On 8 January 1979, in the late evening, Naval, the third son of Pirojsha Godrej, was brutally stabbed at his residence, along with his daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. This dastardly attack, incited by a powerful trade union leader in Mumbai, outraged people in trade circles and the public at large. The victim was one of those rare industrialists who had forged a legendary bond with his workers; he trusted their essential goodness, believing he could have no enemies—a fatal flaw according to the author—, in as much as they thought Naval could never do them wrong.
In Final Victory: The Life—and Death—of Naval Pirojsha Godrej, B.K. Karanjia draws upon his reminiscences of Naval from their five-decade-long friendship, interviews with Naval’s family, friends, associates and workers at Godrej, and his private papers, to paint a warm and compelling portrait of a man with an exceptional strength of mind and character. We get a glimpse of Naval, a mechanical wizard, who was chosen by his father to join the business straight out of high school. Learning skills from the shop floor upwards, led Naval to support a hands-on approach in tackling problems, ‘never expecting others to do what he would not undertake himself.’ His affinity for machines led Naval to develop the Godrej Tool Room, and to initiate the hugely successful typewriter and refrigeration lines of business that, with safes and Storwels, made Godrej a household name. He was deeply involved in the construction of the Godrej industrial garden township at Vikhroli, considered among the monst environment-friendly.
In keeping with the Godrej family’s deep commitment to worker welfare and human development, Naval played an important role in setting up the Naoroji Godrej Plant Research Center, the Foundation for Medical Research, and the Mandwa Project of the Foundation for Research in Community Health.
Rich in detail, the book also brings out Naval’s humility and simplicity, his tremendous drive and energy, his quick anger at preceived injustice, his mischievous wit, and love of sports, especially sailing. Full of anecdotes, this lively account of an extraordinary life, affirms Naval’s place as one of the builders of the House of Godrej.
