Tatas and Birlas have always been poles apart

JRD: WesternisedTatas and Birlas have a yen for - and are obviously adept at - making a fast buck, but here the similarities end. In most other ways, the two leading business families have always been poles apart.Of different religious and ethnic stock- Tatas are Parsis whose ancestors came from Iran, Birlas are Marwari Hindus from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan; Tatas are Brahmins, Birlas are banias - they hold divergent views on life and business management.The founder of the Birla empire was an unlettered man who could neither write nor read English. The founder of the Tatas, on the other hand, had travelled round the world by the time he was 35, entertained British governors in his palatial Bombay house, and was a bon vivant. Today, the distinctions are personified by the current heads of the two empires. At 89, Ghanashyam Das Birla (GD) remains a staunch traditionalist, a pious Hindu who reads the Bhagavad Gita, constructs exquisite marble temples and once said that he was not a businessman, JRD, on the other hand, is a thoroughly modern, westernised individual who insists he is a businessman.GD: Good hinduMost observers, however, say that GD is more of a businessman than JRD and is far more outgoing and modern than his background would suggest.Different Styles: Tatas had a head start of 45 years on the Birlas - the first Tata cotton mill, Empress Mills, was built in 1874; Birlas did not acquire their first factory, a jute mill, until 1919 - but, despite Tatas' closeness to Jawaharlal Nehru and others, Birlas overtook them in 1975.One reason may be that Birlas diversified much more rapidly than Tatas: they have a finger in nearly every industry and business activity and a number one position in quite a few, including aluminium and rayon. The only industry Birlas have shunned is hotels - "It is a morally lax business," says Basant Kumar Birla, GD's son - which, significantly, Tatas take a great pride in.The biggest Birla company, Gwalior Rayon, with assets of Rs 172 crore, is less than half the size of the biggest Tata company, TELCO (assets: Rs 400 crore), but there are 15 Birla companies among the top 100 against only 13 Tata units.The two families differ sharply in their approach to politics, JRD has said that it is wrong for a businessman to run newspapers, wrong for him to play a political role. In contrast, GD has often said that he has no regrets about mixing politics with business, because like a good Hindu, he does not think compartmentally.JRD tends to be somewhat naive in his political views and told a New York newspaper at the height of the Emergency that it was good for the country, and the "trains ran on time".Adjustment Preferred: More recently, he came out in praise of Maharashtra Chief Minister A.R. Antulay, describing him as the "most dynamic chief minister ever".Birlas, too, prefer adjustment to confrontation with the powers that be but they have strong views on the presidential system which they think would lead to a dictatorship, and, in turn, lead either to the country's disintegration or a communist takeover. JRD has no such reservations. He has argued that the presidential system would be good for India's economy.The distinct Birla and Tata styles-one an integrated Hindu approach, the other a more westernised approach that neatly separates things, putting business into one compartment, politics into another, religion into a third- characterise the two business empires that dominate the Indian scene."Don't forget," says a Tata official who has also worked for Birlas, "that Tatas are Brahmins, traditionally with a strong bent for analysis and Birlas are banias, with more than their usual genius for synthesis. But, if you scratch them, they are both hard-headed businessmen. Tatas are Birlas with a touch of class."Published By: AtMigration Published On: Oct 23, 2013 12:07 IST--- ENDS ---

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Tatas and Birlas have always been poles apart

Of different religious and ethnic stock- Tatas are Parsis whose ancestors came from Iran, Birlas are Marwari Hindus from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan; Tatas are Brahmins, Birlas are banias - they hold divergent views on. life and business management.

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