TCA Raghavan is a former

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n diplomat who was a 1982 batch officer of the

Indian Foreign Service The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the ...

. He has considerable experience in South Asia policy issues and considered an expert on Pakistan studies, including heading the Joint Secretary the Division of the Ministry of External Affairs in Pakistan Afghanistan and Iran (PAI) division. From till his retirement on Raghavan was the High Commissioner of India to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. After retirement he has authored two books- the first a biography of two Mughal nobles and the other a study of India Pakistan relations. In July 2018 he was appointed Director General of the Indian Council of World Affairs.

Early life and background

Raghavan spent his childhood in Delhi, Bhopal and Jammu. He finished school at

Sardar Patel Vidyalaya Sardar Patel Vidyalaya (SPV) is an education school located in Lodhi Estate, New Delhi, India. The school is named after a leader of the Indian independence movement, and independent India's first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Sardar ...

and his college and university were at St. Stephen's College, Delhi University and

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

, New Delhi. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1982. He was awarded a PhD by Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1992 in history. His dissertation was on the Agrarian History of the Narmada Valley.

Career

Raghavan was the Indian high commissioner to Singapore till June 2013. After that, he was appointed the High commissioner to Pakistan. Earlier, Raghavan was a Deputy High Commissioner in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

from 2003 to 2007. His previous overseas postings include United Kingdom (1995-1998), Bhutan (1992-1995) and Kuwait (1983-1986). After his retirement he has emerged as a well known author with three well received books. The first is entitled ''Attendant Lords: Bairam Khan and Abdur Rahim, Courtiers and Poets in Mughal India''. It was published by HarperCollins in 2017 and was awarded the Mohammad Habib Prize for medieval Indian history by the

Indian History Congress Indian History Congress is the largest professional and academic body of Indian historians with over 35,000 members. It was established in 1935. The name of any new applicant for membership needs to be proposed and seconded by existing Ordinary or L ...

in December 2017. His second book is also published by HarperCollins and is entitled ''The People Next Door: The Curious History of India's Relations with Pakistan''. His latest book is entitled History Men: Jadunath Sarkar, G S Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh and their Quest for India's Past (HarperCollins, 2020).

Personal life

Raghavan is married to Ranjana Raghavan. They have two daughters.

Bibliography

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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raghavan, TCA High Commissioners of India to Singapore High Commissioners of India to Pakistan 1955 births Living people Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni Indian scholars of Pakistan studies Historians of Pakistan Writers about Pakistan