Gurpratap Boparai remembers washing his father’s car and checking its fluid levels and tyre pressure way back in the mid-70s in the winter wonderlands of Moscow. His father, an IAS officer who was commercial counsellor in the commerce ministry in the Russian capital, would delight the then six-year-old Boparai with details about car engines and cylinders.
Those early experiences with cars set the tone for Boparai’s romance with the industry. The man who once traversed the 920-odd km between London and Turin in a day began his career in automobiles in the early 1990s with Tata Motors, then primarily a maker of trucks and known as Tata Engineering & Locomotive Company.
Boparai is one among several head honchos whose passion for cars has shaped their career path. Boparai is also a Sikh, a community known for its close relationship with vehicles of all shapes and sizes as well as the components that go into them. “There is a strong bond between Sikhs and all things mechanical, in general, and automobiles in particular,” points out Boparai. Call them the sardars of the auto world — or even the sons of sardars, given the previous generations’ dalliance with all things on wheels: Other than Boparai who was recently anointed CEO of Fiat India, there’s Joginder Singh, Ford India’s managing director who takes over as president & MD of Ford India from December 1; other Sikhs at top positions at automakers include Sandeep Singh, deputy MD, Toyota Kirloskar; Ravi Chopra, MD, Piaggio India; AS Puri, vice-president, Tata Motors; HS Goindi, president, marketing, TVS Motors; and Harbhajan Singh, head, industrial relations, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India. Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India, sums up the reason for the preponderance of the turbaned generals at automakers. “Sardars have an entrepreneurial instinct, can multi-task and think on their feet.”
A Sikh who heads a southbased auto company but did not want to come on record attributes the conspicuous presence of the community to its association over the decades with the transport and spare parts business. Over time, many of these sardars have evolved into experts in automobiles and are natural leaders at companies that make them.
“The past association of previous generations has helped us develop a good understanding of the automobile business. As a community, we are more realistic, transparent, willing to take up operational roles, easily adaptable and willing to travel,” is how this CEO puts it. Ravi Chopra, an auto veteran who has been associated with the industry since 1997, says it may be just coincidence that there are so many Sikhs in key positions in the auto industry. “Sikhs across the world do occupy key prominent positions,” says Chopra, MD of Piaggio India.
“By nature, Sikhs are hard working, industrious, committed and enterprising, all key attributes needed in a leader,” he says. Sikhs have also built formidable dealership businesses all over the country.
Ludhiana-based Raj Naresh Singh has been a dealer for the past 15 years; today he owns dealerships for passenger vehicles of Ford, Volkswagen, Volvo and Nissan.
