T. N. Seshan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 10thChief Election Commissioner of India | |
| In office 12 December 1990 – 11 December 1996 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | V. S. Ramadevi |
| Succeeded by | M. S. Gill |
| 18thCabinet Secretary of India | |
| In office 27 March 1989 – 23 December 1989 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | B. G. Deshmukh |
| Succeeded by | V. C. Pande |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan (1933-05-15)15 May 1933 |
| Died | 10 November 2019(2019-11-10) (aged 86) |
| Party | Indian National Congress (joined in 1999) |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Madras Christian College Harvard University |
| Occupation | Bureaucrat, Lecturer, Civil Servant, IAS officer, Statesman |
| Awards | Ramon Magsaysay award (1996) |
Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan (15 May 1933 – 10 November 2019) was an Indian civil servant, lecturer, bureaucrat and statesman who served with theIndian Administrative Service.[1] After serving in various positions inMadras and in various ministries of theCentral Government, he served as the 18thCabinet Secretary of India in 1989. He was appointed the 10thChief Election Commissioner of India (1990–96) and became known for his electoral reforms. He won theRamon Magsaysay Award for government service in 1996. After retirement as theCEC, he contested the1997 Indian presidential election. He lost toK.R. Narayanan[2] after which he unsuccessfully contested1999 Lok sabha election fromGandhinagar constituency under the Indian National Congress.
Seshan was born[3] on 15 May 1933[4] in a TamilBrahmin family atThirunellai Village inPalakkad, Kerala.[5][6] He was the youngest of six siblings, and his father was a lawyer in a district court.[7] He completed his schooling at theBasel Evangelical Mission School, Palakkad, and intermediate atGovernment Victoria College, Palakkad, where he was a contemporary ofE. Sreedharan, who is popularly known as the 'Metro Man of India.'
Though Seshan and Sreedharan were selected for the Engineering degree atJNTU Kakinada, Seshan decided to join theMadras Christian College,Chennai (MCC).[8] He then completed his Bachelor of Science (Hons.) degree inPhysics from Madras Christian College and later taught there from 1950 to 1952. In 1953, he left the college and cleared the police service examination, but did not join. He then cleared theUPSC civil services examination in 1954 and joined theIAS as a trainee of the 1955 Tamil Nadu cadre.[9][6][10][5]
Seshan was appointed an apprentice administrator, as an assistant collector, for a year atCoimbatore, as a trainee of the Academy of Administration in Delhi. He was first appointed sub-collector inDindigul.[5] He moved to the Secretariat for Rural Development inMadras (now Chennai) and appointed director of programs and deputy secretary, where he managed a local administration programme forpanchayats, from 1958 to 1962.[5]
In 1962, he was appointed the director of transport ofMadras (nowTamil Nadu),[5][7] and in 1964, he was appointed collector ofMadurai district. After two and a half years, he went to study atHarvard University on an Edward S. Mason Fellowship, where he earned a master's degree in public administration in 1968.[5] At Harvard, he developed a connection withSubramanian Swamy who was his associate professor.[11][12]
After his return in 1969, he was appointed secretary to theAtomic Energy Commission. From 1972 to 1976, he served as joint secretary at theDepartment of Space.[5] In 1976, he returned to Tamil Nadu and was appointed the state's secretary of industries and of agriculture for a brief period. After differences with theChief Minister of Tamil Nadu, he resigned and moved to Delhi, where he was appointed as a member of theOil and Natural Gas Commission and was in charge of personnel. After two years, he served as additional secretary to theDepartment of Space from 1980 to 1985. Later, he became secretary of theMinistry of Environment and Forests from 1985 to 1988. He opposed theTehri dam and theSardar Sarovar dam on theNarmada River during his tenure, but was overruled. He was later appointed to the additional position of Secretary of Internal Security, a role he held until 1989. In 1988, he served as secretary of theMinistry of Defence for ten months.[5] He was appointed 18thCabinet Secretary, the senior-most position in the Indian civil service hierarchy, in 1989[9] and later served as a member ofPlanning Commission.[6][5]
He was appointed the 10thChief Election Commissioner and served from 12 December 1990 to 11 December 1996.[9][13][14] According to interview given by him toBusiness Standard, Law MinisterSubramanian Swamy played a vital role in this appointment.[12][15] He became best known for his electoral reforms. He redefined the status and visibility of theElection Commission of India.[16][17] He identified more than hundred electoral malpractices and reformed the election process.[7][14][18][19][20][21] Some of reforms he implemented include enforcement ofelection code of conduct,Voter IDs for all eligible voters, limit on election candidates' expenditure,[7][22] appointing election officials from states other than the one facing polls.[23] He curbed several malpractices like bribing or intimidating voters, distribution of liquor during elections, use of government funds and machinery for campaigning, appealing to voters' caste or communal feelings, use of places of worship for campaigns, use of loudspeakers and high volume music without prior written permission.[24]
During the1999 Indian general elections, due to his reforms, 1488 candidates were disqualified for three years for failing to submit their expenditure accounts. It was reported that he reviewed more than 40,000 expenditure accounts and disqualified 14,000 candidates for false information. In 1992, the Election Commission canceled elections in Bihar and Punjab due to electoral issues.[7]
After retirement as theCEC, he contested the1997 Indian presidential election and lost toK.R. Narayanan.[2] He fought on a Congress ticket against BJP'S veteranLal Krishna Advani in 1999 fromGandhinagar and lost.[25] He taught leadership at theGreat Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai and had briefly taught at theLBSNAA, Musoorie.[7] In 2012, theMadras High Court appointed him as an interim administrator to run thePachaiyappa's Trust in Chennai.[26]
He died at his home in Chennai on 10 November 2019.[9][27]
He received theRamon Magsaysay Award for government service in 1996.[5]
He was married to Jayalakshmi Seshan from 1959 until her death in March 2018. He was fluent in several languages including,Malayalam,Tamil,Sanskrit,English,Hindi,Kannada,Marathi andGujarati.[5] He was a staunch devotee and follower of Kanchi Shankaracharya and often sought His blessings.[28]
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