The birth of a pioneer

Jamsetji Nursserwanji Tata was born in 1839 in Navsari, a small town in Gujarat, into a family of priests. Having completed his education, he joined his father’s firm at the age of 20. Later he went to England, and set up a profitable private trading company with a capital of Rs.21, 000 only.

Way back in 1882 a report by a German geologist, Ritter Yon Schwartz aroused Jamsetji’s interest in the black metal. After a disappointing stint with iron ores in areas close to Nagpur, the much-awaited opportunity came in 1899 when the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, liberalised the mineral concession policy. The same year, Major R H Mahon published an incisive report on the subject, announcing that it was time that India started manufacturing its own iron and steel. Mahon suggested the Jharia coalfields as a source of fuel. The Salem district in the South, the Chanda district in the Central Provinces and Bengal as good for yielding the iron ore. To initiate the project, Jamsetji went to England and secured an audience with the then Secretary of State for India, Lord George Hamilton, who appreciated the idea and readily gave his support.