Ratan Naval Tata, the doyen of Indian industry, inheritor of one of the greatest corporate names in India passed away peacefully on October 9, and was laid to rest on Thursday. Even though he was 86 years old and had been suffering health issues for the past few years, his passing has been mourned across the board. But it is surprising just how much the general public in India has mourned his passing, especially in a country where capitalists are still not celebrated.

Ratan Tata’s immense contributions to philanthropy, his love of dogs including strays, have endeared him to Indians like few others have managed, with the possible exception of his uncle, JRD Tata, whom he succeeded as Chairman of Tata Sons. Following the horrendous 26/11 attacks when the flagship Taj Mahal hotel was desecrated by terrorists, he not only ensured that all employees who had lost their lives or loved ones did not lose hope and he paid compensation to all and he was determined that the hotel rise again to the top, which it has.

Ratan Tata is a poster child of post-liberalisation India. Under his leadership, the expansion of Tata group’s ventures began aggressively. Whether it was the success of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in the Information Technology space, the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley Tea, the global reach of Tata Steel as well as the growth of Tata Motors in the Indian passenger car space starting from the late-1990’s with the Tata Indica.

The fact that Indian Hotels, operators of the Taj Group is today India’s largest hotel chain is in no small part thanks to his leadership and the fact that he surrounded himself with extremely capable managers.

He fulfilled his long-time ambition of running an airline when he started Vistara along with Singapore Airlines and while he might have retired from day-to-day operations, there is little doubt that he played a role in Tata Sons acquiring Air India.

It is only correct that Ratan Tata is being a state funeral and his mortal remains have been draped in the tricolour because first and foremost, he was an extremely proud India. In the coming days, while India mourns his death, certain aspects of his business dealings which were less than ideal will again be brought to light.

But his reputation remained unsullied, unlike many other large Indian industrialists. And the reason for that was his large heart.

Travel well, Mr. Tata.