Remembering JRD

On the eve of Air India going back to Tata Group, Shyam Sekhar (Investor) provided a link which covered the interview of JRD by T N Ninan, appeared in India Today. Interview was dated August 15, 1986.

Interesting (select) part from the must read interview is reproduced below:

Q. To start by looking back, what do you think are the major changes in Indian business in the 50 years that...

A. When I started in business - nearly 60 years ago - the conditions were very different to what they became. There was no licensing system, so there was nobody to bribe. Business was reasonably honest. The taxes were reasonable. So there was no great inducement to evade taxes.

But then came a controlled society, under the impulse of Jawaharlal. The Government needed money to run elections, and the whole culture changed. Along with this came punitive taxes of 98 percent. When you have a licence-permit raj and very heavy taxes, you get tax evasion, black-marketing, and corruption.

Q. You think controls and political corruption went together?

A. We know that enormous fortunes were made, enormous sums were sent abroad. During those 30 years, I haven't heard of a single businessman who was sent to jail.

Q. This has been your biggest frustration?

A. Yes of course. And even on things that were not business. I was the first in India 35 years ago to sound the alarm on the population. I made a speech. I was wrapped on the knuckles, whom do you think by? Nehru. His words will always ring in my ears: "Nonsense, J. A large population is the greatest source of strength of any nation." And after that, we've added 350 million people.

Q. Didn't you argue with him?

A. You don't argue with Jawaharlal. He didn't want to discuss it. But the interesting thing was I was a good friend of his. He trusted me. He knew I admired him. But he knew I disagreed with all his economic policies, and I even didn't agree with his foreign policy. I felt that Krishna Menon and others like that were pro-Soviet. So I never was able thereafter to discuss economic matters.

Q. Did you try?

A. Yes. He and Mrs Gandhi later developed this similar little polite way of telling me to shut up. Jawaharlal, when I started to bring up the subject of economic policy, would turn around and look out of the window. Mrs Gandhi did something else.

Q. She doodled?

A. Yes, she doodled. Doodling I didn't mind so much. She started picking up envelopes, cutting open the envelopes and pulling out letters. It was a polite indication that she was bored.

Many a times interview from past reveals truth which we have forgotten today.

Thanks Mr. Shyam Sekhar