he proved it to the industrial worldof India that it was practicable. But itsremunerative success wa::; deemed doubtfulat the time, and the experiment therefore hadto be given up. I t is still considered thatworking a mill by electric light at night isa costly experiment with no correspondingprofit or advantage, though they in Japanwork with it most successfully.

Fully convinced of the practicability of spin-ning finer counts with long stapled cotton, Mr.Tata devoted a great deal of his attention to the

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Llfe of .'lamsetb N. Tata.improvement in the method of cultivationof the varieties of such cotton grown indifferent parts of India. Having closelywatched the method adopted by the Egyptianryot he was of opinion that with a fair amountof intelligence and concrete examples theIndian cultivator of cotton might be graduallyaccustomed to that method. He accordinglytook pains to put his views in a brochure anddescribe the method fo1lowed in Egypt. Butsuch was the apathy or indifference of lhosemost interested in the industry that nothingcame of it. Again, the Indian Governmentin the early nineties had not become fullyalive to the immense importance to thecountry of improved and extended cottoncultivation though it is a source of gratification to record the activity i t has displayedin the matter since the reconstruction andexpansion of the agricultural depal'tmentthanks to the energy and initiation of LordCurzon, the Viceroy of " Efficiency" in everybranch of the Indian administration. Theannual report of the Imperial department ofagriculture tells us what measu res are takenfrom time to time to improve indigenousvarieties, to cultivate hybrids, and l'e:11' exoti0s

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His 5Iendian oj Pmsperit:y.in different soils by more enlightened methods.The literature is annually increasing, whileone of the best results of the efforts of theGovernment may be seen in the comparativesuccess that has been achieved in growing inSind by means of irrigation water what iscommercially known as the Simi AmericanCotton. I t IS also gratifying to record that itis to the firm of Tata & Sons that theGovernment looks for giving them tests ofthe varieties of cotton grown at differentexperimental farms. The firm are the officialreferrBes on cotton

Lastly, reference may be needed to anotherinlportant direction in which Mr. Tata workedhard for the trade of cottons. The problemof improved methods of cultivation was onebranch. The means of cheapened trans-portation ofthe finished products was another.What had been going on for some years inthe matter of steam freight to Hongkong andShanghai was this. The P. & O. Companyhad the largest share of the conveyance ofyarn bales to Chinese and even Japaneseports. Next to that company were the linesof the Austrian Lloyds and the Rubbatinocompanies. The exports of yarn of Bombay

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Life of Jamselji N. Tala.mills to these ports had been going upwardsby leaps and bounds from the middle of 1885,apparently owing to increased production ofthe large number of mills that had beenerected. As more mills began to be con-structed and more yarn was turned out theexports pro tanto were greater. Viewing thesituation, the navigation companies referred tobecame keenly alive to realising larger profitsfrom freight. They were conscious of theirstrength to demand what freight por cubic tonthey pleased. So the rates of freight werescrewed up by the three rivals entering into acombine. The shippers began to grumble untilloud murmurs were heard on every side. Mr.Tata took up the question of freights, seeingthat his own firm were one of the largest ship-pers of yarn to China and Japan. I t should beremembered that at the date of the agitationfor reduced freights, Japan was rather animporter of Bombay yarn than an exporterand no rival in the common markets ofHongkong and Shanghai. Of course, as thatcountry extended its cottOIl industry byfollowing Bombay's example, the imports ofIndian yarn showed proportionate diminution.Having visited Japan. and seen whether there

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His Meridian of P r o s p e r i t ~ .was a fair prospect of any big Japaneseline undertaking to carry freight from Bombayto China, he was exceedingly lucky, aftermuch effort and negotiations, to secure aline of steamers under a certain personalguarantee. On returning to Bombay he begansounding shippers as well as mills whetherthey could bind themselves down to securehim for two years a certain amount of freight.All were gratified at this courageous enterprisewhich Mr. Tata embarked upon single handedfor the greater good of the industry and forthus putting down the combine of the localnavigation companies. Eventually, to placematters on a business footing, Mr. Tataobtained a written guarantee from those whohad consented to ship their goods exclusivelyin the new Japanese linp. of steamers. Whenthis great move was an accomplished fact,there was a consternation in the camp of thecombine. They had watched the movementbut had not expected that it would be success-fully carried through. But they had countedwithout their host and underrated the potenti-ality of Mr. Tata to carry so bold an enterpriseto a successful issue. There never was sounexpected a stroke so fatal to their interests

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Life of Jalllsetji N. Tala.as carriers. So they set up a counter move.They followed the vulgar trade trick ofbreaking down this formidable opposition bymeans of a ridiculous reduction in freight.From 13 and 19 Rupees per cubic ton to Hong-kong and Shanghai respectively, they broughtdown the rate to the ruinous figure of RupeesTwo! The P. & O. Oompany went one betterand attracted freight at the nominal rate of aRupee! I t was indeed a trial of strength, aregular war of freights between a powerfulcombination and a single person ofindomitabJecourage and equally strong to bear the loss.The war would have ended in the completetriumph of Mr. Tata and for ever have destroy-ed the monopoly of freight besides teaching anobject lesson never to be forgotten. But unfor-tunately the tempting offer of the ridiclllousrate, tantamount to free freight. was irreslRti-ble to the la1'gest shippers who, to theireternal discredit, broke their agreement.The example was cOlltageous and the signa-teries dropped one after the other. Themonopolists gained their object in view butnot without fixing the freight later on at aconsiderably lower figure than the one whichhad normally ruled prior to the f r e i g ~ t war.

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His Meridian of P r o s p e r i t ~ .This breach of faith on the part of theguarantors no doubt exceedingly vexed Mr.Tata who had so patriotically striven once forall to show to the foreign combines what unitedindigenous organisation could achieve, But hetook this faithlessness with stoic composure,comforting himself with the thought that atany rate he had shown the way as to whatIndians could accomplish when intent ondoing so with unity of aim and purpose. Theexample was followed once more a few yearsago when a similar enterprise but with anEnglish ship owning line was embarked uponwith this further good result that anothermaterial reduction in China freights had to beundergone by the combine. Thus at the verymeridian of his prospe"ity Mr. Tata had de-monstrated the value of Swadeshism in mattersindustria] and commercial. No academicperson. his motto was action, action, action.Action was the key to all his enterprises.They were not to be mere paper ones. Theabstract had to be translated on the terms ofthe concrete. A practical man, he showed theway to his countrymen how wealth acquiredmay be put to the best productive uses whichmight benefit the country and advance the

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Life of Jamselji N. Tala.people a stage forward in their struggle formaterial prosperity. By 1895, Mr. Tata hadamply proved his credentials as a grea t man ofaction, courageous enterprise and the mostbrilliant pioneer of indigenous industrialismon well ordered and sound lines. Enoughhad been accomplished between 1875 and 1895to inscribe his name on the page of the i n d u s ~trial history of this great country during theclose of the progressive nineteenth century_


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MR. TATA'S CLOSING YEARSOF EPOCH MAKING ENTERPRISE.THE sun of MI'. Tata's prosperity which had

reached its meridian now befriended himeven more all through till the sun of his ownexistence came to an untimely end. Thestars in their course were most favourableto him and Dame Fortune showered herbounteous favours on him unstintedly. Hehad after 1895 resolved to practically put intoexecution those larger ideals which for twentyyears had been floating in his ever activemind. His husiness now rested on a solidfoundation. I t was wholly carried on by aloyal, trusty and experienced band of em-ployees. He relied on th.se to do theirappointed work. Mr. Tata was a firm believerin the efficacy of division of labour accom-panied by implicit confidence. The two millshad passed their age of adolescence with thevicissitudes not u!1usual to early youth. Thesewere confided in hands at once exrerienced andenlightened and of shrewd business sagacity.

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L'fe of Jalllselji N. Tma.His was still the directing talent, but all therest of the business was allowed to take itscourse under the steel'age of their practisedhelmsmen. He now almost devoted his wholetime and attention to the projects of thegreatest magnitude w hicb he had at heart.

One of the earliest of Mr. Tata's beneficentand patriotic schemes was the institution ofan endowment fund for the purpose of lend-ing money to graduates who had passed withdistinction their examinations in any ofthe Indian Universities but were keen on fur-ther following up their studies for passing theIndian Civil Service or for qualifying them-selves in one of the liberal professions or inone of the new industrial colleges and Univer-sities in Europe, who were poor and unableto afford the necessary means to go to Europe.The scheme was well conceived and aimed atturning out in a generation a phalanx oftrained Indian specialists. I t was first startedin 1892 and a Trust Deed was executed inthe month of October of that year to fullyand fairly cany out the object of the founder.At first it was intended for the benefit ofyoung men of his own community but in1894-95, its scope was enlarged and made

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Epoch JIakl1lg EJlterprise.quite catholic by allowing its benefit to allgraduates of the requisite attainments of anyIndian University. The Trustees were toregulate and control the funds and the repayment thereof as prescribed in the trust deed.The scheme, it is needless to say, has provedeminently successful and is a striking evi-dence of MI". Tata's sagacity to see theintellect of India developed on lines of selfhelp and self-reliance. The scheme 01' tuitionfund further provided that after' having successfully prosecuted their post graduate studiesfor the line they had selected the studentsshould on return to India repay the loanadvanced with interest on a guaranteed scaleaccording to the income they were able toearn. There was a committee of supervisionalso whose duty was to see how the beneficiaries, during their post graduate studies inEurope behaved themselves. Till now 38have passed of whom 23 are Parsees and15 NonParsees. One of the earliest and mostbrilliant of such beneficiaries was Dr. Row whopassed his London Medical University degreewith honours in Bacteriological research.Some have entered the Civil Service whileothers have qualified themselves as barristers

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Life of Jamsetii N. Tara.Engineers and officers in the Public WorksDepartment of the Government of India andothers are electrical engineers one of whomholds an eminent position at Pittsburg. Thisendowment fund in principle is not dissimilarto that raised in Philadelphia, a century andover by its citizens in memory of the greatBenjamin Franklin. Before expatiating onhis three great schemes, Mr. Tata's magnumOpWi, which in their conception and executionalike should be called epoch making, areference may be made at this stage toanother good patriotic work for whichIndustrial Indian hasbeen exceedingly gratefulto Mr. Tata. Of course it was a work ofsecondary importance but fully evidencingthe aim and object he had constantly in view.The subject which not a little engaged his at-tention was the repeal of the excise duty oncloths manufactured in Indian cotton fa.ctories.The imposition of that duty in 1895 had ledto a most vigorous agitation all over thecountry, specially in Bombay which is thegreatest stronghold of cotton manufacturesin this country as Manchester is in England.The Bombay Millowner's Association hadsubmitted a well reaslmed memorial to the

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Epoc.h -'laking Ellterprise.Government of India, and Mr. Tata andMr. N. N. Wadia were deputed as its represen-tatives to support that memorial by a personalinterchange of views with the Finance Minister.Of course, the result was infructuous. But sokeenly did Mr. Tata feel the injustice of thefiscal measure of which even the man in thestreet was perfectly well aware, that when hesoon after visited London, he embraced theopportunity to have a private interview withLord George Hamilton, the then Secretary ofState for India. The contention of Lord Georgewas specious and fallacious. He thought Indianmills were earning handsome profits to fattenshareholders, averaging 10 to 12 pel' cent.which was rarely the good fortune of Man-chester, and he deemed the excise duty noburden whatever on the industry and no waycontributory to the retardation of the furtherprogress of the industry. Fully aware of theactual facts of the average earnings of Indiancotton Industry extending over a decade 01'more, taking the lean and fat years, Mr. Tatadiffered from the Secretary of State. Thatfunctionary thereupon asked him to adducehis facts. Mr. Tata promised these onhis return to Bombay. He redeemed his

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Life of Jalllselji N . Tala.promise. He caused minute statistics tobe collected and analysed on a scientificbasis so that there might be a correctapprehension of the true average earnings ofthe mills. ,Vith the valuable assistance ofhis Secretary. Mr. Barjorji J. Pad,;ha, M.A., abrilliant graduate of the local University,Mr. Tata was easily able to show how farhis contention was correct, namely, thaton an average the net profits did not exceed6 per cent. He put his facts and argumentsin the form of a. brochure and presented acopy to Lord George Hamilton while distri-buting it broadcast among Indian mill-owners. Apart from the immediate object, thebrochure admirably serves the purpose ofinforming millowners how such a subjectcould be scientifically treated. The method ofexamination adopted was or:e which everypractical man in any industry should bear inmind. In reality, it was a kind of educationin industrial statistics which any expertstatistician would approve. Business econo-mics is a science almost unknown to Indianmillowners who seem to rest content withmere superficial arithmetic which eventuallyresolves intI) a dividend of so many R u p e e ~

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Epoch ~ I I a k i l l g El1tcrprise.per annum. A scientific analysis is the lastthing they ever think of. And the value ofMr. Tata's brochure lies in indicating howprofits could be scientifically assessed.

A retrospect may now be taken of his epochmaking projects of a vast magnitude which hiscapacious mind had evolved somewhat innebulous condition at least twenty yearsbehre. But, ;)S already observed, it wasafter 1sa5 that r.e had clarified his ideas andassiduously worked to gi ve them a crystalizedhody and form. These were devoted to objectsthe most patriotic and of vastly beneficialcharacter to\vards the greater material pros-perity of his countrymen. After years ofcogitation and mature deliberation Mr. Tatalaunched three projects of a veritably colossalcharacter. Thosc werc firstly, a scheme formanipulating iron are in the country andconverting it into steel, and secondly, ofutilising the immense monsoon waters whichroll down from the top of the Western Ghantsand run to waste in the valleys below as powerfor industrial purposes. At the same timehe had also conceived the idea of a thirdscheme that of instituting a Scientific ResearchInstitute. Science was the hand maid of

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Life of Jalllsetji N. Tata.industry, and Mr. Tata's object was to putboth on the same plane and run them simul-taneously. He was fully convinced that thefuture of the country lay in one direction inthe successful pursuit of science VI' hieh may inanother direction be practically called to theaid of large industries which needed fosteringand developing in India with her many rich butunexplored resources. The prosecution ofscience, he believed would immensely benefitfuture generations of Indian humanity andconduce to their greater material prosperity.Science was the helpmate of industry. Thatwas the root idea which had so long beenrevolving in hie mind. That idea he resolutelyresolved to put into practical execution. Themore he revolved the idea in his head thegreater became the desire to convert it into areality. Thue it came to pass that he firstsent a distinguished graduate of the localUniver


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Epoch Jlaking Enterprise.his purpose in India. I t was a labourious taskdemanding not only the greatest patience andindustry but high intelligence and firm mentalgrasp to select what was essential towards therealisation of the object. Having concludedthis important preliminary operation, the nextpractical step was to ascertain the cost ofa scheme of Research Institute of the kindrequired. This depended on the subjectswhich would be embraced in the courses to betaught hy eminent specialists to be engagedfor the purpose in the various departments oftheoretic and applied science. That wasanother labourious task but not so difficultand complicated as the preliminary 01' funda-mental one. So the estimates were made outwhich amounted to the sum of rupees thirtylakhs (200,000) for capital outlay on buildings,laboratories and other requisite appurtenancesand appliances and for a permanent endow-ment fund from the annual income of whichthe maintenance of the institution, includingthe teaching staff, might he carried on. Thescheme, as then roughly prepared was sub-mitted to a committee specially selected hyMr. Tata of men of University culture, moreor less who, might carefully examine it from

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Life of Jamselji N. Tala.all points so as to ensure the ultimate successful launching of the Institute for purposes oforiginal research in science and philosophy.Mr. Barjorji Padsha who had been deputed togo over all the principal Western Universitieswas appointed Secretary. The committeeconsisted of all good men and true, perfectlycompetent to advise MI'. Tata. Of course, tillthe scheme was consummated, there had beensome changes in the personnel. But the taskwhich this committee of all the talents, as wemight say, had before them was most oner-ous and responsible. It took some years ofno little labour and weariness to mature it ona practical basis, both from the academic andfinancial point, in order to submit it for thefavourable consideration of and support bythe Indian Government. Those were years ofthe greatest anxiety to Mr. Tata personallywho was keen on the establishment of theInstitnte at the earliest date possible. Manyindeed were the vicissitudes to which thescheme was subjected and many a protractedcorrespondence had gone on between him andthe Imperial authorities at Calcutta. I t wasfirst informally laid before Lord Curzon whenhe arrived in 1898 in Bombay to assume the

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Epoch Making Enterprise.office of Viceroy. One of the difficulties to besolved was the place where the Instituteshould be located. Naturally, of course,Mr. Tata preferred Bombay, the city of hislife long activities. There were many mattersinvolved in choosing the right site. A site wasrequired which would every way meet thewants of the Institute. At one time it wasalmost understood that Tromba:,. (an islandnear Bombay) may best be suited but thewater difficulty there wa; one not easily to beovercome without a very large expenditure. Ithad to be unwillingly abandoned. Bangalorewas ultimately chosen. Then long negotia-tions followed with the Mysore state, speciallyas to certain financial aid which had beenfound to be absolutely essential. I t is, how-ever, unnecessary in a short memoir of thischaracter to refer to all the other difficultiesthat one after another cropped up, as thescheme matured and was examined by morethan one authority. There was also anotherlion in the path to be reconciled. TheGovernment of India while applauding thepatriotic ardour which prompted Mr. Tata tofound the institute and give thirty lakhs wasnot satisfied that its maintenance could all be

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Life of Jamselji N. Tala.met from the monies which may remain afterproviding for the land, and the buildings of theinstitute. Lord Curzon, then Viceroy, wasrather lukewarm if not sternly cold in helpingthe scheme to a practical stage. Since thescheme had been first submitted to theGovernment of India there were in all threeresolutions issued by that authority on thesubject. The first one was dated 6th May 1903,the second dated 28th February 1906, and thethird one. dated 29th May 1909. The last wasfinal and formulated all the matters agreed toand disposed of satisfactorily so as to make apractical beginning in earnest. First, as to thesite. That was finally fixed at Bangalore. TheMaharaja of Mysore ,'olunteered, with a senseof patriotism which is at once laudable andmuch to be admired, to give all the landrequisite for the variety of objects connectedwith the institute. A grant of five lakhs wasdecreed for the purpose. To this the Govern-ment of India added as a grant in aid theha ndsome sum of two and a half lakhs. Alsoa further grant of one and a half lakh to bespread over three years. Thus in all, asubstantial sum of nine lakhs was assured forland and buildings. Next, came the question

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Epoch "laking Enterprise.of maintenance, including the salaries of theprofessorial staff. It was computed, on themost searching estimates, that nothing shortof Rupees two lakhs would be necessary.Mr. Tala, whilst living, had donated alarge number of his properties in Bombay ofthe value of 30 lakhs from the income of whichthe Institute was to be efficiently maintainedfor the object i t was founded. The IndianGoyernment caused the local authorities inBombay to report what may be the fair andreasonable annual income which may be deriv-ed from the various properties to be vested inGovernment. In consultation with the ChiefEngineer, the matter was left to the awardof Mr. Loundes, a well-known barrister ofthe Bombay High Court, who was appointedwith the approval of the Imperial Govern-ment as sale arbitrator. The income underhis award, amounted to one and a quarterlakh only. The balance was to be made upby the Mysore and the Imperial Governmentsin certain proportions under specific agreemE:nt and covenant. In case the income of1 ~ lakhs from the endowment fund shouldfall short of it, it was further agreed betweenthe parties that Mr. Tala or his executors

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Life of Ja1llselji N. Talashould guarantee a sum not exceedingRs. 8,000 for ten years and deposit securitieswhich might yield that amount. Of course,the resolution minutely declared how theinstitute should be managed and how theboard of management and control should beconstituted. The principle was Mr. Travers,a well-known scientist recommended by thedistinguished professor Mr. Ramsay who hadtaken infinite trouble in giving his mostfriendly advice 10 Mr. Tata in order to placethe institute on a solid and permanent basis.The curriculum was broadly divided into threesections, namely, (1) Scientific and Technical;(2) Medical; and (3) Philosophical and Educational. Laboratories,Libraries, museum, and allother essential appliances for research workwere also to be fully provided, so Ihatthe i'lstitute maystart for work,whell ready, fully equip-ped. I t is a matter of profound regret that Mr.Tata did not live to see the fruition of his mostcherished and life long object. But it is a sourceof the highest gratification to know that histwo sons along with the Trustees worked heartand soul to complete that which had beenleft unfinished; and not a little of the praiseis due to the late Lord Minto, during whose

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Epoch Making Ellterprise.symp"theticand statesmanlike viceroyalty thisgreat work came to be accomplished. It maybe said that the Tata family owe a lastingdebt of gratitude personally to Lord Minto whowas so greatly instrumental in crowning theedifice of this institute as he wa:-: in advancinga great practical stage the two other schemeswhich will now be immediately referred to.Lastly, the name of the institute was finallyadopted. I t was called the" Indian Instituteof Research." The actual work of teachingwas begun in 1910-11, but owing to some newdifficulties of internal management in con-nection with the teaching staff, it was, greatlyobstructed. I t is to be deeply ref!;retted theactual progress which the people of India hadanxiously anticipated, has hitherto been nowhere. The committee of management hadhad many anxious months of trouble andcomplications to overcome. Happily, theseare on the point of being finally removed orhave been removed, thanks to the personalsympathy, tact and judgment of Lord Hardingethe present Viceroy. I t is therefore to hefervently hoped that the future of the ResearchInstitute will be untroubled and that Indiacould be able to witness in a few years the

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Life of Jamselji N. Tala.beneficient fruit of the great tree which theforesight, wealth, and patriotism of Mr. Jam-setji Nusserwanji Tata fi rst planted in 1898.

I t remains now to refer to the two greatindustrial enterprises on which Mr. Tata hadembarked namely, the iron and steel manu-factory and the utilisation of water power forindustrial purposes by means of electricity.The earliest of these was the project ofconverting the rich iron mines of Chanda inthe Central Provinces of India into making pigiron and steel. The project was not only acolossal one. I t was one of the greatest venturesalmost new to India which had been takenon hand junknownthey had

iron smithing as an industry wasto the people. For ages pastworked at it; but in the most

primitive way. For a long time it was eventhought that. there were no rich ores ofiron underneath the snrface to work. But thatbelief was dispelled with the gradual progressof the geological survey of India system-atically taken by the Imperial Government.To Sir Henry Holland, late Chief of the SurveyDepartment, are due in a large measure, thevariety of mining and other concession grant-ed to private persons in recent years. Mr. Tata

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Epoch Makillg Ellterprisc.from 187,), had been constantly endeavouring toexplore a mine which may be so extensive andrich in areas as to allow a commercial ventureto be made profitable alike to himself and thecountry. Here, too, the pioneer work done byMI'. Tata was infinitely arduous buti! was donewith that patience, care and business insightwhich were so characteristic of him. It is un-necessary to detail minutely all the preliminarywork he underwent. Suffice to say, that havingconsulted many experts and other authorities,and spent a considerable sum of llloney onexploration work, the scheme was so faradvanced in its preliminary stage as to giveall hopes of ultimate success. Some morespade work of an important character re-mained, bnt as the fates ordained it the handof the Reaper cut off that man of courageousenterprise just as he was on the point ofmaking a good practical beginning. Here, too,the sons took up the thread of the schemewhere their father had left it. I t was her-culean work, which might have appalled eventhe most venturesome. They were quite newto it. They deemed themselves so manybabes. But the spirit of filial devotion inspiredthem with a courage and perseverance which

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Life of Jalllselji N. Tala.stood them in good stead and enabled themthree years after to announce to the industrialworld of the project for purpose of execution.In 1907 they formed a joint stock companywith a strong and influential Board, invitingthe public to snbscribe the needed sharecapital which was fixed at 2'31 crore Rupees.There were 2 lakhs of ordinary shares ofRs. 75 each, giving a ~ a p i t a l of 1 n crore;50,000 cumulative 6 per cent. preferenceshares of Rs. 150 each amounting to 75lakhs j and amounting 22,500 deferred sharesof Rs. 30 each to 6'75 lakhs. The companywas named" The Tata Iron and Steel Com-pany. I t may be interesting to refer to someof the salient extracts of the prospectus. Thecompany was f)l'med "for the purpose ofcreating in India brast furnaces, open hearth

~ t e e l furnaces, rolling mills, coke ovens andother plant necessary for the manufacture ofpig iron, steel rail.::;, bars, plates, &c.," and thenfollows a most pregnant paragraph whichinforms the public how the company cameto be formed. "The late Mr. J. N. Tata ofBombay some years ago began researches toascertain i f it could be possible to establishan industry for the manufactory of iron and

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Epoch JIakillg Ellterprise.steel in India on a large and profitable scaleand after four years labour, dl1l'ing whichMr. J. N. Tata and his successors at their ownexpense conducted a private geological surveyof considerable areas in India very large depo-sits of high grade iron are have been discoveredin proximity to coal of suitable cooking characters for the manufacture of pig iron at a verylow figure." One of such deposits, which cameto be eventually selected, was in the territoryof the Maharaja of Morbhun. Of course. itgoes without saying that the needed miningconcessions were obtained from the Govern-ment of India and the Board of the BengalN agpur Railway give a reduction in freightpermits for all materials and plant requiredfor construction and on all raw materials forconveyance to the works. More, the Govern-ment of India undertook to purchase fromthe :company at import prices ~ O , O O O tons ofsteel rails per annum; colossal as the enter-prise was and innumerable as the difficultiesat start were, it is indeed highly gratifying torecord that owing to the indomitable energythe management by Messrs. Tata and Sonsand the highly intelligent co-operation of theDirectors themselves men of enterprise and

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Life of Jamselji N. Tala.capital business capacity, the herculean jobwas accomplished most successfully. I t isindeed a great object lesson to all men ofwealth how a well thought out scheme, ofvast benefit to the country, could be launchedand successfully worked by means of a wellequipped organization consisting of a galaxy ofmen of expert knowledge in applied science.This vulcan like factory, is now at workfor the last two years and its latest reportshows what has been accomplished. I t verilymarks an epoch in the industrial history ofIndia at the opening of the twentieth c e ~ t u r yunder the civilising and progressive influenceof British Indian administration. In thereport of 1912-13, the Directors informed theirproprietary that the net profits till the end of30th June 1913 had amounted to Rupees 8'58lakhs,* This for a company just commerciallyworking the factory is indeed most creditable.But as the report says a further amount ofcapital expenditure is essential in order togive to the share holders the profits arisingfrom its full productive capacity. This hasnot yet.heen reached but it may be depended

:!': The report of 191314 recently published givesthe net profit at nearly 23 lakhs.64


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Epoch Mak;"g Elltcrprise.upon that i t will be reached in another twoor three years redounding to the credit of allconcerned. The Tata Iron and Steel Worksare by far the one largest and most profit-able industry thoroughly established in thiscountry for which the people's warmest gratitude is due to the great pioneer.

Coming to the othel' large euterprise itmay be observed, as has been readily acknowledged, that the original idea of harnessingthe waters of the Western Ghauts for utilisingthem as a power was communicated toMr. Tata by a local engineer, of sagacity andkeen ohservation, the late MI'. David Gostling.Like the idea of the other scheme, it was longrevolved and revolved by Mr. Tata heforebringing it to a practical head. And indeedi t is a lucky circumstance for Bombay thatthe evolution of the scheme should have beenso well considered by Mr. Tata during hislife time. In his opening speech, on theoccasion of the ceremony of laying the found-ation stone of the duct at Lonavla by LordSydenham in 1911, Sir Dorab J. Tata, theoldest son of Mr. Tata, observed as Chairmanof the Tata Hydro-Electric Power SupplyCompany that though his father was not the

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Lije oj Jamseiji N. Tala.

first to recognise the adaptability of theGhaut fall of waters for utilising it as power,MI'. Tata had the matter prominently hefoI'ehis mind for nearly thirty years before hisdeath. He was convinced that the utilisationof this kind of power, so common in thewest, would prove of the greatest industrialvalue. I t was while he was in the look out foran eligible site for his Empress mills neal' theJabbulpore marble falls which led him first toutiJize water power for industrial purposes.However the idea did not take any practicalfrom till 1&97. In that year an old expertfriend, who was connected with a Europeanlocal firm whose former brokers were thefirm of Mr. Tata, offered him the optionof bringing up the concession of the powerto be obtained from the Doodh Sagar fallsat Goa. This led to a mature considerationof the ultimate value and utility of the falls ofthe Western Ghants in preference to those nearGo,,, And an examination of all the physicaland scientific facts led to the resolntion thatthe falls of the Western Ghauts were im-mensely inferior. Mr. R. B. Joyner C. 1. E.who was one of the earliest expert consultants,had described the valne of them in a small

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Epoch Makillg ElIterprise.leaflet from which some interesting sentencesmay be reproduced. Those will enable thereader to fully apprehend the reasons whichled to the final selection. "This natural andregular phenomenon. with the 2000 feet heightof the Ghaut valleys above, and not far offBombay is the origin of this large and im-portant project. I t has hitherto always beenthought that Cherrapunji in the Khashia Hills(Assam) had the greatest rainfall in the world,but in the catchment area of the lakes for this'scheme over 546 inches have been measured inone monsoon of which 440 inches (nearly 37 feetdepth) fell in 31 consecutive days. Cherrapunjihas very rarely nleasured 50 much rain, andthen only during 5 or 6 months. The flatvalleys with their solid rockbeds are, too,most admirably adapted not only to storelarge quantities of water, but also to retainsuch." This fundamental physical fact of thesuperiority of the \Vestern Ghauts valley tothat of Cherrapunji was, of course, the deter-'mining factor, let alone the vicinity of suchan extensive entrepot of commerce, and thQgate of Asia as Bombay City. But Mr. Joyner's further observations are exceedinglyinforming. "As the storage of large volumes

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L1fe of Jmllselji N. Tala.of water is expensive, the Lonavla Dam, willserve to turn the rain direct from the cloudsto the turbine and so be converted at onceinto electric power." Its exceeding com-mercial value may therefore be easi.ly gauged.Bnt it is not necessary to enter here moreminutely into the early history and incep-tion of the project which may be best readin the opening speech of Sir Dorab to whichreference has al ready been made. Thescheme i ~ to bring the waters of the WesternGhauts from their catchment area to theedge of the Khandala plateau, thence toKhapoli, which will give a head of waterof 1740 feet which is considered to be oneof the largest in the world. By means ofturbines, the fall would generate electricalenergy which would be conveyed in areceiving station to Bombay by over headtransmission lines whence it would bedistributed to industrial and commercialcentres in the city. According to MI'. Joyner" When giving 1,00,000 horse power the waterpassing down the pipes from the great heightwill equal in volume the whole summer flowof the river Thames." The turbines work-ing the dynamos and transfnrmers will

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Bpoch .1Iakil1g Enterprise.convert the electric power into high tensionto enable it to pass along the copper wires onlofty steel towers for forty odd miles to workthe many mills and other industries of Bombay.Not only will the grand project give enormouspowe!' to Bombay at a much cheape!' rate andof a bette!' driving quality than now obtainedfrom steam power, but it will also give oncemore pure air to a beautiful city nowenriched with an unhealthy cloud of filthysmoke, and it can also give an enormoussupply of the purest wate!' fo!' drinkingpurposes, 01' this water may be used to irrigate30,000 to 40,000 acres of vegetables, fruit andother crops close to the market." I t will beseen that tbe potentiality of the works, whencompleted, are great. Though only a fractionalnumbe!' of the mills has agreed to buy powerfrom the company, aggregating 30,000 H. P., itmay be assumed that as experience is gainedand progress made, all the available powe

Life and the Life Work of JN Tata

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