The House of Tatas

Full ramifications of the unceremonious departure of Cyrus Mistry from that most coveted job in corporate India-chairmanship of the Tata group of companies-are yet to reveal themselves,  but the dramatic events at Bombay House  do give everyone a cause for concern. To be sure, no one would know the real reason or causes for this unhappy denouement. In the days to come the two sides can be expected to dump their manufactured narratives out in the public and that should keep the 'controversy' alive. Tata is not only the most respected business brand in India and abroad, the group is also seen as a fine example of good, ethical corporate governance. It must be presumed that there were solid and substantive reasons for this group to take the knife to the young Cyrus Mistry and to re-install the old war-horse, Ratan Tata, as the interim Chairman. It may not be easy to find a full-time replacement for Mistry in four months. Perhaps Cyrus Mistry could have been allowed a little more gracious exit; but, then, a huge conglomerate like the Tatas can hardly afford leadership confusion or even doubts at the very top. Hence, the unavoidable preference for the guillotine. 

It is possible that the Cyrust Mistry-Ratan Tata shootout may still end up in a legal forum. Mistry is no pushover but he is no match for the House of Tatas. Certainly, Ratan Tata stands heads and shoulders above any corporate leader in India. And precisely because of these reason, very many  corporate players  envy the respect the name 'Tata' invokes and some of them may even be  inclined to give in to a kind of schadenfreude. And, to the extent the Tatas are known to have kept the politicians of all hues at an arm's length, the two-bit political players may be tempted to poke their grubby nose in the group's affairs. For this reason alone most sober Indians would be hoping that the warring factions would quickly bring their quarrel to  an amicable end. A public spectacle is the last thing the Tata group or the country would want.