Maharaja Krishna Rasgotra | |
|---|---|
 Maharaja Krishna Rasgotra in 1973 | |
| 12thForeign Secretary of India | |
| In office 1 May 1982 – 31 January 1985 | |
| Preceded by | Ram Sathe |
| Succeeded by | Romesh Bhandari |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1924-09-11)11 September 1924 (age 101) |
| Education | Punjab University (MA) |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan |
Maharaja Krishna Rasgotra (born 11 September 1924), often shortened toM. K. Rasgotra, is an Indian diplomat and academic who served as the 12thForeign Secretary of India from 1 May 1982 to 31 January 1985.[1]
Rasgotra was born 11 September 1924 in a DograBrahmin family which hails originally fromShakargarh, a small town which is now inPakistan on the border with India, only 30 km from theKartarpur corridor. However, his family had settled in the service of the Maharaja ofJammu and Kashmir and Rasgotra grew up in theKashmir Valley. He was the second son out of three sons and two daughters. He received aMaster of Arts degree in English fromPunjab University.[2]
At an early age, Rasgotra was married to Kadambari Devi in a match arranged by their families in the usual Indian way. Twelve years younger than her husband, Kadambari Devi was barely a teenager at the time of the wedding. The marriage proved entirely harmonious and conventional. The couple had two sons, but one of them died at the age of ten.[3] Kadambari Devi died in April 2018, aged 82, survived by her husband of seven decades, and by her son and his family. The family has lived in the upmarketVasant Vihar suburb ofNew Delhi after Rasgotra's retirement from government service in the mid-1980s.[4]
In 2016, at the age of 92, M.K. Rasgotra published his autobiography, which was hailed by former foreign ministerNatwar Singh as "one of the best autobiographies by anyIFS officer since 1947."[5] In September 2020, it was noted that Rasgotra was still active and was one of the oldest living formerIndian Foreign Service (IFS) officers.[6] He celebrated his100th birthday on 11 September 2024.[7]
Rasgotra was tutor atGovernment College, Lahore from 1944 to 1946, head of the English department at SA College for Women,Sialkot in 1946, and head of the English department at Arya College,Ludhiana in 1947. He was appointed to the Punjab Educational Service in March 1948 and also worked as a lecturer in English at theSatish Chander Dhawan Government College in 1948 and 1949.
He was appointed to theIndian Foreign Service on 27 September 1949 and was confirmed in his appointment on 27 September 1952.[8][9] Later in his career, he wasHigh Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom and Ambassador to Morocco, Tunisia, the Netherlands, Nepal, France, andUNESCO.[10]
He was the foreign secretary during theBhopal disaster. It is claimed by the then-Deputy Chief of Mission of theEmbassy of the United States in New Delhi in 1984, in an interview with a news channel, that communications between the government of India and himself relating to the release ofWarren Anderson went through the Foreign Secretary.[11] In a subsequent interview withKaran Thapar, Rasgotra held that releasing Warren Anderson was the right thing to do, since he had been earlier promised safe passage.[12]
Media related toMaharaja Krishna Rasgotra at Wikimedia Commons
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ramchandra Dattatraya Sathe | Ambassador of India to France 1998 - 2002 | Succeeded by Narendra Singh |
| Preceded by | Foreign Secretary of India 1982 - 1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom 1988 - 1990 | Succeeded by |
| Organizations | |
|---|---|
| Award presented to civil servants | |
| Indian Administrative Service officers | |
| Indian Police Service officers | |
| Indian Foreign Service officers | |
| Indian Forest Service officers | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
