“Promise is a Promise” – Guess who?

Yes your guess is right, this post is about Tata group chairman, Ratan Tata.

I always have highest regards for Ratan Tata, except for Nira Radia tapes!! J. 

       Its very rare and difficult to find corporate heads who is ethical, social conscious and not greedy. Year on Year the head of conglomerate’s salary sky rocketing and number of new new acquisitions, new ventures and so on… to name few Sun Net work, Adani group, ADAG ..etc.. All these corporates prosper in this society, through this society and from this society.  But in return what they give back?  No clue… or its hardly anything.

To the contrary, Tatas run Jamshedpur including water, not to speak of electricity et al. Please remember Jam nagar is not run by Reliance!! For that matter no city is adopted by any other corporates including Govt PSU’s.

Almost two years passed since terrorists held the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. One of the most heinous acts of terrorism in India. Total of 173 people martyred, hundreds injured, and crores of property destroyed. No sign of justice for the victims, no sign of punishment to the guilt.(Thanks to the largest Democracy in the world)

But one man has done what the politicians, the media and the law could not do – restore a semblance of dignity and hope to the victims.  Ratan Tata – a giant among men, an icon in the business world, and a great humanitarian. When his HR team brought forth a proposal on what the Tata Group could do to compensate the victims (an amazing list by itself), Ratan Tata asked – “Are you sure we are doing enough?”

    Enough Mr. Tata? You got to be kidding right? Please don’t compare Tata with Gandhiji, Gandhiji is no more a business man and Tata is not a social activist, you may call Tata as magnanimous philanthropist (Title given by me!!).  In a nation that treats its politicians and actors as Gods(Aishwarya Rai’s pregnancy news taking headlines), citizens as dust, and citizen rights as negligible as the fly in your khichidi.

The Tata group has done not just for its employees who were affected by the attack, but to even the “pav-bhaji” vendor across the street.

·        Manoj , was working at a roadside shop when the firing at Leopold Cafe injured him. He got Rs 5000 from the Taj Public Service Welfare Trust (set up within days of the 26/11 attack by the Tata Group) for six months, and then got a job as a waiter at the Taj President in Colaba, Mumbai. His children’s education is taken care of by the Trust. So is his wife’s higher education.

·           Diagnosed with terminal illness while being treated for injuries sustained by the taxi blast, Shyam, 36, was given Rs 10,000 for a year, and his entire medical bills are being paid by the Trust.

  This is not to say the Trust forgot employees of the Taj who died in the attack. The families of these 12 employees will get the last drawn salary as long as the spouse is alive. This is apart from the lump sum amount (in lakhs) paid to the family, free education for their children, and complete medical insurance. And there are many many I can list here….

 Ratan Tata and his company has touched the lives of every victim of this attack, and ensured their families  get to live a life of relative peace and security.

Among the corrupt leaders, and Greedy corporates Ratan TATA stands as a real Hero.