The 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai shook not just the city but also one of its most iconic landmarks – the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Ratan Tata, then Chairman of Tata Group, in an exclusive interview with NDTV in 2010, revealed the deep personal and professional challenges he faced during that fateful time, which became one of the most testing periods in his illustrious career.
Mr Tata died at the age of 86 in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday. The industrialist will be accorded a funeral with full state honours, with flags flying at half-mast at all Maharashtra government offices. A day of mourning has also been announced to honour the late industrialist.
"There was not a single toughest night, but there were several instances where we had to turn to tatters, to bolster ourselves or to backstop the situation," Mr Tata told NDTV, adding that the attacks compounded an already difficult phase for the company.
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The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, one of Tata's flagship properties, was severely damaged in the attacks. Thirty-three of the 166 people who were killed during the 60-hour siege were in the Taj, including 11 hotel employees. For Mr Tata, it was a personal tragedy, one that he admitted still affects him deeply. "Very emotional, and even now I find it difficult to control, thinking back to the misery that was caused by such a needless, mindless loss of life."
The attacks, orchestrated by 10 terrorists of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), targeted several locations across Mumbai, including two luxury hotels – the Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi. The devastation at the Taj was immense. Within just a month of the attack, the hotel reopened. However, restoring its heritage and grandeur took longer, and Mr Tata spent over $1 billion to complete the restoration within 21 months.
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"The 26/11 attacks impacted the hospitality end of our business, the steel market collapsed worldwide, the banking system vapourised; so we got hit in the worst way from all sides," Mr Tata recalled.
"I had in fact, a double responsibility. One is to see the companies through. And secondly, to make sure it did not in any way endanger the security of Tata Sons. I think that is my toughest period," Mr Tata said.
A year after the attack, in 2009, Mr Tata unveiled a memorial at the hotel to honour the 31 employees and guests who lost their lives at the Taj. The hotel, established in 1903 by Jamshedji Tata, had never closed its doors in over a century, not even during World War II when it served as a makeshift hospital. The attacks were the first time in its storied history that it was forced to shut down.
