Isn’t it a wonderful coincidence that India celebrates birthday and birth anniversary of two stalwart entrepreneurs who inspired millions of people? Yes, 28th December is the special day when Mr Ratan Tata and Mr Dhirubhai Ambani, born. Both lived their life in different ways but demonstrated the excellence of leadership qualities. The indisputable sense of social responsibility and patriotism were the common factors.
Early life
Dhrubhai Ambani was the second son of Hirachand Ambani and Jamnaben. His early life was full of hardships. He neither got a chance to study nor did he have much interest in it. Hence, Dhirubhai could complete a few years of primary education.
Ratan Tata, on the other hand, belongs to a wealthy and well-known Parsi family of Mumbai. However, he felt hardships because of separation of his parents at the age of 7. He is a well-educated man with schooling in Mumbai and graduation from Cornell University. He is a Harvard School fellow with the Advanced Management Program.
The success story of Dhirubhai Ambani
He went to Yemen when he was 16 years old as a worker and in the span of two years he became manager of the filling station. In 1958, he started a business of importing polyester yarn and spices in the partnership with his cousin Champaklal. The year of 1977 and was a milestone when he started the first mill in Naroda near Ahmedabad. The journey of Reliance has been overwhelming since then.
Ratan Tata, an impressive growth chart
Ratan Tata took the legacy business to new heights by making it global. He took the charge of NELCO and recovered remarkably from big losses. After achieving the milestone positions of Director and Group Chairman, he became Group Chairman in 1991. Tata Group acquired Corus group, Jaguar and Land Rover under his leadership. The year of 2008 added another feather in the crown when Tata Nano, the common man’s car was launched in the New Delhi Auto Expo.
They changed the thinking of Indian entrepreneurs
Both inspired young entrepreneurs with their leadership ability, risk-taking ability and vision. They saw the dream of shining India brightly and made it into reality. With incredible self-confidence and profound understanding of the changing times, they always remained the frontrunners. Both of them showed that Indians have the courage and capability of ruling the world. The immense self-confidence that we see in every Indian is their biggest contribution to the nation.
