Rahul Bajaj Death: Rahul Bajaj, Honorary Chairman of Bajaj Group, is no longer with us. He passed away today at the age of 83 in Pune after battling cancer for a long time. Rahul Bajaj has not only been known as an industrialist but his impeccable approach set him apart from the rest. He has led the company for almost 50 years and has given a new flight to the dreams of the common Indian in the form of indigenous ‘scooters’.
Rahul Bajaj was born on 30 June 1938 in Kolkata. Rahul’s grandfather Jamnalal Bajaj founded the Bajaj Group in 1926 and his father Kamalnayan Bajaj succeeded him in 1942. Kamalnayan started Bajaj Auto and within just three years he expanded into new businesses including cement, electrical appliances and scooters.
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Rahul Bajaj graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi in 1958 and also holds a law degree from Bombay University. Then he did his MBA from Harvard Business School, USA. Rahul Bajaj became a part of his father’s group as Deputy General Manager. He was in charge of key departments like Marketing, Accounts, Purchase and Audit in the company.
Under the guidance of Naval K Firodia, then CEO of Bajaj Auto, Rahul learned the nuances of the business, Firodia and Bajaj later parted ways. After the death of his father in 1972, Rahul was appointed as the Managing Director of Bajaj Auto. The company registered tremendous growth under his leadership. Rahul Bajaj built the firm in the 1970s and 80s and soon the business grew to such an extent that the company joined the multi-billion dollar club.
It was only because of Rahul Bajaj’s vision that the country got an opportunity to ride models of scooters like Bajaj Chetak, Priya and Super. The scooter segment contributed the most to the company’s growth. Under his leadership, the turnover of Bajaj Auto reached from 7.2 crores to 12 thousand crores and it became the country’s leading company selling scooters.
He was appointed the chairman of Indian Airlines in 1986 and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001. In June 2006, Rahul Bajaj was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra. In 2005, he resigned as the chairman of the company and his son Rajiv Bajaj became the managing director of the group.
Hamara Bajaj: When the entire nation danced to the tune of a TV commercial:
Back in the eighties when owning a two wheeler was no less than a luxury for the middle class family of the country. Back then, the Bajaj Chetak which had almost become synonymous with scooter was at the top of every middle-class family’s wish-list. Everyone wanted to ride this luxurious scooter from Bajaj. You can guess the popularity of this scooter from the fact that at that time its waiting period used to be about 10 years.
It was the result of Rahul Bajaj’s initiative that the Chetak and Bajaj Supermodels rose to prominence in the Indian market. Originally based on the Italian model Vespa Sprint, the Chetak was an affordable means of transport for millions of Indians for decades and is still remembered as ‘Our Bajaj’. Under his leadership, Bajaj Auto made the scooter a household name. The company’s ‘Hamara Bajaj’ campaign, which was conceived when Rahul Bajaj was at the helm of the company, has made the company’s scooters an integral part of the lives of all Indians.
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This was the time when an emotional association with a brand could change the fortunes of advertisers and agencies. At that time, the company launched a TV commercial for its two-wheeler range ‘Hamara Bajaj’, which resonated like a national anthem across the country. This was the time when India was dancing to the tune of “Yeh Zameen, Ye Aasman”.
Who wrote the tune of ‘Buland Bharat’:
“This land, this sky, our tomorrow, our today, the lofty picture of a lofty India, our Bajaj…” The jingle for this memorable ad was written by Jaykrit Rawat and directed by filmmaker Sumantra Ghosal and composed by Louis Banks. This was the time when India was emerging as the open and most profitable market for foreign companies, and this was the reason why the company created this advertisement to understand the sentiments of the countrymen and connect people to Bajaj Auto. succeeded in
Bajaj’s idea of having a ‘lofty India’s picture’ was undoubtedly one of the most important decisions of the company. Even today when we hear this advertisement, we are surrounded by hazy memories of the nineties. For those living their childhood in that era, this tune is not only a scooter jingle but a bundle of emotions that holds countless golden memories.