Bhubaneswar, Jan. 24: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is known for his heroic struggle against the British Empire to gain independence for India.
Another aspect of the enigmatic leader’s personality came to fore on Saturday, coinciding with his 113th birth anniversary: he led the Tata Labour Association for nine years from 1928 with a fierce desire to "Indianise" the company, which at that time was dominated by the English.
The revolutionary leader, in his capacity as president of Tata Labour Association, Jamshedpur, had advised the then managing director of Tata Steel, Nowroji Saklatwala, in a letter dated 12.11.1928 to initiate the process of Indianising the company. The association was subsequently renamed Tata Steel Workers Union.
A litho copy of the original letter was handed over to Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday at a function at Cuttack, the birthplace of the legendary leader. A Tata functionary said Netaji was made president of the association at the behest of Mahatma Gandhi in order to "Indianise" the company.
"I sincerely feel that the future of this industry, including peace in the labour world, depends largely on Indianisation. This is a point which foreigners — however good they otherwise may be — cannot sufficiently appreciate," said the letter, copies of which were released to the media here on Sunday.
"I have no doubt that if you go ahead with your policy of Indianisation, you will be able to ingratiate yourself with your Indian employees as well as with public leaders of all shades of opinion," Netaji said in his "confidential" letter.
Underscoring the need to Indianise industry, the three-page letter described the issue as "one of the important problems". It said, "On this question public opinion in India is very keen". "This has antagonised all sections of Indian labour," the letter added.
Rabindra Nath Choudhury