[Reader-list] Sixth Posting:Kalyan:The Idea Of Jamshedpur

[kalyan nayan]

In many ways Jamshedpur is the manifestation of Tata paternalism. This
section would explore the meaning and implication of Tata paternalism
in Jamshedpur.
The word paternalism derives its meaning from the Latin-English kinship
term. It is a type of behaviour by a superior towards an inferior
resembling that of a male parent to his child - in most cases, a son.
However, the precise forms of this behaviour vary from society to
society because the culture of kinship varies, and also because the
nature of the tasks performed in paternalistic societies vary.  
Max Weber, who developed the concept of patrimonialism, first noted the
theoretical relevance of paternalism.  But the focus on patrimonial
relations by Weber cannot lead us to equate patrimonialism with
paternalism. In fact paternalism is different from patriarchy or
patrimonialism, an error, which comes from the assumption that male
domination is the prime element in every category.  
We would be distinguishing these categories for the greater clarity in
our discussion. This would be carried forward by focusing on the idea
of paternalism as practiced by the Tatas in Jamshedpur. We have
referred to this idea cursorily in the preceding chapters. By giving it
a separate focus we would attempt a synthesis where the question of the
urban would be amalgamated with different streams of our discussion
namely planning processes, the labour in the city and the factor of
paternalism. 
The survival or creation of a paternalistic system depends on the needs
and on the existing social organizational patterns and traditions. This
is clearly visible in Jamshedpur. 
	We have been talking about paternalism in our earlier postings. In
fact our concern with the planning activities in the town and the study
of the general morphological development of Jamshedpur reflects flashes
of paternalistic idea recurring many times. In the development of
Indian capitalism Jamshedpur perhaps is the most celebrated case of
this idea.  The development of the steel works in the jungles of
Chotanagpur forced the Company to develop infrastructure that would
enable and sustain the steel works. One could argue that since the
sustenance of the steel works needed this kind of preliminary
investments Jamshedpur was more a matter of practical exigency on the
part of the Tatas rather than a paternalistic benevolence. But then to
argue in this manner would be to gloss over the sophistication involved
in the deliberation of the idea of paternalism by the Tatas. Moreover
we saw that the Tatas were not completely oblivious of their moral
concern to provide for their employees. J. N. Tata and others down the
line consistently spoke of making Jamshedpur an ideal industrial
nucleus. 
	Regulation and intrusion in other aspects of worker’s life was a
logical extension of the above beginning in setting up an industrial
township. The idea of being an employer and protector of the welfare of
the workers saw its manifestations in the act of the Company
undertaking rural development projects in the surrounding villages,
including health, education, family planning and economic sustenance
initiatives. Even when the eastern half of the city was being leased to
ancillary industries, most of which were Tata controlled, the Companies
were impressed upon to build and maintain their own workers’ colony
following the model of TISCO. 
	Paternalism is rare in Indian industries, although the Indian socio
economic condition gives much space to allow this idea to thrive.
Indian society continued to be a traditional patriarchal one where a
strong emphasis on paternal power does not appear to have been much
eroded by modernisation or urbanisation. Even after independence this
is valid for India. But the extension of this idea could be hardly seen
in the industrial sector. In the Western case many small capitalists
could be found extending the paternalistic privileges to their workers
as done by the big enterprises. One of the reasons of this might be the
lack of resources which constricted Indian businessmen’s efforts. Since
majority of the workers remained uneducated and unskilled the employer
did not feel obliged to give more to the worker than what was required
by law or union contract. For an enterprise like that of the Tatas in
Jamshedpur, which started in the very beginning of the twentieth
century with a conscious realisation of their role in Indian
industrialisation, this attitude of paternal guidance was obvious and
simultaneously an unique effort.
	The paternalism of the Tata Company had a profound philosophical base
in its founder’s objective. We have already traced the origins of the
corporate culture of the Tata group in its founder’s philosophy who
passed on his social values to his sons and his successors. The Tatas
like many other progressive nationalists and leaders of the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were advocates of swadeshi. As
early as 1840s Indian intellectuals realised that the key to Britain’s
power was its economic strength and that the only way India could
become a free and a great nation was through industrialisation.  
	J. N. Tata promoted many industries in his eventful lifetime and every
venture of his became a model for successful industrial management and
enterprise. His early focus was the cotton textiles. In its conception,
the Empress Mill was the precursor of TISCO which he opened in Nagpur
in 1877.  He not only invested the mill with the state of the art
technology like proper ventilators and automatic fire sprinklers but
also with an employee welfare policy. He provided housing,
recreational, and educational facilities for his workers and instituted
provident fund and pension schemes.  According to J. R. D. Tata,
Jamsetji imbued the future Tata Management with a sense of social
consciousness and trusteeship.


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