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Vikas Swarup | |
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.jpg) Swarup in 2007 | |
| Secretary (West),Ministry of External Affairs | |
| In office 1 December 2019[1] – 30 June 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | Subrahmanyam Jaishankar |
| Preceded by | A. Gitesh Sharma |
| Succeeded by | Reenat Sandhu |
| Secretary of Consular, Passport, Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs[2] | |
| In office 1 August 2019 – 1 December 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | Subrahmanyam Jaishankar |
| Preceded by | Dnyaneshwar Mulay |
| Succeeded by | Sanjay Bhattacharya |
| High Commissioner of India to Canada | |
| In office 3 March 2017 – 1 August 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | Sushma Swaraj Subrahmanyam Jaishankar |
| Preceded by | Vishnu Prakash[3] |
| Succeeded by | Ajay Bisaria[4] |
| Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs[5][6] | |
| In office 18 April 2015 – 28 February 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | Sushma Swaraj |
| Preceded by | Syed Akbaruddin |
| Succeeded by | Gopal Bagalay |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1961-06-22)22 June 1961 (age 63) Prayagraj,Uttar Pradesh,India |
| Nationality |  Indian |
| Spouse | Aparna Swarup |
| Alma mater | University of Allahabad |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Q & A (2005) Six Suspects (2008) The Accidental Apprentice (2013) |
| Website | vikasswarup |
Vikas Swarup (born 22 June 1961)[7] is a retired Indian diplomat and writer. He retired from theIndian Foreign Service as the Secretary (West) at theMinistry of External Affairs, India on 30 June 2021 and has previously served as High Commissioner of India in Canada and has been theofficial spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.[8] He was best known as the author of the novelQ & A, adapted in film asSlumdog Millionaire, the winner of Best Film for the year 2009 at theAcademy Awards,Golden Globe Awards andBAFTA Awards.
Swarup joined theIndian Foreign Service in 1986 and served inTurkey, theUnited States,Ethiopia, theUnited Kingdom,South Africa andJapan in various Indian diplomatic missions. His other novels areSix Suspects andThe Accidental Apprentice. In April 2015, he was appointed as the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India to head itsPublic Diplomacy divisions atNew Delhi, succeedingSyed Akbaruddin.[9]
In December 2019, Swarup took charge as Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, looking after relations with Europe, Central Asia as well as the United Nations system.[10]
Swarup was born in 1961 in the historic Indian city,Prayagraj in a family of lawyers.[11] He did his schooling atBoys' High School , Cambrian hall Dehradun & College, Allahabad and pursued further studies atAllahabad University inPsychology,History andPhilosophy.
Swarup is a career diplomat and joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986. He has served in different capacities in New Delhi and in India's missions abroad including his last assignment as High Commissioner of India to Canada followed by the post of the official spokesperson of theMinistry of External Affairs.[12][13] He also served inAnkara, Washington D.C.,Addis Ababa, London,Pretoria and asConsul General in Osaka-Kobe, Japan.
Swarup'sdebut novel,Q & A, tells the story of how a penniless waiter inMumbai becomes the biggest quiz show winner in history.[14] Critically acclaimed in India and abroad, this international best-seller has been translated into 43 different languages. It was shortlisted for the Best First Book by theCommonwealth Writers' Prize and won South Africa'sExclusive Books Boeke Prize in 2006, as well as the Prix Grand Public at the 2007 Paris Book Fair. It was voted winner of the Best Travel Read (Fiction) at the Heathrow Travel Product Award 2009.
ABBC radio series based on the book won the Gold Award for Best Drama at the 2008Sony Radio Academy Awards and the 2008 IVCA Clarion Award.HarperCollins brought out the audio book, read byKerry Shale, which won the Audie for best fiction audio book of the year.Film4 of the UK had optioned the movie rights and the movie titledSlumdog Millionaire, directed byDanny Boyle, was first released in the US to great critical acclaim.[15] It won the People's Choice Award at theToronto International Film Festival and three awards (Best Film, Best Director and Most Promising Newcomer) at theBritish Independent Film Awards 2008. TheNational Board of Review pickedSlumdog Millionaire as the best film of 2008. The movie swept five awards out of its six nominations at theCritics' Choice Awards, and all four nominations awarded at theGolden Globe Awards including best director, picture, screenplay and score, and sevenBAFTA Awards. It received tenOscar nominations of which it won eight, including Best Picture and Best Director. FromThe NY Times report: "[T]hough it had no actors nominated for prizes, [it also] swept many awards other than those on the top line, including prizes for cinematography, sound mixing, score and film editing.Slumdog's eight Oscars was the largest total won by a single film sinceThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won 11 in 2004."[16] The film was released in the UK on 9 January 2009 and in India on 23 January with William Losch.
Swarup's second novelSix Suspects, published byTransworld, was released on 28 July 2008 and has been translated into more than 30 languages. The US edition was published byMinotaur Books in 2009. It was optioned for a film by the BBC and Starfield productions andJohn Hodge, who has been commissioned to write the screenplay.
Swarup's third novel isThe Accidental Apprentice, published by Simon & Schuster (UK) in 2013.
Swarup’s most recent novelThe Girl with Seven Lives, published by S&S India (16 July 2024). The novel made longlist in 2025 for theInternational Dublin Literary Award.[17]
Swarup's short story "A Great Event" was published inThe Children's Hours: Stories of Childhood, an anthology of stories about childhood to supportSave the Children and raise awareness for its fight to end violence against children.
Swarup has participated in theOxford Literary Festival, theTurin International Book Fair, the Auckland Writers' Conference, theSydney Writers' Festival, theKitab Festival in New Delhi, theSt. Malo International Book & Film Festival in France, the 'Words on Water' Literary Festival at theUniversity of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, theJaipur Literature Festival in India, the Hay-on-Wye Festival in Wales and the Franschhoek Literary Festival in South Africa. In 2009, he participated in the 33rdCairo International Film Festival as a jury member for the International Competition for Feature Digital Films.[citation needed]
He has written forTIME, Newsweek,The Guardian,The Daily Telegraph (UK),Outlook magazine (India) andLibération (France).[citation needed]
Vikas Swarup gives motivational talks at institutions internationally.[citation needed]
On 21 September 2010, theUniversity of South Africa (UNISA) conferred the degree of Doctor of Literature & Philosophy (honoris causa) on Swarup at a graduation ceremony in Pretoria. On 18 June 2020, Montreal-based Concordia University conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Swarup for literary excellence and dedication to diplomacy. On 16 June 2023, Swarup was awarded with an Honorary Doctorate at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.[citation needed]
Swarup took over as thespokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs on 18 April 2015.[18]
Swarup speaks Turkish apart from English and other Indian languages. He is married to Aparna, an artist, and the couple have two sons.[citation needed]
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