Wangchuk pays tribute to Ratan Tata

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on an indefinite hunger strike along with his supporters at Delhi’s Ladakh Bhawan, paid tributes to Ratan Tata on Thursday.

The hunger strike entered its fifth day on Thursday.

In a post on X, Wangchuk paid homage to Tata, who died on Wednesday night at the age of 86, and said Tata Sons, owned by the Tata Trust, redistributes its wealth through social work.

“I want to pay my respects and homage to Ratan Tataji, who headed the Tata Sons. I’ve always admired them for their work for social welfare,” Wangchuk said, adding that 66 per cent of Tata Sons is owned by Tata Trusts, which redistributes this wealth through its activities in education, health and rural development.

“Very few companies in the world do this, where impact is above the income of the company,” he said.

Wangchuk talked about the ESG (environmental, social and governance) index and said corporations are ranked not just according to their size or income, but also by their impact on the society and environment and their own governance. “So next time you engage with a corporate or buy their products, don’t just look at the price, but also look at their ESG ranking and their background and that will do a lot of good to our nation,” he said.