Our dear friend and eminent Parsi historian Marzban Giara writes…
Lord Chelmsford the Viceroy of India visited the Tata Steel plant in 1919 after the First World War. Sakchi Village in Bihar was named Jamshedpur in memory of its enterprising and foresighted founder Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata and the Kalimati railway station as Tatanagar.
During the First World War M/s Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. provided the Government three lakh tons of iron and benefitted the Indian Treasury by Rs.6 crores.
A living example of a great enterprise and valuable services rendered by the adventurous sons of the late seth Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata which will be remembered in Parsi history. These steel factories rendered very valuable services in providing cannonballs. Hence by renaming Sakchi as Jamshedpur, an adventurous Parsi leader’s name has been recorded in India’s geography. Lord Chelmsford, the Honourable Viceroy expressed his thoughts about the services rendered by Tata Co. as under:
“We could hardly imagine what we could have done to win the War had Tata Iron & Steel not provided steel rail tracks not only for Mesopotamia but also for Egypt, Palestine and East Africa during the four years of the War.”
(Source: The Contribution of the Parsi Community during the First World War (1914-1918) page 75 and 76 by Marzban Jmashedji Giara published in 2016. Kaiser-E- Hind Parsi War Memorial Album Bombay 1920)