Brown and Tata lead tributes to industry-academic pioneer

by Amit Roy

A SERVICE of thanksgiving for the life of Prof Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, who died on March 1, aged 78, was held in Coventry Cathedral last Saturday (30).

Kumar, as he was universally known, brought the academic and manufacturing worlds together as head of the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) since its inception at the urging of Margaret Thatcher, one of his greatest admirers, in 1980.

He had advised every prime minister since then, among them Gordon Brown who delivered a very emotional address at the service.

“There is no doubt that over many decades no one has done more to link the academic community to British industry,” said Brown, who said he consulted John Major while preparing his notes.

“There is no need to exaggerate the contribution Kumar made to our country and to the world. His monumental achievements speak for themselves,” he added.

In a lighter vein, Brown spoke (when he was at Downing Street) of a crisis in UK-China relations which could not be resolved by the prime minister, the foreign secretary or the chancellor, or even the offer of a full set of Downton Abbey.

The problem was sorted out by Kumar, who had friends all over the world, but especially in India and China, the former prime minister recalled.

Among the thousand people packed into the cathedral was a distinguished contingent

from India, led by Ratan Tata, who bought Jaguar Land Rover after being persuaded by his close friend, Kumar, to do so.

Standing at the lectern, Tata recalled “the warmth and sincerity of his friendship”.

Kumar’s wife, Bridie, who is Irish, read an English translation of a poem by Rabindranath

Tagore.

Kumar felt he was very lucky to have “three very independent-minded daughters” – Anita, Tina and Malini.

Anita and Tina also spoke at the service, the latter to emphasise her father was “a feminist who was proud of his three daughters” and happy to be surrounded by “four strong women”.

Others who spoke or participated in the service included the Rt Rev Christopher Cocksworth, Bishop of Coventry; the cathedral’s dean, the Very Rev John Witcombe;

the Lord-Lieutenant for the West Midlands, John Crabtree; Venu Srinivasan, chairman and managing director of the TVS motor company; Lord Baker, a former Tory education minister; Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry; Cllr

Abdul Khan, deputy leader of Coventry City Council; and Dr John Ferrie, a member of the council at Warwick University where WGM is based.

After the service, guests were taken in a fleet of buses to the site of WGM where one of the buildings, which stands on Bhattacharyya Way, was formally named the Prof Lord Bhattacharyya Building.

The unveiling was done by Kumar’s wife and three daughters.

Kumar was “an international figure”, Warwick University’s vice-chancellor, Stuart Croft, said at the unveiling. Andy Street, the elected Tory mayor for the West Midlands, said Kumar had touched the lives of “hundreds of thousands of people” by rescuing Jaguar Land Rover.

Kumar has been succeeded as acting head of the WGM by Prof David Mullins, described as “his right hand man”. Mullins said Kumar was “energetic, restless, demanding and inspiring. He trusted and empowered people.”

He said: “I know this personally. I first came to WMG on a year’s secondment. Now, 21

years later, I’m still here, still impressed, and deeply honoured and privileged to be asked to guide us through this sad time.

“He embraced globalisation and was extremely proud of the impact we delivered with our international partners – in China, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and Cyprus.

“We renew our commitment to WMG, the body he founded, led and defined over four decades. Here, at the Professor Lord Bhattacharyya building, we will honour him by continuing his mission, being inspired by his vision, and – most of all – by making a positive difference to the world around us.”