Devender Singh Rana emerged as a heavy-weight Dogra voice in Kashmir politics who shifted from JKNC to BJP while retaining his power base, Nagrota. The politician, however, has been a hardcore self-made businessman whose company started from scratch and became India’s No 3 Maruti car seller with more than 7000 people on its rolls. Masood Hussain details the rise of an ‘accidental politician’ and a model businessman who was a phenomenal relationship builder
“I am returning on November 4, and we will have enough time between the session to talk,” Devender Singh Rana (March 5, 1965 – October 31, 2024) told me with confidence as we departed at the main gate of Srinagar airport on October 22 evening. “We need to talk and there is enough to talk about.”
I never knew that this would be his last visit to Kashmir, a place he loved and the circle of his association he cherished throughout his life. Kashmir was the place that immensely contributed to his profile as a politician and to an extent as a self-made business tycoon.
On October 21, 2024, the editors at the Kashmir Life Studio were readying the audio-visual small capsule about the 29 BJP MLAs being facilitated at the party office in Srinagar. On the screen it looked like an impressive function – the lawmakers in their traditional Dogri saffron pugris with golden brocade laces getting into a long line for petal showers by the party workers. Rana was the star attraction as he was supposed to be, thanks to his wits and oratory. “Terrorism is in its last leg,” Nagrota MLA and business tycoon, told the reporters. “Perpetrators (of violence), their (militant) supporters and sympathisers will not be allowed to destroy the peace that has been restored in Kashmir in last five years.”
Shri Devender Singh Rana Ji’s untimely demise is shocking. He was a veteran leader, who worked diligently towards Jammu and Kashmir’s progress. He had just won the Assembly polls and had also played a noteworthy role in making the BJP stronger in J&K. In this hour of grief, my… pic.twitter.com/ohmAFJ8UJl
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 1, 2024
I rang him up. We had not met for a very long time. The last time, I interviewed him on Zoom was about and around the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission. “The shades of grey are gone,” Rana told me as we connected virtually, “It is black and white now.” Since then, it has been a long time since we could not speak with each other. He did not pick up the call as he was in the assembly taking the oath of allegiance. Later that night, he returned the call and we fixed the appointment for the next afternoon. As I was about to leave for the meeting, he called again and rescheduled the interaction for 3 pm.
With Syed Shadab Ali Gillani, who covers politics for all the verticals at Kashmir Life, I reached the Lalit and founded Rana surrounded by his staffers and the hotel managers. “I was waiting for you,” he said. “Get into the car we will talk while driving.”
“I am trying to stay well. Doctors have suggested medicines and I am following the regime,” he told me as we started for the airport. His tone sounded weak. He would frequently administer some mouth and use tissue paper to clear his face. The tone that once represented Rana had faded and sometimes I struggled to pick what he was saying.
Near Jawahar Nagar, he told his driver to get into Gogji Bagh as he had not met Nighat Shafi Pandit and is yet to pay condolences following the demise of Mohammad Shafi Pandit, the first Kashmir Muslim IAS officer. The two families have had a long relationship. They enquired about their kids, the welfare of the families and the situation in which all of a sudden Pandit returned from a game of Golf and complained of pain and never got up from his bed. He died of pancreatic cancer. Almost 15 minutes later, he begged apologies as he had to catch a flight.
I wished to return office but he did not permit. Reluctantly, I agreed to accompany him to the airport. Fate had it that it was his last exit from Kashmir. During the brief drive amid intermittent traffic snarls, we did talk about politics, his party activities and his relations with Omar Abdullah, which turned sour over the last few years.
The terrible news from late last night isn’t really sinking in. I know the last few years have been marked by our differences Devender but I prefer to focus on the fun times we shared together, the excellent work we did together & the memories. You have been taken from us all too… pic.twitter.com/QoANZOyS3B
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 1, 2024
“I wish to see you when you are face to face with Omar Abdullah in the coming days,” I asked him, almost provoking him. “That (chance) you have missed,” he said politely, “I met him last time when he attended the marriage of my nephew in Jammu.”
Rana gave me the impression that he is almost the same “outsider” in BJP as “I was in the National Conference”. Asserting that Omar will have a smooth run in the government, Rana suggested the BJP has a set of basics attached to its Kashmir policy which will never be compromised, “come what may”. He sounded very pessimistic about an early restoration of the statehood, change in overall policies and a possible outreach. “It is Modi, not Manmohan Singh, make no mistake,” he said. “It is a huge hierarchal party where even party workers do not know much.” He said he is not concerned if he matters in the party or not but asserted with pride that he is the only lawmaker who will be going to the assembly with so many votes and his electors were not Hindus alone.
I rushed to the office and he drove to the airport. A day later I was told that his flight was delayed by an hour. The next news was nasty as Tahir Bhat, former online editor at Kashmir Life rang me up at around 10:30 pm, breaking the news of Rana’s demise. The response was purely basic – denial, disbelief and eventually acceptance. As is tragic with scribes, the news is a liability till it is not broken!
Health Issues
Rana was battling overweight throughout his life. Once he underwent an intragastric balloon procedure, a less invasive minimal procedure that is used amongst people facing obesity. He later had bariatric surgery too. “Last winter, he fought successfully herpes and when he was supposed to fly to Qatar, he was detected with Covid19,” Irfan A Narwaroo, one of his close associates and a mutual friend said. “He went to AIIMS and was told that he is all right but his immune has gone too low.”
Last time, Irfan said, when he put himself on a weight loss regime, he lost 65 kgs. “Then there was weight gain again and this time it led to massive muscle loss which created a new situation for him, the vertigo,” he said, “Last year some of his teeth were extracted as well.”
The rest of it was the shock. He was admitted to Amrita Hospital in Faridabad on October 26, where he breathed his last on October 31, night. He was flown to Jammu where thousands of people joined his cremation. These included his estranged friend and erstwhile mentor Omar Abdullah, the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister.
Shocked to hear about the sudden demise of Devinder Rana ji. Deepest condolences to his family & loved ones.
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) October 31, 2024
Friends Matter
Omar has exhibited himself as a thorough gentleman, given the costs he had to pay after Rana spilt the beans in his series of interviews that he gave, targeted JKNC. “The terrible news from late last night isn’t really sinking in. I know the last few years have been marked by our differences Devender but I prefer to focus on the fun times we shared together, the excellent work we did together & the memories,” Omar wrote in a highly emotional tweet, attached with three photographs of the days gone by. “You have been taken from us all too soon & will be missed. May your soul rest in peace now DSR.”
For years, Rana was Omar’s alter ego, if not a Man Friday. “Omar trusted him as a matter of reflex,” as was put by Basant Rath in a long note on Twitter. “No questions asked, no answers expected. His loyalty to the Chief Minister was beyond bargaining.” Omar paid for the association as the veterans in the party disliked Rana shadowing Omar throughout. It was carefully crafted associations from both sides that reached a stage where their interdependence was proverbial. On the very first day as Chief Minister, when the opposition benches threw the sleaze slur on Omar and he announced his resignation on the floor of the house, Rana, his key manager had a massive fall on the Gupkar Road, breaking his nose. The association, however, was built over a while.
Getting Noticed
It all started from The Kashmir Times where Rana would gradually emerge as a very close confidant of Ved Bhasin. Their association dates back to a consumer rights initiative, somewhere in 1989 which was headed by Bhasin as an energetic Rana was his deputy. Rana’s were close to Bhasin. After writing initially for the newspaper, Dr Jitendra Singh Rana, Devender’s elder brother, felt the newspaper was supportive of the separatist voices, so he shifted to its rival. The room was filled by Rana, who, did not write but felt impressed by Bhasin’s journalism. The real things started happening after Dr Farooq Abdullah-led government was installed in Srinagar in 1996.
By then, Rana was already an established businessman. After Dr Farooq picked a novice Mohammad Yousuf Khan as Chairman of JK Bank, who contributed immensely to changing the profile of the financial institution, Rana was one of the few choicest people who were appointed on the board.
Khan was impressed by Rana’s capacities. He introduced him to Dr Farooq and it led to the association of Omar and Rana. Almost in the same age group, Rana was not a JKNC worker, unlike his father who was a staunch supporter of Sheikh Abdullah. He was driven to the party by the role and responsibility that Omar would gradually get into. Initially, he became an aide, a personal support but eventually, he joined the party in 2000. It marked the beginning of Rana’s politics.
In 2001, Rana became Omar Abdullah’s media advisor. This was a role that came naturally to him. He has been a great relationship builder throughout his life, in politics and business. In 2006, he was nominated to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council – an institution that was undone by the 2019 Reorganisation Act. He was one of the good debtors in the council till his term concluded. For nearly three years till 2011, Rana was Chief Minister Omar’s political adviser.
A pro-media man, Rana would ensure that there is no discrimination in the news. He, however, knew the art of managing media too. He set up the TakeOne cable TV centre in Srinagar and Jammu. At the peak of the 2010 unrest, its Srinagar operations were cased, unlike Kashmir.
In 2014, Rana contested from Nagrota and won the seat with a respectful margin. This gave him a huge legitimacy as a political worker and added to his weight in the party. Soon, when the parties started exploring allies for government formation in a hung house, Rana got a huge role of being a go-between JKNC and BJP, the spicy details of which he spilt in the last two years to corner Omar. He had a natural advantage of getting that role. Top BJP leader and former finance minister Arun Jaitley’s wife, Sangeeta is the daughter of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir finance minister Girdhari Lal Dogra. For Rana’ brothers,’ she is an adopted sister. He was the Provincial President of the party, which made him the most qualified person to explore a deal for government formation.
After Rana gave up JKNC and joined BJP, he talked about these meetings. These were seen as inappropriate but Omar – who literally was in tears after Rana deserted him, did not keep that in mind while writing his tweet or flying to Jammu for the funeral. After joining the saffron party, Rana emerged as a strong Dogra voice and retained Nagrota with a huge margin having a sizable Muslim electorate.
Rana was a strong Jammu voice. He would routinely talk of Dogra pride, the soldier spirit of the bygone era. Going against his party, he supported a holiday in memory of Jammu and Kashmir’s last Maharaja. He, however, was a strong secular person. At the peak of Amarnath agitation, one evening, he put his phone towards his window from Gandhi Nagar residence to make it audible to me, what the crowds were chanting at his main gate – Mulk Kay Gadarioun Kou, Goli Maro Salooun Ko.
Nobody knows why he deserted JKNC in post-2019 Jammu and Kashmir and joined BJP. After debating the Jammu Declaration for a very long time, he joined the rightwing party in October 2021. Perhaps this mystery will be solved by people who were very close to him.
Distressed at the loss of two friends in a day, Bibek Debroy and Rana Devender Singh. Poles apart but a common trait: engaging & enlightening company. Bibek a multifaceted intellectual, an economist. Devender, a sharp mind, a successful businessman and politician. RIP.
— Haseeb Drabu (@HaseebDrabu) November 1, 2024
A Businessman
People who know Jammu and Kashmir better believe that Devender Singh Rana was the first businessman who became a politician. “People usually get into politics and then start some business,” one Kashmir expert said. “This was not the case for Rana who was a hardcore businessman and who had established his business starting literally from scratch.” He, however, has never been blamed by anybody for using his political clout for his business. “He was a gentleman and a giver,” one of his close associates said. “He might be one of the few businessmen whose interventions have helped build lives in Kashmir and Jammu.”
One great thing that made him distinct within the tribe was he was up-to-date. His friends told me that he would rarely sleep without reading at least 10 to 15 pages of a book that is in trend. “I have never seen his morning without going through all the major publications in India which he would go through,” his friend said. “The other thing that would make him special was his first-hand knowledge about the culture and faith of Kashmiri Muslims simply because he had a huge influence on his life from Abdul Salam Shah, his father’s best friend who was a law secretary in the government and would live with them and Rana would share his room.”
“After all (however) he was an accidental politician,” one top banker said. “Rana is actually a self-made businessman who knew the art of leveraging things.”
Exciting Journey
His business journey is no less thrilling, especially at a place where new ventures are vulnerable to fragile situations and bureaucratic red taps. His phenomenal growth was organic. By the time, Rana breathed his last on Diwali 2024, he had emerged as the No 3 top car seller from Maruti stable in India. His companies operate in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh with almost 7000 people on rolls and an estimated yearly turnover of Rs 2000 crore.
The son of an engineer, Rana explained that his modest family background spurred him to pursue something serious, fast, and rewarding. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but Rana was disinterested. “After I ranked third in the state merit list for secondary examinations, I applied for admission to colleges in Bhopal, Jaipur, and Kurukshetra and was selected,” Rana told me in a detailed interview recounting his growth as a business tycoon, long before he entered politics. “I chose Kurukshetra (now an NIT) because it was one of the top RECs.”
By 1986, Rana was an automobile engineer. “But my family’s pressure was intense, so I actually joined Delhi Law College,” he said. “My father, himself an engineer, thought it would be better if his son pursued law.” However, destiny led him to choose to remain an ‘unemployed engineer’ rather than a lawyer. His father then urged him to try for civil service, but Rana was not inclined.
With his engineering certificate in hand, Rana was keen to open an industrial unit—a steel re-rolling mill. He applied for land and had it allotted. After some research, he realised that the sector lacked an adequate workforce. He went to Gobindgarh, Punjab’s main steel hub, to learn more and hired a consultant. “It required Rs 30 lakh, but I didn’t have the resources for that amount,” Rana recalled. “Though there was a subsidy, it would only be available after I spent the funds upfront. So, this initiative was a non-starter.”
It was at this stage that an opportunity presented itself to Rana. He went to visit a friend who worked in the Delhi office of Kuwaiti Airways, where he learned that Maruti India Ltd was opening 20 service stations across India. Coincidentally, the Maruti office was nearby, and when he visited, he found that Jammu was also on the list. He applied immediately and was shocked to discover that there were 200 applicants from Jammu alone, including some of the wealthiest and most influential people.
“I later learned that Maruti’s dealers initially opposed the idea of these 20 pilot service stations, but the MD stood firm,” Rana said. “The aim was to identify individuals who could become icons and role models within Maruti, and I fit that vision.”
With a Letter of Intent in hand, Rana rented space on Jammu’s busy B C Road with an initial amount of Rs 3.5 lakh that his father provided. The station opened on July 22, 1987, and his first day’s earnings from labour amounted to Rs 578. “I had no prior experience managing such a facility, but I approached it very professionally,” Rana said. “I would personally wear work overalls and participate hands-on to convey my commitment.” O Suzuki even referred to him as the “overall-wearing engineer.”
Soon, Rana encountered accounting challenges but learned on the job. His working hours extended to 14 to 18 hours a day. In the first month, he hired 45 employees, and by the next month, he had nearly doubled that number.
“No car was serviced without my supervision,” Rana told me with emphasis on every single word. “By the end of the first year, I serviced more cars than all the other dealers combined.” Back then, the Maruti dealers in the state were Lala Tirath Ram Amla, Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, and Janki Motors. “But their combined workload was less than mine,” Rana recalled.
Rana quickly became the icon Maruti was looking for. The pilot project was a tremendous success, launching him on a path to becoming a business leader. In 1989, he opened an authorised service station in Pathankot, and in 1991, he launched his third in Noida. Service stations soon led to dealerships. In 1995, Rana opened his first car dealership in Pathankot, followed by others in Kangra, Udhampur, Jammu, and eventually Srinagar in a joint venture. More recently, he opened two more outlets in Delhi. “We have Kashmiri executives selling cars in Pathankot and Delhi.”
The growth within Jammu and Kashmir was impressive. His service stations and sales outlets are spread across locations such as R S Pora, Basholi, Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Banihal, Poonch, Katra, Kathua, Rajouri, Dialchak Kathia, and Bhaderwah. “Maruti has a lot of trust in us because we haven’t diversified into other sectors,” Rana said. “My only real estate investment is a 32-kanal plot in Sanjevan.” His company is India’s No 3 Maruti seller, operating from nearly 50 stations nationwide. There is no parallel to him in North India’s personal car market.
While achieving such significant growth, what impressed him most was the innate salesmanship of Kashmiris. “Salesmanship is in their DNA, and they are among the best,” Rana told me. Now, the family has a Tata commercial dealership along with a Harley Davidson and Hero dealership in Punjab.
With the founder not around, the family will have to make serious efforts to retain the business at the pace it has. Gunjan, his wife since 1992, has been managing the JamKashm for more than 10 years now, especially after he joined politics. One of his two daughters is taking care of the TATA dealership and the media operations. Rana has two daughters and a son. With an army of dedicated workers across the chain, the company would require the Rana spirit to go to the next level.
