Everything About Naval Tata, The Father Of Ratan Tata

Everyone knows who Ratan Tata is, but do you know who his father is? Naval Tata, father of Shri Ratan Tata. He was one of India’s renowned businessmen. He is a very important part of the Tata family. His full name was Naval Hormusji Tata.

Naval Tata was the adopted son of Sir Ratanji Tata. He was adopted by Sir Ratanji Tata’s wife, Navajbai, or Lady Ratan Tata. Naval Tata once said about Lady Ratan Tata, “She played the role of fairy godmother, for which I shall ever be grateful to her.”

He made many contributions to the fields of business, sports administration, and many other fields. Naval believed in doing what is good for human nature. His personality was full of a sense of humor, humility, sympathy, and tolerance.

He spent his 85 years of life with compassion and humility. He showed unwavering dedication and support for the ideals of the Tata Group.

Naval Tata – Father of Ratan Tata and Jimmy Tata life

Naval Tata was born on August 30, 1904, in Surat. His father was a spinning master at the Advanced Mills in Ahmedabad. After his father’s death in 1908, his family shifted from Surat to Navsari. He was only four years old at the time of his father’s death. His mother, Ratanbai, supported his family by doing embroidery work.

His relatives sent him to the J. N. Petit Parsi Orphanage to support his family. At the age of 13, his life changed. He was adopted by Lady Ratan Tata and became an eminent part of the Tata family. So, his known parents were Sir Ratanji Tata and Navajbai Tata.

He was also a very famous philanthropist. Naval Tata made many philanthropic contributions towards social and human welfare. His devotion to social, educational, and welfare activities is commendable.

He died on May 5, 1989, at the age of 85, due to cancer.

Naval Tata adoption story from J. N. Petit Parsi Orphanage

Naval Tata was sent to the J. N. Petit Parsi Orphanage because of his family’s bad financial condition.

After the death of Sir Ratanji Tata in 1918, there was no successor who could take over his business after his death. It was because Sir Ratanji Tata and Lady Ratan Tata had no children. This is when a family meeting was held by Dorabji Tata.

It was decided during the meeting that Navajbai Tata should adopt a child from the orphanage for the Uthamna Ceremony of Sir Ratanji Tata. That child will become the successor of Sir Ratanji Tata and Navajbai Tata. After this decision, Lady Ratan Tata went to the J. N. Petit Parsi Orphanage and decided to adopt Naval as their son.

From that day on, Naval considered Lady Ratan Tata his fairy godmother, who changed his life.

Naval Tata parents and wife

Naval Tata’s father was Sir Ratanji Tata, and his mother was Navajbai Tata.

He first got married to Sooni Commissariat at a very young age. They have two sons named Ratan Tata and Jimmy Tata. However, they got divorced in the mid-1940s. After his divorce from his wife, his sons were raised by his mother, Navajbai Tata.

After his divorce, he got married for the second time to Simone Dunoyer in 1955, a famous businesswoman from Switzerland. With her, Naval Tata had one son named Noel Tata.

Educational Qualification

After getting adopted by the Tata family, Naval Tata went on to get a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Bombay. He then went to England to pursue an accounting course for some time.

There is no information about his schooling given online. However, it is claimed that Naval Tata went to various schools during his schooling years.

Naval Tata had a successful career

After completing his studies, Naval Tata returned to India in the year 1930. On June 1, 1930, he joined the Tata family business as an assistant cum clerk under Tata Sons Ltd. He was then promoted to assistant secretary.

In 1933, he became the secretary of the Aviation Department of Tata. Then, after five years, he joined Tata Textiles as an executive. But his efforts and good work made him get the position of Joint Managing Director of all Tata Textile Mills. Then, in 1947, he became the managing director of the same.

On February 1, 1941, he became a director of Tata Sons Ltd. and later became its deputy chairman.

In 1948, he became the chairman and managing director of Tata Oil Mills Ltd. After this, he became the chairman of three Tata Electric companies. After some time, Naval Tata became a board member of other Tata companies. He also served as the director of the Bank of Baroda.

Awards and Recognitions

In 1969, on Republic Day, Naval Tata was awarded Padma Bhushan by the President of India for his philanthropic work towards society. In the same year, he was awarded the Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal for maintaining and promoting industrial peace.

He was rewarded with a lifetime membership in the National Institute of Personnel Management. Also, he was internationally recognized after becoming a member of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Naval Tata is also known for establishing the Indian Cancer Society, which is India’s first voluntary, non-profit, national organization for raising awareness, detection, cure, and survivorship of those affected by this disease. He served as its chairman for over 30 years. For several years, he has also served as the President of the Employers Federation of India.