Tata ,....  Ratan........ tata

After Mr. Birla expired, I went out by bus. (Nowadays I do not go out as  I had grown old).  The bus took me through the Whitefield, then to Sarjapur, to the City Market, and finally to home. As I watched the newer housings, I was wondering who were inhabiting these areas 25 years ago. I was also pondering why I did not explore opportunities with Birlas (e.g. BITS Pilani) or with the Chatterjee group (biochemical reseach). I know I was not as famous as Mr. Viswa Ranjan Ghosh (B.Tech. Aeronatical Engg, IIT Kharagpur) or Mr. Rohan Gavaskar (you know who), but what is  the" honey" I had with the Tatas? I was also wondering why the Tatas chose Prof. Amitabha Ghosh as the Director to lead the IIT Kharagpur at the turn of the millenium, since in my opinion he could not have provided any leaership to the Tatas in nano-machine technology, on a self-reliant inter-dependent platform. Let us not talk about big Directors, but how did I come to know of the Tatas?!

I did not know of the Tatas until I became aware of IIT Kharagpur (around 1976). Then later, another student told me " Indian state is a landlord-bourgeosie state with remnants of feudalism, but  run by the big  bourgeosie" .  I asked him how had he known the "line". He told me that after reading  the book "Capital", written by Karl Marx, for at least 17 times, Mr. BT Randive (CPIM) had reached that conclusion!  That time I did not understand all the leftist jargon (even now I do not know much), though it was fashionable to become "progressive"!  I sheepishly asked him, "what is big bourgeosie?" He told me "Tatas"!

Then, in IIT, one person (who had some connection with DYFI) told me that even if you "do party", you can work in Tata. His brother, who came back from the USA, told me "in USA you can do party and get jobs, they are like Tatas!"  Then another Amrican explained, "Tatas are big capitalists; they follow advanced management techniques. They flood the base areas with lot of cash, so that terrorists  and naxalites cannot penetrate the Indian industries". Then I knew more about the Tatas. But, what is then, the management problem Mr. Ratan Tata is facing in his nano plant? why could he not appease the Trinamool and the CPIM with financial packages?

What are related problems? Would the Tatas like industrial development under the left leadership (i.e. Buddhababu as the CM)? Would the Tatas like the small and Bengali bourgeosie (e.g. Mr. Purnendu Chatterjee)? Would the Tatas like to view Ms Mamata Bannerjee as a potential CM for Bengal?

As it appears, Tatas believe  that the CPIM-led Government provided opportunities for the big bourgeosie, but Ms Mamata Bannerjee is forcing them out! And Ms Bannerjee believes that the Tatas and the CPIM have joined hands to "do politics against" her followers.

What is at stake? Tatas could dismantle some of their machinery and transport to other destination(s). The CPIM did not prevent them from "fleeing".  Tatas could of course invest in Singapore or Dubai to make money. They could also comeback to West Bengal, after making the same car from another plant within  their deadlines.   

If I were to teach at the management training programmes, what would I teach? All I can say that "Tatas would not put all the eggs in one basket"; and I would not teach anymore!  

I have grown older and mature since my college years; but I still do not understand why Mr. Ratan Tata might have to make so much efforts, and go through so much "troubles", to find a way to pay me -----  the nameless faceless Bokachoda Ganguli !!!!

SG,
September 29, 2008.