Interview Times The Lion is now at rest forever. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj, who passed away last night (Saturday) at the age of 83, spoke up for business like no other from India Inc did – one of the many reasons why he strode across India’s industrial landscape like a colossus for over 50 years.
After taking charge at the Bajaj Group in 1965, Rahul – who was named by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru – helmed it for four decades and built a global manufacturing company, before handing over flagship Bajaj Auto’s keys to son Rajiv Bajaj in 2005.
In his lifetime itself, Rahul’s ‘Hamara Bajaj’ not only evoked nationalism, but also empowered and transformed the lives of millions of middle-class Indians. If Bajaj ‘Sunny’ gave wings to the free-spirited young girls of a newly liberalized India, the company’s motorbikes became the favored product for the Indian youth — anticipating the changing demographics.
Today, the business empire, comprising Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Holdings and Investment Ltd, has a combined market capitalisation of over Rs 8.4 lakh crore.
After PV Narasimha Rao bit the political bullet in 1991 and scripted the first chapter of India’s economic reforms, Bajaj, unlike several other big groups including the Modis, Mafatlals, Singhanias and the Thapars, stood ground. While Rahul Bajaj did spearhead the Bombay Club – a group of top industrialists then including HS Singhania, Lala Bharat Ram and CK Birla – to demand protection for domestic industry, he did not stop modernising.
“He never let those arguments get in the way of developing globally competitive products,” points out Naushad Forbes, Co-Chairman of Pune-headquartered Forbes Marshall, and a director on the board of Bajaj Holdings.
Expressing condolences, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Shri Rahul Bajaj Ji will be remembered for his noteworthy contributions to the world of commerce and industry. Beyond business, he was passionate about community service and was a great conversationalist. Pained by his demise. Condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti.”
“He was a very unique individual. He was both a competitor and a friend. He was also a friend of my father and he regarded him as his Guru. He had very clear values, a strong differentiation of right and wrong and was an institution builder. Not only did he build his company, but he was also a big leader for the industry,” said Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman, Hero Enterprise. “He had no hesitation in showing a mirror to anyone regardless of their position and was a straightforward and fearless individual,” he said.
Months after the 2002 Gujarat riots, when the Confederation of Indian Industry was hosting then Chief Minister Modi in New Delhi, Rahul Bajaj pointedly asked him if Gujarat was safe for investors during the ‘Question and Answer’ session.
More recently, in his speech in the presence of various eminent personalities along with the political leaders as audience in November 2019, he spoke his mind. At the gathering of top industrialists including Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sunil Bharti Mittal among others during an ET Awards event, Bajaj said, “Nobody from our industrialist friends will speak, I will say openly… An environment will have to be created… In UPA II, we could abuse anyone… You are doing good work but despite that we don’t have the confidence that you will appreciate if we criticise openly.”
Bajaj, who described himself as having been born “anti-establishment”, spoke what other industrialists feared to say. Responding to his concerns, Shah said that there is no need for anybody to fear, however, if you are saying that there is a certain kind of atmosphere, then “We will have to take effort to improve the atmosphere,” Amit Shah said.
Bajaj had said, Bajaj also flagged the issue of lynchings. “It creates a hawaa— intolerance ki hawaa hai — hum darte hain…kuch cheezon ko hum bolna nahi chahte hain par dekhte hain ki koi convict he nahi hua abhi tak (It creates an environment of intolerance and we are scared. We don’t want to say certain things, but we see that till now no one has been convicted),”.
Corporate leaders said the doyen of the Indian business world will be missed for his intellectual honesty and straightforwardness. As the President of CII for two terms – 1979-80 and 1999-2000 – he led the industry during two crucial periods.
“I have heard him speak many times in Indian industry and there were times when there could be no one more inspiring because he expressed confidence in India and its industries. He was someone who believed if something was right to say or do, one must say or do it because that is the right thing to do. I think we need more such people around,” said Naushad Forbes.
According to TVS Motor Chairman Venu Srinivasan, he was among the few stars who created the Indian automotive industry. “He was a pioneer who established a culture of quality and technology. He stood for high integrity in business and stuck to his principles. Rahul played a key role in industry bodies around the world like World Economic Forum and CII and was very well respected. He will be sorely missed,” said Srinivasan.
Many feel that Bajaj’s contribution to India is unparalleled. His efforts to promote local manufacturing has helped build the foundation of Aatmanirbhar Bharat for decades. “This is a personal loss for me of a good friend whom I have known for nearly 50 years. He was one of the most dynamic and forthright businessmen of his time. He has created an empire and passed it on to the next generation to grow and nurture. I have always admired him for being a passionate and fearless voice of the industry and will miss his presence,” said Hemendra Kothari, Chairman, DSP Investment Managers.
(With inputs from India Today)
