Sudarshan Agarwal (19 June 1931 – 3 July 2019). was an Indian civil servant who served as Governor of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

(2003–2007) and

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

(2007–2008)."Sudarshan Agarwal sworn in as new Governor of Sikkim"
UPI (newkerala.com), 25 October 2007.

Biography

Sudarshan Agarwal was born in

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 Indian census, 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the ...

, and was a first class Law Graduate. He served as a Member of the

National Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

for three years. From 1981 to 1993, he was

Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha The Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha is the administrative head of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. The secretary general is appointed by the Chairman of Rajya Sabha (Vice President of India). In Indian order of precedence, the post of secretary ...

. Agarwal became Governor of

in January 2003."Sudarshan Agarwal leaves U'khand Guv post"
''Sahara Samay'', October 2007. He was appointed Governor of

on 19 August 2007,"Tiwari appointed new Andhra governor"
IST, TNN (''The Times of India''), 20 August 2007. left office as Governor of Uttarakhand in October 2007, and was sworn in as Governor of Sikkim on 25 October. Sudarshan Agarwal was a unique personality, who maintained the sense of humility, simplicity and integrity. Sudarshan Agarwal served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission. Sudarshan Agarwal was born on 19 June 1931. Sudarshan Agarwal joined the judicial service of Punjab and Delhi in 1956, after completing his education. Till 1971 he served as a judicial officer. Shri Agarwal joined as the Rajya Sabha Secretariat in the year 1971. He served the post with distinction in various capacities till 1981. After that he was brought up to the top post of Secretary General to the Rajya Sabha. For a period of 12 years, he held this office. In 1986, while still holding this office, he was promoted to the rank and status of cabinet Secretary to the Government of India. He was appointed to the National Human Rights Commission, after his retirement from the Rajya Sabha. With the rank and status of a Judge of the Supreme Court, he joined the Human Rights Commission. In June 2001, he retired from the NHRC. Shri Agarwal, on 8 January 2003, was sworn in as the second Governor of the newly created state of Uttaranchal. Sudarshan Agarwal has been significantly allied with a number of social and charitable causes, apart from holding high public office. He has been the President of the high-status Delhi Gymkhana Club for two years. He, as a director pf Rotary International from 1987-1989, also delineated South-East Asia on the board of Rotary International and also served as the Chairman of Rotary Foundation India. The Rotary Blood Bank, New Delhi was set up under his headship and special guidance, at a cost of over Rs 5 crores. Shri Agarwal vigorously implicated with the efforts of Rotary to exterminate polio. He carries out this spirit of social activism to Uttaranchal too. Sudarshan Agarwal has in person monitored major developments in the state in the fields of education and health. Two initiatives of his are "The Him Jyoti Foundation" and the "Him Karuna" . The Loomba Foundation and the Jain Samaj support these initiatives. They are continuously striving to bring hope to the families of hundreds of praiseworthy students from the remote areas of Uttaranchal. A state of the art blood bank - IMA Blood Bank was established in Dehradun with the support of ONGC and the Indian Medical Association after his personal involvement. He served as trustee of the Rotary service to Humanity Awards Trust and the Rotary Manav Sewa Award Trust, Shri Agarwal has campaigned tirelessly to weed out corruption from public life. Shri Agarwal was married to Smt. Usha Agarwal and the couple has two children, a son Rajiv Agarwal and a daughter Ritu Agarwal who are distinguished professionals in their respective careers of advertising and academics. With a soft-spoken nature, a caring and compassionate personality, integrity and a commitment to the highest standards of public service, Shri Agarwal was an inspiration for all those who believe in the moral authority of the common citizen.

References

1931 births 2019 deaths Politicians from Ludhiana Governors of Uttarakhand Governors of Sikkim {{Sikkim-politician-stub