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"A globally recognized manufacturer of various types of resistive devices,” Nagpur based Hi Tech Resistors Private Limited (HTR) has "40 differently abled operators out of a total strength of 350 operators,” narrated entrepreneur Rooshad Patel. A resistor is an electrical component that limits or regulates the flow of current in an electronic circuit.
About 10 years ago the firm was approached by Maharogi Sewa Samiti of Warora (a town in a nearby district) which is an organization of social activist Baba Amte, requesting they appoint some operators who were differently abled. "We appointed a couple or so on a trial basis… As our work is largely of an operator sitting on a machine and working with his/her hands we felt they would be able to give us an output in comparison with any.” Proven right, "we found their attendance very regular and attrition rate was also negligible as differently abled workers have few takers in our area.” HTR’s differently abled operators are those with leg deformities who are only able to move around with the help of crutches but whose hand functions are normal.
"Once it was established that such operators would be an asset to us… HTR formulated a policy of positive discrimination in employing such operators in preference to regular operators provided everything else was the same,” Patel told us.
Patel’s family had been selling agents to a number of textile mills from the 1930s to the mid-1980s. Business deteriorated after the devastating textile workers’ strike. "At that point I was around 35 years old and chafing at the bit to start some small manufacturing unit of my own,” Patel explained. After some study and speaking to a number of people he decided to set up an electronic component factory, manufacturing wire wound and power resistors. "The regular day-to-day functions of the company are now handled by my son Areez and my role is largely that of a mentor,” the 70-year-old businessman stated.
HTR offers a full spectrum of resistor technologies along with custom-engineered solutions, employs approximately 450 staff members in total and has a turnover of approximately Rs 35 crores, Rooshad mentioned. Wife Yasmin and Areez are co-directors in the company. Their range of resistors are made for diverse industries and applications like power supplies, inverters, industrial controls, kitchen appliances and elevators. They have a presence in 50 countries, via a network of distributors and representatives, notes their website. "We entered the field of export in 1994... At present we are a recognized export house by the Government of India and we have also been recognized as an Authorized Economic Operator by the union government as we derive approximately 75% of our revenues from export.”
A commerce graduate from Bombay University, Rooshad moved his family with Yasmin, daughter Aliya and Areez from Bombay to Nagpur in 1988. The son studied business administration at Coe College, USA. "Yasmin is Muslim by birth and we have been married 47 years under the Special Marriage Act… Areez has married Parul who is from a Baniya family from Delhi and we are blessed with two granddaughters Naira and Tara.” Aliya, a realtor, is married to Apple executive Daven Mody and is settled in California, USA.
"I have always thought the Doongerwadi way was best as the body was consumed by the vultures in less than a day and there were no effluents… However since the turn of the century, precisely when my father left us and we were standing outside the bungli, I got a distinct smell of overpowering chemicals and there were almost no vultures present… Since then I am more inclined towards cremation or burial as it is practiced in Nagpur,” noted Rooshad.
"When I see our community whose numbers are declining everyday (and) even today in many parts of India we are not welcoming Parsi girls who have married out of the community and their children, I feel profoundly sad and reflect whether we deserve the badge of being a progressive community,” Rooshad concluded.