Panegyric of praise

Among the plethora of books on the Tatas flooding the market is A Complete Biography of Ratan Tata by A. K. Gandhi (pictured on page 35) brought out by Prabhat Prakashan of New Delhi in 2021 and priced at Rs 250.
An inspiring quote attributed to Ratan Tata, "People still believe what they read is necessarily the truth,” rings a cautionary note in the case of this paperback. For factual inaccuracies abound, starting with the introductory section in which the author writes: "When J. R. D. Tata was given the responsibility of industrial heritage by Ratan Tata…” Really? Many well-known names have been misspelt: Lady Navajbai Tata features as "Nawazbai.” The names of some directors of the Tata Group are incorrectly spelt. In the section on Tata’s family there is nary a mention of Ratan’s younger brother Jimmy, though Noel features as his sibling.
The author provides a long list of Tata companies that Ratan headed; but many of these have ceased to exist. Four sections are devoted to the Nano project, deemed by the author as Tata’s singular success, culminating in the entry of the "people’s car” in the market. Which is odd, for the book was published in 2021 while Tata Motors discontinued manufacturing the Nano in 2019. Ratan’s foreign acquisitions too are highly lauded; some of them have proved a burden for the Group.
The book is a panegyric of praise for "the Tata Group’s journey under Ratan’s leadership,” his foresight and "strong intentions.” Expectedly, there is no mention of his successor Cyrus Mistry or the unpleasant episode involving his summary removal. Everything is sanitized, whitewashed, reading like an exercise in public relations. Even that objective is marred by the writing, with its poor grammar and spelling. By being selective about the facts, glossing over those he deems unsuitable to record, Gandhi paints an unrealistic picture, doing Tata a disservice.
The paperback is one in a series titled A Complete Biography of… Pictured on the rear cover are Azim Premji, Indra Nooyi, Elon Musk and Mukesh Ambani who have also had books written on them. One wonders whether they too have been given similar hagiographic treatment.