A year ago, on the 6th of July, Dhirubhai Ambani passed away. I happened to have been in Bombay at the time and was amazed at the general public grief when the news broke. It was as though a hugely popular national leader was no more and it was impossible to navigate the crowds that thronged the hospital, their home and the roads leading to the crematorium.
This in itself spoke volumes about how the man was perceived by the general public at large. A man who had clearly affected their lives. So-called VIPs are always seen at such occasions alighting from white Ambassador cars with lights flashing, more concerned about making their presence felt than anything else. But here, it was that endless stream of ordinary men and women who came to pay their last respects. This is what made Dhirubhai Ambani stand apart from all others in his fraternity. His fraternity was always insecure about the power that Dhirubhai wielded.
Dhirubhai was never ?one of them?. He was not part of the cocktail ?circus?, he was not at all those predictable parties and sponsored events, he was not on the society pages of the newspapers and magazines. He was generally in his office where you could meet him over a frugal vegetarian lunch or a cup of steaming tea, or at the health club or visiting old friends and colleagues from his past who continued to work out of Dhobhi Talao. He had no hang-ups and no chips on his shoulder. He did not shun his past. His friends remained his friends till he died.
Dhirubhai?s greatest contribution was that he, single-handedly, opened up the markets in this country. It was in the year 1977 that he launched the first Reliance initial public offer. There was no looking back thereafter. There was no looking back for the markets either and more and more companies plucked up the courage to go to the people to raise resources. It is ironic that no ?confederation of industries? or such bodies had been able to break such ground. They were content with the slow pace, the outdated modes of raising money, the joys of monopoly, the safety of not being accountable to the public.
By making work his leisure, he ensured those in his employ would follow his example and his companies grew beyond recognition. This was at a time when restrictions were rampant, rules and regulations throttled the possibility of growth and an archaic babudom stifled all. With his apparent success came endless campaigns, both whispering and vociferous, against him and the methods he allegedly used to break through the existing system. Many in his fraternity used these allegations as reason to shun him. But the people continued to invest in him.
He was not part of the corporate crowd, he was not an inheritor of an empire ? he built the largest empire in India. And then, when restrictions began to go, and many believed he would not be able to function as effectively, he once again proved them wrong with his grand merger. When the world hailed him, he became ?respectable? at home! He had beaten them all in the ?open market?.
We all know how businesses work in India. We all know what the politicians and the babus do and what they expect. We all know the games that are played out. We also know that the scale of operations vary. One question: Why have the national corporate collectives not been able to break through these dreadful barriers to ensure good and sound business without the trappings that have destroyed endeavour, hard work and competitiveness for over 50 years?
Today Dhirubhai Ambani is being celebrated posthumously. The President of India will deliver the first Dhirubhai Memorial Lecture. The entire fraternity will be there to honour a man they did not honour in his lifetime. Can we not encourage a hundred Dhirubhai Ambanis to get out there and deliver the goods? Can we not harness and support the intrinsic entrepreneurial strengths of India? That would be a fitting tribute.