Revenge of Jamsetji Tata: The fascinating story of Mumbai’s iconic Taj Mahal Palace

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Not in the case of the iconic Taj Mahal Palace. The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel is a story of how, instead of turning an insult into a series of retribution, Jamsetji Tata turned it into something beautiful, grand and meaningful.

The story goes back to the time when India was under British rule. The racial discrimination against the Indians did not only limit to the Indian soil. In fact, in Britain and in other European countries, Indians had to face rampant and blatant racial discrimination.


Back in the day, big hotels in Britain denied entry to Indians, a reflection of the rule in India under the British Raj where it said outside several establishments “Dogs and Indians not allowed”.


Jamsetji Tata met with the same discrimination when he tried to visit Watson’s Hotel, one of the grandest hotels in Britain back then. He was refused entry as the hotel was ‘Whites Only’.



For Jamsetji Tata, this was not only a personal insult but also a very big insult to every Indian. This incident led him to make a decision to build not only a grand hotel but one that will allow entry to all, without any discrimination whatsoever. That was the story behind the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, located in Apollo Bandar, Colaba, Mumbai.


Fast forward 119 years, what we see today is that the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel is one of the grandest hotels in the world and one of the most recognised landmarks in India. The hotel also taught us lessons in resilience. Even after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, where Taj Mahal Palace was one of the worst-hit places, it stands tall and proud, reflecting the past and present glories.