At the funeral of businessman Ratan Tata, who was praised as a “titan” and oversaw one of the largest companies in the nation, large crowds of mourners gathered in Mumbai, the financial center of India, on Thursday.
Tata, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 86, built the Tata Group into a vast, global company whose products ranged from sports cars to software.
A guard of honor surrounded his casket, which was covered in an Indian flag. A marching band playing trumpets and drums provided music for the funeral. Mumbai has announced a day of mourning, and on Thursday afternoon, there will be funeral ceremonies.
The Hindu newspaper referred to him as “a titan of Indian industry” on its main page.
India “loses its crown jewel,” according to the Hindustan Times.
On Thursday, hundreds of people lined up to pay their respects, comprising not only Tata employees but also prominent corporate executives, politicians, and common mourners.
The 52-year-old Abdul Khan praised Tata for his philanthropy and called his death a “loss for the country” as well as a “personal loss.”
“He improved the lives of so many people—not just those who worked for him,” the man said.
Other business magnates also paid their respects, with Asia’s wealthiest individual, Mukesh Ambani, expressing that it was a “huge loss, not just to the Tata group, but to every Indian”.
In 1937, Tata was born in Mumbai into a family of Parsis, a once-proud but now-diminishing group that was heavily involved in the city’s commercial activities when under British administration.
After earning his degree from Cornell University in New York, he had planned to pursue a career as an architect on his own terms.
“Visionary”
However, in 1962, he returned to India at his grandmother’s request and joined the expansive family business, starting as a factory floor laborer and lodging in a trainee dormitory.
Riding the crest of India’s recent extreme free-market reforms, he inherited the family fortune in 1991.
Under Tata’s 21 years in leadership, the salt-to-steel company increased its global reach.
His 2008 choice to pay $2.3 billion to acquire the losing Jaguar and Land Rover automakers in Britain enhanced his reputation when the Tata Group successfully reorganized both brands and turned a profit the following year.
According to the Tata Group, his charitable endeavors “touched the lives of millions.”
The firm went on, “From healthcare to education, his initiatives have left a deep-rooted mark that will benefit generations to come.”
Tata was described as “a visionary business leader, a compassionate soul, and an extraordinary human being” by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
For giving “stable leadership to one of India’s oldest and most prestigious business houses,” Modi commended Tata.
