Tata, Bajaj and the Pune Connection
Pune, 11th February 2024: Companies like Tata and Bajaj have not just brought extensive transformations in Pune, but also in the overall industrial sector of the country. However, the major milestones in the industrial journey of these two families took place in Pune.
At the History Literature Festival being held at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, the audience got an opportunity to know about the same. Harish Bhat, author and Tata Group’s marketer threw light upon the history of the Tatas, while Sanghamitra Chatterjee, working in the field of heritage management, elaborated about the Bajaj family and their industrial history. Chinmay Tumbe, writer, historian and an economist interacted with both of them.
The Tata Group, which laid the foundation of steel manufacturing in India, has launched many things in the country till date. Giving an example of the same, Harish Bhat said, “The Tatas introduced India’s first accidental insurance for workers after setting up a steel company in the 19th century. During the 1880s, a pension scheme was started for the company’s workers. Similarly, the provision of provident fund for the employees was brought in by the Tatas.” Bhat also highlighted many other examples of how the Tatas have always paid attention to the country’s interests.
While unfolding another connection between the Tatas and Pune, Bhat said, “While watching sports competition at the Deccan Gymkhana in Pune, Tata wondered why India wasn’t participating in the Olympics. He immediately wrote to the Government and took appropriate action regarding the same. That is when the first Indian team was sent to the Olympics of 1920 being held in Antwerp.”
Speaking about the Bajaj family, Sanghamitra Chatterjee said, “Jamnalal Bajaj was actually an adopted son and was brought from Rajasthan. The adoption decision was of the grandfather, because he lost his son soon before his grandchild could’ve been born. Therefore, even Jamnalal could never get a father’s guidance in his childhood. This empty space in his life was filled by Gandhiji in 1917. Since then, he always took advice from Gandhiji regarding every work he did. Also, for the next few decades, the lifestyle of the Bajaj family was based on that of Gandhiji’s. The Bajaj family even lived in an Ashram in Wardha for many years.”
When asked about Rahul Bajaj’s outspokenness and boldness of speaking in day-to-day life, Sanghmitra recalled an incident from Jamnalal Bajaj’s childhood. She said, “When Jamnalal was 13 years old, he had a fight with his father. He had passed out for the entire day by writing a letter to his father saying, ‘I don’t want anything from your wealth.’ Maybe this frankness was already in the genes.”
Highlighting about the time when both the families started their respective businesses in Pune, the speaker said, “The Tata and Bajaj projects in Pune, which are regarded to be one of the remarkable ones, are because of the initiative of S G Barve, an official in Pune. Tata started ‘Telco’ or today’s Tata Motors, while Bajaj started the Vespa scooter and the rickshaw plant here.” Along with this, the speaker also recalled many interesting stories about Tata’s ‘Indica’ cars and Bajaj’s ‘Chetak’ scooters that are indigenously made in Pune.
