Six Parsi and Zoroastrian organisations from India and abroad have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi backing Tata Trusts and opposing a stock-market listing of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group, The Hindu BusinessLine and ANI reported on October 23.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

The six organisations are the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India, the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America, the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe, the Global Council of Zoroastrians Trust and the World Zoroastrian Chamber of Commerce.

6Parsi and Zoroastrian organisations that signed the letter
66%Tata Trusts' reported stake in Tata Sons
NBFC-Upper LayerRBI category in which Tata Sons was retained in September

The letter, sent earlier this month, lands in the middle of a regulatory standoff. The Reserve Bank of India decided in September to retain Tata Sons in the non-banking financial company upper-layer category, a classification whose compliance requirements would require Tata Sons to list its shares. Tata Trusts, the largest shareholder of Tata Sons, has opposed listing and has suggested a restructuring plan involving the merger of two group subsidiaries with the holding company to escape listing, BusinessLine reported.

"The debate surrounding the listing of Tata Sons should not be viewed merely as a regulatory or technical matter. The implications reach much further. Any change that alters the balance between long term stewardship and short term market expectations could affect the very fabric, ethos and defining character of Tata Sons and by extension the wider Tata group," the organisations wrote, adding that preserving the values that have distinguished the Tatas for generations is a matter of considerable national importance.

"Any subversion of its unique altruistic character will have unfortunate repercussions on the fair perception of our country which you and your government have so successfully achieved," the letter said, according to the reports.

'We have not asked the PM to take sides'

Bombay Parsi Punchayet chairman Viraf D. Mehta, who also heads the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India, told Mumbai Mirror: "The Tata name is not the property of any one community. It belongs to every Indian. We have written to the PM not to take sides in the dispute, but to ask that an institution built over a century and a half on trust and service to the nation be protected."

Source: Mumbai Mirror

World Zoroastrian Chamber of Commerce global president Percy Master said that if Tata Sons is listed, the emphasis would shift towards commercial decision-making, which runs counter to the philanthropic mission of the Trusts. FEZANA president Ervad Kayomarz Y. Sidhwa said decisions taken today could shape generations, and that short-term market pressures could weaken the long-term philanthropic purpose at the heart of the Tata model.

The reports did not carry a response from the Prime Minister's Office or from Tata Sons to the letter. The organisations said they stood in solidarity with Tata Trusts and the Tata family, and hoped all stakeholders would approach the current challenges with regard for the larger national good.