Condolences were shared widely as a billion individuals grieved, with India gearing up for Ratan Tata’s ultimate send-off on Thursday, an evening gathering in Mumbai’s Worli where a somber assembly of citizens, famous figures, officials, and industry magnates are anticipated to join together to mourn the loss of a revered national figure.
Ratan Tata, who was the former chairman of Tata Group, passed away at 86 on Wednesday night. Tata Group chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran confirmed Ratan Tata’s passing, praising him as a unique leader whose immense impact has not only influenced the Tata Group but also the entire nation.
Ratan Tata, who turned a conservative company into India’s biggest and most powerful conglomerate through a series of impressive transactions, passed away at 11.30 pm in south Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital. Ratan Tata, who had received the Padma Vibhushan award, had been in the hospital’s intensive care unit since Monday. He had reassured everyone that there was no need to worry about his health and that he was just getting tests done for age-related medical issues despite rumors of his hospitalization.
A top Mumbai Police official first announced his death, following which the Maharashtra government declared a day of mourning on Thursday to honor Ratan Tata. Chief Minister Shinde’s statement announced that the national tricolour at government offices in Maharashtra will be lowered to half-mast on Thursday to show mourning.
Individuals from various backgrounds, such as Tata group workers, assembled outside Ratan Ratan Tata’s home in south Mumbai on Thursday morning to honor the seasoned industrialist. His body was then brought to the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in south Mumbai, where visitors can commemorate him until 4 pm when his funeral procession commences. He will have his final rites conducted at the Worli crematorium in Mumbai.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, and Reliance Foundation’s Founder-Chairperson Nita Ambani honored Ratan Tata in Mumbai. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was spotted at NCPA Lawns. Additional Mumbai Police personnel were requested to handle the increasing crowd that had gathered to honor Ratan Tata. Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar was one of the first guests at Tata’s residence in the Colaba region to show respect to the businessman.
In addition to several security personnel and media individuals, the Mumbai Police band members were also in attendance outside the residence. Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, will be present at Tata’s burial. He honored Tata’s mortal remains on behalf of the Indian Government, as per the PTI news agency. The Home Minister went to Mumbai for the funeral while Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Laos for the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar, and industrialist Mukesh Ambani hurried to the hospital upon learning of Tata’s death on Wednesday night.
The attendees at Ratan Tata’s funeral reportedly include Mukesh and Anant Ambani, NR Narayana Murthy, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Shashikant Das, Gautam Adani, Anand Mahindra, Baba Ramdev, and others.
The roster of politicians comprises Rahul Gandhi, ex-Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Chirag Paswan, AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu, TN CM MK Stalin, MP CM Mohan Yadav, Gujarat CM Bhupendrabhai Patel, UP Governor Anandiben Patel, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Chirag Paswan, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivkumar, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, and others. The Maharashtra cabinet approved a resolution on Thursday, requesting the Centre to bestow ‘Bharat Ratna’ on the late Ratan Tata, who was the highest civilian award in the country.
Amit Shah made this statement several hours after the Shiv Sena faction, led by Eknath Shinde, called for it. In 1937, Ratan Tata was born to a Parsi family in India, a group of Persian descent practicing the Zoroastrian religion. He completed his education in architecture and structural engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. After his return to India in 1962, Ratan Tata worked on the shop floor at the family-run group. Before becoming director of National Radio and Electronics Co. in 1971, he accumulated experience at various Tata Group companies.
A decade later, he became the head of Tata Industries and in 1991 succeeded his uncle, JRD, as the chairman of the Tata Group, who had been leading for over 50 years. In the year 2000, the company purchased British company Tetley, which owns one of the biggest tea brands worldwide, for $432 million. Seven years afterwards, Tata Steel emerged victorious in a $12.1 billion takeover bid for Corus, a British steel manufacturer.
Tata stepped down as group chairman in 2012 and served as chairman emeritus of Tata Sons holding company until his passing. After leaving his daily responsibilities, the businessman dedicated himself to bettering the lives of India’s numerous stray animals. During his time as leader, the conglomerate pursued a large-scale expansion, acquiring well-known British assets such as steelmaker Corus and luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover.
Its 30 listed companies currently produce a variety of products such as coffee, cars, salt, software, steel, and power. They also operate airlines and launched India’s inaugural super app. It has recently entered the chip-making industry and is considering establishing an iPhone manufacturing facility. The conglomerate generated USD 165 billion in revenue during the previous fiscal year.