Discussion Forum

Nani Ardeshir Palkhivala

(1920 — 2002)

Nanabhoy (“Nani”) Ardeshir Palkhivala was born on January 16, 1920, in Bombay (now Mumbai).

He was a prominent lawyer, jurist, economist, educationist, diplomat and author. He has been described as “the conscience-keeper of the nation”.

Palkhivala joined the Bar in 1944. He began his practice in the Bombay High Court, joining the chambers of Sir Jamshedji Kanga. He gained a reputation as an eloquent and principled counsel, arguing landmark cases of constitutional importance, including the Privy Purses of Princes Case, the Bank Nationalisation Case, and, most famously, the Kesavananda Bharati Case where the Supreme Court ruled that the Indian Parliament could not alter the basic structure of the Indian Constitution.

Palkhivala’s association with the Tata group began in 1961, when he was brought on board to join the Tata group. He was closely associated with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) from the time of its establishment in 1966. In 1968, Palkhivala was appointed Director of Tata Sons. He was a taxation expert and assisted the group with tax planning. After the termination of the managing agency system in the 1970s, Palkhivala helped JRD Tata with the mammoth task of restructuring the Tata Group, and creating independent Boards of Director for each Tata group company. Palkhivala was appointed as Director of Tata Iron and Steel, TELCO, Tata Chemicals, IHCL, Tata Exports, Tata Incorporated, New York and Tata International AG, Zug, Switzerland, among others. He was on the Boards of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust.

Palkhivala was also active in many areas outside the immediate sphere of his legal practice and work with the Tata group. He was the President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, the Chairman of the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy and the A.D. Shroff Memorial Trust and a trustee of several other charitable trusts. He was closely associated with the Government Law College, Bombay (GLC) and other educational institutions, and taught at GLC for many years. He authored and co-authored numerous books. He was a Member of the First and Second Law Commissions of India and a Director of the Reserve Bank of India. From 1958 onwards, Palkhivala made extempore post-budget speeches in Bombay, with the audience during his later addresses rising to over one lakh people. From 1977 to 1979, Palkhivala was appointed Ambassador of India to the United States of America.

Palkhivala’s contributions to law, economics, political science and public service were widely recognized. He was conferred numerous awards and honours. He was elected an Honorary Member of the Academy of Political Science, New York and conferred honorary degrees by Princeton University, New Jersey and Lawrence University, Wisconsin. Palkhivala was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1998.

Jehangir D. Choksi

(1900 – 1984)

Jehangir Dosabhoy Choksi (J.D.C.) was born in Bangalore (Bengaluru) on August 26, 1900. After his education, he joined Wadia Ghandy & Co., Solicitors, and later became its Partner.

At a time when J.R.D. Tata was looking for people with sound knowledge and wisdom to shoulder the increasing responsibilities of the growing firm he insisted on J.D.C. joining the Tata organisation. In return, he was instrumental in persuading N.A. Palkhivala, to join the Tata organisation.

Giving up active practice, he joined the Tata group in 1938 as a Legal Adviser and was appointed Director of Tata Sons Ltd. and Tata Industries Ltd. in 1945.

J.D.C. rose in the Tata hierarchy within a short time and was considered as one of the stalwarts of Bombay House. Apart from his mastery of tax matters, he was an outstanding administrator. He was Director-in-Charge of Air-India and Air-India International, and was responsible for the expansion of Air-India, from a comparatively small, to one of the bigger airlines. He was Chairman of the Tata Electric Cos., and played an important role in setting up the Trombay Thermal Station. He was also Chairman of Tata Chemicals Ltd., the Investment Corporation of India and was the Founder Chairman of Voltas Ltd., and Vice-Chairman of The Tata Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. He was a Trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and other major Tata Trusts. J.D.C. was also Chairman of the New India Assurance Co. Ltd., and was on the Board of the State Bank of India.

A chance meeting with George Woods, Adviser to the World Bank resulted in the involvement of the House of Tata with the World Bank. J.D.C. negotiated the World Bank loans, which paved the way for the Company, to get subsequent loans.

His finest hour came during the struggle to keep the Steel City of Jamshedpur functioning when the communists declared a flash strike in 1958, to test their strength against the official union. As Vice-Chairman of the Company he rushed from Bombay to Jamshedpur and stood his ground giving confidence to those who did not want to yield, and the official union came out successful.

J.D.C. was a towering personality, equally at home in law, finance, business and administration. He held the reins of one or another Tata company with distinction for three decades. Right from the beginning he was more than a ‘Jack of all Trades,’ he was a master. He was a pillar of strength in times of crisis and always a beacon of guidance. There was no activity of the firm with which he was not connected in one way or another. To many he had become an indispensable associate, adviser, friend and philosopher. His willingness to help others was unmatched and that extraordinary quality made him very dear to the people near and around him.

He passed away on January 29, 1984. His outstanding services to the Tata organisation and his many-sided contributions to its growth and development over a span of 43 years can never be forgotten.