Herbert Fischer (1914–2006) was a German diplomat, indologist and the ambassador of the erstwhile
German Democratic Republic to India from 1972 to 1976.
Fischer was born on 10 April 1914 in
Herrnhut
Herrnhut ( Sorbian: ''Ochranow''; cs, Ochranov) is an Upper Lusatian town in the Görlitz district in Saxony, Germany, known for the community of the Moravian Church established by Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf in 1722.
Geography
It is ...
, in East Germany to a craftsman. He migrated to western Europe in 1933, where he completed his studies. Fischer moved to India in 1936, which gave him the opportunity to get acquainted with
Mahatma Gandhi. After
Indian independence in 1947, he returned to the German Democratic Republic, where he joined the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
in 1956.
He served as the Chief of the East German Trade Mission in the late 1960s,
before becoming the East German ambassador to India in 1972.
He was the author of many
Indological
Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies.
The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') i ...
books,
including ''Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi'', a biography of the Indian leader.
He was a recipient of the
Patriotic Order of Merit III Class.
In 2003, the
Government of India awarded him the
Padma Bhushan, their third highest civilian honour, for his contributions to public affairs.
See also
*
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
References
External links
*Alexander Benatar (2021).
Herbert Fischer – An Entangled German Indian Biography"
MIDA Archival Reflexicon'. pp. 7.
*
1914 births
2006 deaths
People from Herrnhut
People from the Kingdom of Saxony
Ambassadors of East Germany to India
German diplomats
German male writers
German Indologists
Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver
Recipients of the Banner of Labor
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs
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