Sudha Murty says she wrote an angry letter to JRD Tata, asked him to remove ‘no women’ policy: ‘I was the only girl in the class’

“In 1974 I was doing MTech (Master of Technology) at the Tata Institute, Bangalore. I was the only girl in the class with all boys. I had done B.E. (Bachelor of Engineering) in 1972, even that year I was the only girl among other boys. I was then getting a scholarship to do PHD in America. One day I was returning to my hostel and I read a notice on the notice board that read TELCO, Pune was inviting young, bright engineers with a good salary, but in the end they had mentioned that ladies students need not apply. It was like how, on cigarette packets, it is written in small writing ‘cigarette smoking is injurious to health,’ it really made me angry. I was twenty- three years old, you tend to get angry more at that age,” she said.

“After reading that I went to the hostel, got a postcard and I wrote to JRD Tata sir. He used to come to our institute every year on 15th March to celebrate Tata’s birthday. I used to see him from far away. I was a student from a middle-class family, I didn’t have the courage to go and meet such big people closely. He was very handsome, he looked like a Greek statue,” the 72-year-old added.

She also opened up about how she demanded an equal job opportunity for men and women at TELCO. She said, “In my letter I wrote to him, Sir, JRD Tata, when country was not independent that time your group started chemicals, locomotive, iron and steel industry, you are always ahead of time. In this society there are 50-50% men and women, if you don’t give an opportunity to women then you are cutting off the services of women, that means your country will not progress. If women don’t get an education and job opportunities, then a society or a country never rises, and this is one mistake of your company (for not allowing women students to apply for the job at TELCO, Pune).”

“I just wrote that letter but I didn’t know his address. I am from Hubli (a city in Karnataka) and there was no internet at that time. So I wondered that since the notice says women students can’t apply for this job at Pune, so I just wrote JRD Tata, TELCO, Bombay, as address and posted the postcard. I just wrote it,” Murty concluded. Tata removed the policy upon receiving Murty’s latter and she also worked with the company.