Second, it is run professionally by qualified peple. In some Indian companies people join simply because they are part of the family. Third, the Tata Group has a pioneering and enterprising spirit. The way Jamsetji Tata helped set up a steel plant in the jungles of Bihar showed this spirit. Fourth, the Tatas are not perceived to be politically aligned. Most Indian companies are and, in a sense, they have to be. Lastly, the Tatas are philanthropic, compassionate and supportive of public causes. For these reasons, the Group has earned a unique reputation and image among Indian business conglomerates.

Having said that, some of us feel that the Group has not been sharp and efficient enough. There are those who think being good and being efficient are not reconcilable. But they are. The Tatas would perhaps have gone much further if they had been more incisive. They may probably have taken it easy for some time because they were large and comfortable. They could have done more if they had been more dynamic.

The individual attributes of leaders are very important for companies to do well. The quality of the person at the top is extremely important, be it for a country, a family or a company. The culture of the business is imbibed from leaders, and some of their characteristics rub off on the people working with them.

Jamsetji Tata was a daring pioneer. Despite opposition from the ruling British, he set up the first steel plant in India. He had to, in the process, overcome their ridicule and discouragement. He was not necessarily doing it as a nationalistic cause; he was simply an enterprising businessman with imagination and courage.

Coming to JRD Tata, when I was the chairman of Hindustan Lever and, later, when I was with Unilever, he would invite me for lunch with his senior management. He always wanted to know what was happening in the rest of the world.

My lasting image of JRD is one of graciousness. He was always cultured, courteous and polite. I once went to meet him along with Mother Teresa. He was somewhat frail by that time and could barely get up or walk, but even so he insisted on coming out to the elevator and seeing us off. Though he was much older than me, he never treated me as a junior. This sort of attitude is not common among Indian businessmen. They are either too polite (if you are doing something for them), or they are curt. I could never have done anything for JRD, yet he treated me as an equal.

JRD, like Jamsetji, had a pioneering spirit. If Indian-owned airlines operate in this country today, it is thanks to him. Even today, some of the best people in Air India are those trained by him. Tata Motors was started in his time. He also took a lot of interest in art, a prime example being the creation of the outstanding National Centre for Performing Arts. He had an eye for the finer things in life.

Unlike many Indians, JRD was not xenophobic, though some of his chief executive officers wanted him to be. He did not fear multinationals. In my time at Hindustan Lever, Tomco [which was sold to Hindustan Lever in the 1990s] was our competitor, but he never believed in hitting us below the belt. JRD always believed that this country would have to have foreign investment. At the same time, he was a nationalist, but not the kind who wore his nationalism on his sleeve.

I admired him for keeping out of politics; he would not demean himself by kowtowing. Of course, he almost suffered for that. Mohan Kumaramangalam, the leftist minister of steel in Indira Gandhi's cabinet, wanted to nationalise Tata Steel. PN Dhar, then principal secretary to the prime minister, has written in the book Indira Gandhi, Emergency and Democracy, how Kumaramangalam put the case to Indira Gandhi for nationalising Tata Steel. Dhar questioned the logic of the proposition. Indira Gandhi, who respected JRD and knew that Tata Steel was running efficiently, had the good sense to reject her minister's advice and follow Dhar's counsel. It was JRD's reputation and standing that saved Tata Steel.

As a person JRD was modest and far from opulent. I don't think he left behind any great personal wealth. This is remarkable in India because most people in top companies make their own private fortunes. JRD was an honourable man. His only weakness as a manager was that he trusted his chief executive officers too much. Consequently, he was exploited by some of them.

Naval took great interest in labour issues. He was the chairman of the Employers' Federation of India and took an active interest in the International Labour Organisation. He talked about labour problems in industry and their impact on the nation, while trying to protect the interests of workers as well. Although he had limited responsibility for business enterprises, he was often the public face of the Tatas.

Both JRD and Naval were good men, far better than many other Indian businessmen. Wealth and power did not spoil them. People like me remember them fondly.

* T. Thomas is a former chairman of Hindustan Lever and has also served on the board of Unilever in London. He is chairman of Lafarge India and an associate of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity.