Shilendra Kumar Singh or S.K. Singh (24 January 1932 – 1 December 2009) was an Indian diplomat. He was Governor of Arunachal Pradesh from December 2004 to September 2007 and

Governor of Rajasthan A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

from September 2007 until he died in office in December 2009. Singh was

Indian Foreign Secretary The foreign secretary of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Videśa Saciva'') is the top diplomat of India and administrative head of the Ministry of External Affairs (India), Ministry of External Affairs. This p ...

from 1989 to 1990. Prior to becoming Governor of

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

, he was secretary-general of a

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

in Delhi, the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India. He was appointed Governor of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

on 19 August 2007,"Tiwari appointed new Andhra governor"
IST, TNN (''The Times of India''), 20 August 2007. left his position as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh on 4 September 2007, and was sworn in as Governor of Rajasthan on 6 September.

Early life and education

He was the son of a nationalist zamindar of the erstwhile United Provinces, and a former Dewan of

Alwar Alwar (Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km north of Jaipur. ...

. A topper throughout school and college, he was an alumnus of St Johns College, Agra which is affiliated to

Agra University Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, formerly Agra University, is an Autonomous University located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The university is named after Bhimrao Ambedkar, Indian scholar, social reformer, and the architect of the Indian Cons ...

where he received a bachelor's degree in History, Sanskrit and Hindi. He attended the

and received a master's degree in History and an LLB Degree. Thereafter he read Persian and International Law at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. He was married to Manju Singh. His younger son Kanishka Singh is a political aide to

Rahul Gandhi Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian Parliament, representing the constituency of Wayanad, Kerala in the 17th Lok Sabha. A member of the Indian National Congress, he served as the president o ...

and his elder son, Shashank Singh, has an MBA from Harvard University, and currently works as an investment banker in Mumbai.

Career

Gubernatorial tenure

While in

, Singh was an extremely vocal advocate articulating that Arunachal Pradesh is a non-negotiable part of sovereign India. He also crusaded for the

Inner Line Permit Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel document issued by the concerned state government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those state ...

and restricted area permit required for travel to Arunachal Pradesh to be abolished. In addition, he worked hard for ensuring connectivity of Arunachal Pradesh with the rest of India by building an airport in the state, constructing a railway line and improving the road network.

Career as a diplomat

In February 1989, Singh was appointed Foreign Secretary of India. He held the personal rank of Grade-I Ambassador, the highest in 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 ...

. Prior to becoming Foreign Secretary, he was India's longest serving Ambassador 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 ...

from 1985 until 1989. He also served as Ambassador to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

from 1982 to 1985, Additional Foreign Secretary from 1979 to 1982, Ambassador to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

from 1977 to 1979 and Ambassador concurrently to

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

from 1974 to 1977. He was the longest-serving Official Spokesman of the Government of India from 1969 to 1974. In 1968–69 he served in the Ministry of Commerce as Director Foreign Trade. Singh began his career in the Indian Foreign Service in 1954. From 1956 to 1959, he was Third Secretary in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and concurrently attended the Tehran University to study the Persian language. From 1959 to 1962 he was assigned to various desks in the Foreign Office in Delhi. From 1962 to 1968 he was a member of the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York. Singh was President of the Group of 77 and also served as India's Governor on the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. Singh has been a member of 19 Indian delegations to the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Cur ...

and the

United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of ...

. Singh has monitored for the Commonwealth and the United Nations, general elections in South Africa,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, Lesotho,

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

and the presidential election in Sri Lanka. Singh is rated among the most distinguished in his generation of Indian diplomats. Singh has taught History at Agra University. He was a Visiting Professor and Member of the Academic Council of

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 ...

, Delhi.

Commentator

Singh was a frequent writer and commentator on international relations, geopolitics and current developments."India, Pakistan edge towards deal"
CNN, 30 October 2003.

Death

He died at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

on 1 December 2009, aged 77, after a brief illness.

References

External links

Profile on Rajasthan Government website

Profile on Modern History Project

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Shilendra Kumar 1932 births 2009 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Ambassadors of India to Afghanistan Ambassadors of India to Jordan Ambassadors of India to Lebanon Governors of Arunachal Pradesh Governors of Rajasthan High Commissioners of India to Cyprus Indian Foreign Secretaries Indian civil servants International Atomic Energy Agency officials People from Agra Ambassadors of India to Austria High Commissioners of India to Pakistan Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University alumni