Crowds of mourners gathered in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, on Thursday for the funeral of industrialist Ratan Tata, hailed as a “titan” who led one of the country’s largest conglomerates.
Tata, who died aged 86 on Wednesday, transformed the Tata Group into a vast international enterprise, with a portfolio ranging from software to sports cars.
His coffin, draped in the Indian flag, was flanked by a guard of honour, with a marching band of trumpets and drums accompanying the procession.
Mumbai declared a day of mourning, with the funeral rites scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
“A titan of Indian industry,” declared The Hindu newspaper on its front page. “India loses its crown jewel,” wrote the Hindustan Times.
Tributes poured in from fellow industrialists, with Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, describing Tata’s passing as a “big loss, not just to the Tata group, but to every Indian.”
Tata was born in Mumbai in 1937 into a family of Parsis—a proud but dwindling community that played an outsized role in the city’s business affairs under British rule.
He had initially intended to pursue a career as an architect after graduating from Cornell University in New York.
‘Visionary’
However, an appeal from his grandmother led him to return to India in 1962 to join the sprawling family business, beginning work as a factory floor labourer and sleeping in a hostel for trainees.
He took over the family empire in 1991, just as India unleashed radical free-market reforms.
During Tata’s 21 years at the helm, the salt-to-steel conglomerate expanded its global footprint.
His 2008 decision to acquire Britain’s loss-making Jaguar and Land Rover carmakers for $2.3 billion burnished his reputation, as the Tata Group successfully restructured both brands and returned them to profit the following year.
The Tata Group said his philanthropic work “touched the lives of millions.”
“From education to healthcare, his initiatives have left a deep-rooted legacy that will benefit generations to come,” the company added.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Tata “a visionary business leader, a compassionate soul, and an extraordinary human being.”
Modi praised Tata for providing “stable leadership to one of India’s oldest and most prestigious business houses.”
AFP
