Tata Steel and the citizens of Jamshedpur paid tribute to the first Chairman of Tata Group, Sir Dorabji Tata, today, on the eve of his 152nd birth anniversary and remembered his priceless contribution towards the set up of the steel plant and the city of Jamshedpur.

Mr H M Nerurkar, Managing Director, Tata Steel and Mr Raghunath Pandey, President, Tata Workers’ Union, offered flowers at the statue at the park named in his honour, Sir Dorabji Tata Park. Talking about his overwhelming role as the head of the Tata empire, Mr Nerurkar said, “Sir Dorabji Tata has left his indelible mark in the very former pages of Tata’s rich history. His painstaking effort can be seen in the three prime projects that his father, J N Tata, dreamt of towards creating an economically independent and technically sound nation – steel, hydroelectric power plant and a science institute. Today, these projects are recognized globally as Tata Steel, Tata Power and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His unstinted love for sports resulted in India participating for the first time in Olympic Games in 1919, even before the country had an Olympic Committee. Jamshedpur owes to him the very reason for its existence; he was the architect not only of the country’s first steel works here but also the city itself where its workers would dwell.”

Shri Raghunath Pandey reminisced Sir Dorabji’s stint as Tata Steel’s first Chairman, saying, “As a Tata Group employee, it fills us with a sense of elation to know that its first Chairman was someone who put the interests of his employees prior to everything else, even his personal life. He steered Tata Steel through one of the roughest times when India was facing one of the most severe economic crises, whereby he even pledged his personal fortune. We also remember his wife, Lady Meherbai Tata, who was his strength.”

Thereafter, the group moved to the Centre for Excellence where Tata Steel has set up an exhibition depicting the life of Sir Dorabji Tata and his role as Tata Steel’s first Chairman and the master planner of the steel city of Jamshedpur. A brochure on Sir Dorabji Tata was also unveiled by Mr Nerurkar and Shri Pandey on the occasion. The exhibition will be open for all till Saturday, 03rd September, 2011.

It was Sir Dorabji’s sense of devotion to duty, loyalty to legacy and commitment more for his father’s sake than his own, that has kept up Jamsetji Tata’s fame and prominence.

Also present on the occasion were senior officials of Tata Steel, Union office bearers of Tata Workers’ Union and Tata Mazdoor Union, prominent citizens of the city and others. As a special tribute, Sir Dorabji Tata Park has been tastefully decorated and will be open for the citizens of the city till Sunday, 28th August, 2011.