While chairing the Duke of Edinburgh’s Sixth Commonwealth Study conference on May 18, 1986 Tata executive Minoo Mody stated no one has heard of the Duke of Edinburgh — before correcting himself to say he meant no one has heard of the Duke of Edinburgh Conference! When the Duke, Prince Philip, laughed aloud, as did the audience, Mody went on to narrate how the permission of the Government of India was secured to hold the Conference in India due to the personal relationship established between Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi at their first meeting.
To which Philip responded: "l had no idea that in organizing this Conference you had to involve Thatcher to plead the cause of the Conference with Gandhi… I am really quite proud of the fact that neither of them knew about it… Because from the very beginning I felt it was extremely important that none of these Conferences should be dependent in any way for money or organization or anything else on established governments. This, I think, has to be a private enterprise effort, a private enterprise in itself.” In his address he noted, "Their whole purpose is to ensure the welfare and the satisfaction of the people… Material factors are undoubtedly very important but human satisfaction is far more dependent on the cultural, political and religious environments in which people live.”
From l, 1st row, Prince Philip, Minoo Mody; 2nd row: Mody, Prince Philip and Prince Edward
Sponsored by India and Australia to provide a common platform for employers and trade unionists to meet and understand the impact of their decisions on each other as well as on society, the Conference was addressed by eminent experts. Also gracing the event was Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent. Philip spoke of industry, commerce and administration as being the means to an end. Russi Mody, chairman and managing director of Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (later TISCO) delivered the keynote address, Minoo informed Parsiana on May 6, 2021.
An excerpt from an in-house Tata Group magazine shared by Minoo with Parsiana stated that "in his address full of wit and worldly wisdom,” Philip complimented the two Modys, Rusi and Minoo (the partnership of Mody and Mody as he called them), for their "splendid and stimulating speeches.” Recalling that he had inaugurated the first of these Conferences at Oxford 30 years prior, Philip expressed his pleasure that some of the then participants were present at this session. He remarked that had it not been for their presence, he would have repeated the same speech he had made on that occasion!
Participants to the Conference, held every six years, are drawn from all sectors of society and particularly include people from government bodies, non-governmental organizations, trade unions and businesses. On average 300 people attend each such Conference, notes Wikipedia. Since 1956, 10 Conferences have taken place in various countries of the Commonwealth. The 2023 event is scheduled to take place in Canada.
The Duke of Edinburgh passed away in the UK at age 99 on April 9, 2021.