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'''Yezdezard Dinshaw Gundevia''' (1908–1986) was an Indian [[Indian Civil Service|ICS officer]], [[diplomat]] and [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary]] under [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] and [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]].

==Early life and career==
Gundevia belonged to the [[Zoroastrian]] [[Parsi]] community.<ref>{{cite news|title=Convince the Opposition|url=http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/convince-the-opposition|access-date=2 December 2012|newspaper=The Sunday Guardian}}</ref> He graduated from [[Wilson College, Mumbai|Wilson College, Bombay]] in 1929 and joined the [[Indian Civil Service]] in 1930. He was posted to the [[United Provinces (1937–1950)|United Provinces]] where he served in various districts until 1945.<ref name="dkpd">{{cite web|title=Outside the Archives - Y D Gundevia|url=http://www.dkpd.com/servlet/dkGetBiblio?bno=097412|access-date=2 December 2012}}</ref>

== Diplomatic career ==
Following a mission to [[Rangoon]], Gundevia was appointed Joint Secretary to the [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs]] from 1948 to 1950. He then served as Counsellor at the [[Embassy of India in Moscow|Indian Embassy in Moscow]]. During 1953 - 1954, he served as the Indian Ambassador to [[Switzerland]] with concurrent accreditation to [[Austria]] and the [[Holy See|Vatican]]. This was followed by stints as Deputy High Commissioner in [[London]] (1954–56) and as High Commissioner in [[Ceylon]] (1957–60).<ref name="dkpd" /> From 1961-64, he was the Commonwealth Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs and became the Foreign Secretary in 1964.<ref>{{cite book|last=Barrett|first=R C|title=The Greater Middle East and the Cold War: US Foreign Policy Under Eisenhower and Kennedy|year=2007|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location=New York|pages=436|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W2Ql9mo6StoC&q=y+d+gundevia+foreign+secretary&pg=PA436|isbn=9781845113933}}</ref> He was Nehru's last foreign secretary and also served under Lal Bahadur Shastri during his two year tenure.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lavakare|first=Arvind|title=Another summit, another surrender?|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jan/09arvind.htm|access-date=2 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Sawhney|first=V P|title=Legacy to Bureaucracy: Musings of an Indian Civil Servant|year=2008|publisher=Lancer Publishers|location=New Delhi|pages=522}}</ref> He later served as secretary to [[President of India|President]] [[S. Radhakrishnan|S Radhakrishnan]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Outside the Archives|url=http://www.indiaclub.com/shop/SearchResults.asp?ProdStock=30234|access-date=2 December 2012}}</ref>
Gundevia was closely involved with policy formulation on [[Kashmir]] having served as Special Secretary handling Kashmir Affairs in the United Nations and Commonwealth Secretary handling Kashmir Affairs before becoming the Foreign Secretary. He was also part of the Indian delegation during the [[Swaran Singh]] - [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]] talks on Kashmir during 1962-63.<ref>{{cite news|last=Noorani|first=AG|title=Understanding lying|url=http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2918/stories/20120921291807800.htm|access-date=2 December 2012|newspaper=Frontline}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Khan|first=Nyla Ali|title=Tribute to Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah|url=http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2012/Jul/11/tribute-to-begum-akbar-jehan-abdullah-19.asp|access-date=2 December 2012}}</ref> Gundevia as the Foreign Secretary also led the Indian delegation during the first phase of peace talks with the [[Nagaland|Naga insurgents]] in 1965 achieving what he termed "a truce without a political settlement".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Means|first=Gordon P.|title=Ceasefire Politics in Nagaland|journal=Asian Survey|date=October 1971|volume=11|pages=1005–1028|jstor=2642757|doi=10.2307/2642757|issue=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Zhimomi|first=K K|title=Politics And Militancy In Nagaland|year=2004|publisher=Deep & Deep|location=New Delhi|pages=90|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zWV9xahvtgIC&q=y+d+gundevia+foreign+secretary&pg=PA90|isbn=9788176294874}}</ref>

== Books ==
Gundevia chronicled much of his work in several books that he authored. These include ''In the Districts of the Raj'' about his life as an ICS officer in the United Provinces, ''The Testament of Sheikh Abdullah'', based on his observations on Kashmir's politics and the Sheikh, ''War and Peace in Nagaland'' and ''Outside the Archives'' which chronicles his diplomatic career.<ref>{{cite web|title=Books by Y D Gundevia|url=https://www.amazon.com/Y.-D.-Gundevia/e/B001KIID5K|access-date=2 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Testament of Sheikh Abdullah|url=http://www.bookganga.com/eBooks/Book/4911998033838489671.htm|access-date=2 December 2012}}</ref>

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gundevia, Y. D.}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian diplomats]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to the Holy See]]

Y. D. Gundevia - Revision history

>The Discoverer: added Category:Ambassadors of India to the Holy See using HotCat