Created by Gazal world
Last edited November 25, 2025
UpdateBot (talk | contribs)
m robot: Update article (please report if you notice any mistake or error in this edit)
added info
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Indian diplomat}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox office holder
| name                    = A. P. Venkateswaran
| name                    = A. P. Venkateswaran
| office = [[ Foreign Secretary of India ]]
| term  = 1 April 1986 - 20 January 1987
| predecessor = [[ Romesh Bhandari ]]
| successor = K P S Menon Jr.
| image                  =
| image                  =
| imagesize              =
| imagesize              =
| caption                =
| caption                =
| birth_date              = 2 August 1930
| birth_date              = 2 June 1930
| birth_place            = [[Brahmapur, Odisha]], British India
| birth_place            = [[Brahmapur, Odisha]], British India
| death_date              = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2014|9|2|1930|8|2}}
| death_date              = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2014|9|2|1930|8|2}}
| death_place            = Bangalore, [[India]]
| death_place            = Bangalore, [[India]]
| restingplace            = Wilson Garden Cremtorium, Bangalore<ref name="Manorama Online" />
| restingplace            = Wilson Garden Crematorium, Bangalore<ref name="Manorama Online" />
| restingplacecoordinates =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| othername              =
| othername              =
Line 21: Line 26:
| awards                  = Fellowship – [[Harvard University]]
| awards                  = Fellowship – [[Harvard University]]
}}
}}
'''Ayilam Panchapakesha Venkateswaran''' (2 August 1930 – 2 September 2014) was an Indian diplomat, former [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary of India]]<ref name="Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran passes away">{{cite news | url=http://uniindia.net/eng/displaytopstory.php?sid=MS%2046&ngsystemtask=3325weare24olym54hrt56u6755uwere21stories03 | title=Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran passes away | publisher=United News of India | date=4 September 2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904194916/http://uniindia.net/eng/displaytopstory.php?sid=MS%2046&ngsystemtask=3325weare24olym54hrt56u6755uwere21stories03 | archive-date=4 September 2014 | url-status=dead}}</ref> and former Chairman of Asia Centre, [[Bangalore]],<ref name="Asia Centre">{{cite web | url=http://www.whatisindia.com/asiacentre/asiacentre.html | title=Asia Centre | publisher=Asia Centre | work=website | date=2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> rated by many as one of the most efficient foreign secretaries of India.<ref name="Former foreign secretary Venkateswaran cremated in Bangalore" /> The circumstances in which he resigned from the [[Indian Foreign Service]] made news at that time<ref name="History repeats itself, says former foreign secy">{{cite news | url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/history-repeats-itself-says-former-foreign-secy/1175758/ | title=History repeats itself, says former foreign secy | date=29 September 2013 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | author=Express News Service}}</ref> and drew widespread comments in the media.<ref name="Indian Administration">{{cite book | url=https://www.amazon.in/Indian-Administration-S-R-Maheshwari/dp/812501988X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409801865&sr=1-2&keywords=indian+administration | title=Indian Administration | publisher=Orient Blackswan | author=S. R. Maheswari | date=1 January 2001 | page=237 of 666 pages | isbn=978-8125019886}}</ref><ref name="Gandhi Actions Stir Strong Criticism">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/08/world/gandhi-actions-stir-strong-criticism.html | title=Gandhi Actions Stir Strong Criticism | work=The New York Times| date=8 February 1987 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | author=Steven R Weisman}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news|author=Archis Mohan | url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100526/jsp/nation/story_12488958.jsp | title=Manmohan waltzes where many predecessors slipped | work=The Telegraph| date=26 May 2010 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="Associated_Press1">{{cite news | url=http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1987/Foreign-Seretary-Quits-aAfter-Gandhi-Embarrasses-Him-in-Public/id-b04990d06a6b53e1e2cd9c9625c01a0f | title=Foreign Seretary Quits aAfter Gandhi Embarrasses Him in Public <nowiki>[sic]</nowiki> | publisher=Associated Press | date=20 January 1987 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="The Making of India's Foreign Policy">{{cite book | url=http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1040461 | title=The Making of India's Foreign Policy | publisher=Allied Publishers | author=Jayanta Bandyopadhyaya | year=2003 | page=270 of 310 pages | isbn=9788177644029}}</ref>
'''Ayilam Panchapakesha Venkateswaran''' (2 August 1930 – 2 September 2014) was an Indian diplomat, former [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary of India]]<ref name="Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran passes away">{{cite news | url=http://uniindia.net/eng/displaytopstory.php?sid=MS%2046&ngsystemtask=3325weare24olym54hrt56u6755uwere21stories03 | title=Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran passes away | publisher=United News of India | date=4 September 2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904194916/http://uniindia.net/eng/displaytopstory.php?sid=MS%2046&ngsystemtask=3325weare24olym54hrt56u6755uwere21stories03 | archive-date=4 September 2014 | url-status=dead}}</ref> and former chairman of Asia Centre, [[Bangalore]],<ref name="Asia Centre">{{cite web | url=http://www.whatisindia.com/asiacentre/asiacentre.html | title=Asia Centre | publisher=Asia Centre | work=website | date=2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> rated by many as one of the most efficient foreign secretaries of India.<ref name="Former foreign secretary Venkateswaran cremated in Bangalore" /> The circumstances in which he resigned from the [[Indian Foreign Service]] made news at that time<ref name="History repeats itself, says former foreign secy">{{cite news | url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/history-repeats-itself-says-former-foreign-secy/1175758/ | title=History repeats itself, says former foreign secy | date=29 September 2013 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | author=Express News Service}}</ref> and drew widespread comments in the media.<ref name="Indian Administration">{{cite book | title=Indian Administration | publisher=Orient Blackswan | author=S. R. Maheswari | date=1 January 2001 | page=237 of 666 pages | isbn=978-8125019886}}</ref><ref name="Gandhi Actions Stir Strong Criticism">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/08/world/gandhi-actions-stir-strong-criticism.html | title=Gandhi Actions Stir Strong Criticism | work=The New York Times| date=8 February 1987 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | author=Steven R Weisman}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news|author=Archis Mohan | url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100526/jsp/nation/story_12488958.jsp | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528034400/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100526/jsp/nation/story_12488958.jsp | url-status=dead | archive-date=28 May 2010 | title=Manmohan waltzes where many predecessors slipped | work=The Telegraph| date=26 May 2010 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="Associated_Press1">{{cite news | url=https://apnews.com/b04990d06a6b53e1e2cd9c9625c01a0f | title=Foreign Seretary Quits aAfter Gandhi Embarrasses Him in Public <nowiki>[sic]</nowiki> | publisher=Associated Press | date=20 January 1987 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="The Making of India's Foreign Policy">{{cite book | url=http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1040461 | title=The Making of India's Foreign Policy | publisher=Allied Publishers | author=Jayanta Bandyopadhyaya | year=2003 | page=270 of 310 pages | isbn=9788177644029}}</ref>


==Life sketch==
==Life sketch==
{{quotebox|align = right|qalign = center|width=21em|''The summary removal of the Foreign Secretary, A. P. Venkateswaran, in the shabbiest manner imaginable, has....'', '''wrote [[Inder Malhotra]] in The Times of India''', ''sent shock waves through the entire edifice of the government, shattered the morale of the bureaucracy and aroused the gravest misgivings about the future patterns of the government in New Delhi''<ref name="Indian Administration" /><ref name="Political Commentary: Bashing the Bureaucracy">{{cite journal | title=Political Commentary: Bashing the Bureaucracy | author=Inder Malhotra | journal=The Times of India | date= 22 January 1987}}</ref>}}
{{quotebox|align = right|qalign = center|width=21em|''The summary removal of the Foreign Secretary, A. P. Venkateswaran, in the shabbiest manner imaginable, has....'', '''wrote [[Inder Malhotra]] in The Times of India''', ''sent shock waves through the entire edifice of the government, shattered the morale of the bureaucracy and aroused the gravest misgivings about the future patterns of the government in New Delhi''<ref name="Indian Administration" /><ref name="Political Commentary: Bashing the Bureaucracy">{{cite journal | title=Political Commentary: Bashing the Bureaucracy | author=Inder Malhotra | journal=The Times of India | date= 22 January 1987}}</ref>}}


A. P. Venkateswaran comes from a Tamil Brahmin family with roots in a small [[Palakkadu]] hamlet of Ayilam, in the south Indian state of [[Kerala]]. His father, [[A. S. Panchapakesa Ayyar]] was a former [[Madras High Court]] judge<ref name="Manorama Online" /> turned civil servant and Venkateswaran was born at [[Brahmapur, Odisha|Brahmapur]], while his father was staying in [[Odisha]] with his mother, Vedanayaki Ammal.<ref name="Manorama Online">{{cite web | url=http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentId=17502121&programId=1073753763&channelId=-1073751706&BV_ID=@@@&tabId=11 | title=Manorama Online | publisher=Manorama Online | format=web article | date=4 September 2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904202704/http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentId=17502121&programId=1073753763&channelId=-1073751706&BV_ID=@@@&tabId=11 | archive-date=4 September 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Venkateswaran was good at studies and he secured three post graduate degrees in Science, Economics, and Political Science from the [[Madras Christian College]]<ref name="Madras Christian College - Some Outstanding Alumni of the College">{{cite web | url=http://www.mcc.edu.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=340&Itemid=237 | title=Madras Christian College – Some Outstanding Alumni of the College | publisher=Madras Christian College | work=website | date=2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> before joining [[Indian Foreign Service]] on 2 April 1952, at the age of 22.<ref name="Manorama Online" /><ref name="Profile">{{cite web | url=http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/former-foreign-secretary-ap-venkateswaran-died-1409730805-1 | title=Profile | publisher=Jagaranrosh.com | date=3 September 2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> After joining the service, Venkateswaran continued his studies at Oxford on International Law (1952–53) and at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, London (1953–54).<ref name="A._P._Venkateswaran">[[:de:A|A. P. Venkateswaran]], Retrieved 4 September 2014{{circular reference|date=September 2014}}</ref>
A. P. Venkateswaran comes from a [[Tamil Brahmin]] family with roots in a small [[Palakkadu]] hamlet of Ayilam, in the south Indian state of [[Kerala]]. His father, [[A. S. Panchapakesa Ayyar]] was a former [[Madras High Court]] judge<ref name="Manorama Online" /> turned civil servant and Venkateswaran was born at [[Brahmapur, Odisha|Brahmapur]], while his father was staying in [[Odisha]] with his mother, Vedanayaki Ammal.<ref name="Manorama Online">{{cite web | url=http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentId=17502121&programId=1073753763&channelId=-1073751706&BV_ID=@@@&tabId=11 | title=Manorama Online | publisher=Manorama Online | format=web article | date=4 September 2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904202704/http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentId=17502121&programId=1073753763&channelId=-1073751706&BV_ID=@@@&tabId=11 | archive-date=4 September 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Venkateswaran was good at studies and he secured three post graduate degrees in Science, Economics, and Political Science from the [[Madras Christian College]]<ref name="Madras Christian College - Some Outstanding Alumni of the College">{{cite web | url=http://www.mcc.edu.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=340&Itemid=237 | title=Madras Christian College – Some Outstanding Alumni of the College | publisher=Madras Christian College | work=website | date=2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> before joining [[Indian Foreign Service]] on 2 April 1952, at the age of 22.<ref name="Manorama Online" /><ref name="Profile">{{cite web | url=http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/former-foreign-secretary-ap-venkateswaran-died-1409730805-1 | title=Profile | publisher=Jagaranrosh.com | date=3 September 2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> After joining the service, Venkateswaran continued his studies at Oxford on International Law (1952–53) and at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, London (1953–54).<ref name="A._P._Venkateswaran">[[:de:A|A. P. Venkateswaran]], Retrieved 4 September 2014{{circular reference|date=September 2014}}</ref>


Venkateswaran was married to Usha and the couple had a daughter, Kalpana, who is settled in the US. He died on 3 September 2014, at Bangalore, succumbing to a cardiac arrest.<ref name="Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran passes away" /><ref name="Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran's body cremated ">{{cite news | url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/former-foreign-secretary-a-p-venkateswarans-body-cremated/articleshow/41616197.cms | title=Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran's body cremated | work=The Economic Times| date=3 September 2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> His mortal remains were cremated at Wilson Garden Crematorium in the city.<ref name="Manorama Online" />
Venkateswaran was married to Usha and the couple had a daughter, Kalpana, who is settled in the US. He died on 2 September 2014, at Bangalore, succumbing to a cardiac arrest.<ref name="Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran passes away" /><ref name="Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran's body cremated ">{{cite news | url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/former-foreign-secretary-a-p-venkateswarans-body-cremated/articleshow/41616197.cms | title=Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran's body cremated | work=The Economic Times| date=3 September 2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> His mortal remains were cremated at Wilson Garden Crematorium in the city.<ref name="Manorama Online" />


Venkateswaran was a Fellow of the ''Center for Industrial Affairs'' at [[Harvard University]] from 1974 to 1975.<ref name="A._P._Venkateswaran" /> He has also written several articles on international politics in journals and magazines.<ref name="Articles">{{cite web | url=http://www.sarantakos.com/kosovo/ks18law.html | title=NATO and International Law | publisher=Sarantakos.com | date=7 May 1999 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | author=Raju G. C. Thomas}}</ref>
Venkateswaran was a Fellow of the ''Center for Industrial Affairs'' at [[Harvard University]] from 1974 to 1975.<ref name="A._P._Venkateswaran" /> He has also written several articles on international politics in journals and magazines.<ref name="Articles">{{cite web | url=http://www.sarantakos.com/kosovo/ks18law.html | title=NATO and International Law | publisher=Sarantakos.com | date=7 May 1999 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | author=Raju G. C. Thomas}}</ref>
Line 36: Line 41:
One year after he assumed office as the Foreign Secretary of India, Venkateswaran made a public statement that the [[Indian Peace Keeping Force]] operations in Sri Lanka was a mistake, a statement which appeared to have irked [[Rajiv Gandhi]], then Prime Minister of India. Weeks later, when asked by a [[Pakistani]] journalist about the impending Pakistan visit for the [[SAARC]] summit, announced earlier by Venkateswaran, Rajiv Gandhi replied with the now famous words,<ref name="History repeats itself, says former foreign secy" /> <blockquote>''Soon, you will be talking to a new foreign secretary''</blockquote>
One year after he assumed office as the Foreign Secretary of India, Venkateswaran made a public statement that the [[Indian Peace Keeping Force]] operations in Sri Lanka was a mistake, a statement which appeared to have irked [[Rajiv Gandhi]], then Prime Minister of India. Weeks later, when asked by a [[Pakistani]] journalist about the impending Pakistan visit for the [[SAARC]] summit, announced earlier by Venkateswaran, Rajiv Gandhi replied with the now famous words,<ref name="History repeats itself, says former foreign secy" /> <blockquote>''Soon, you will be talking to a new foreign secretary''</blockquote>


The declaration generated much publicity and had no precedence where the termination of service of a Class I civil services officer being announced at a press conference.<ref name="Indian Administration" /> Venkateswaran, present at the press conference,<ref name="Former foreign secretary Venkateswaran cremated in Bangalore">{{cite news | url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rajiv-gandhis-most-insensitive-blunder-a.p.-venkateswaran-removal-as-foreign-secretary/1/336678.html | title=Former foreign secretary Venkateswaran cremated in Bangalore | publisher=The New Indian Express | date=4 September 2014 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> sent the letter of his resignation to the Prime Minister's office immediately.<ref name="Manorama Online" /> The incident attracted worldwide media interest.<ref name="History repeats itself, says former foreign secy" /><ref name="Gandhi Actions Stir Strong Criticism" /><ref name="Associated Press">{{cite web | url=http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1987/Foreign-Seretary-Quits-aAfter-Gandhi-Embarrasses-Him-in-Public/id-b04990d06a6b53e1e2cd9c9625c01a0f | title=Associated Press | publisher=Associated Press | date=20 January 1987 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="An avoidable blunder">{{cite news | url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rajiv-gandhis-most-insensitive-blunder-a.p.-venkateswaran-removal-as-foreign-secretary/1/336678.html | title=An avoidable blunder | publisher=India Today | date=15 February 1987 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> Years later, Venkateswaran commented that the decision to send IPKF to Sri Lanka was a mistake which finally led to the [[assassination of Rajiv Gandhi]].<ref name="I am not sure if Prabhakaran ordered Rajiv’s assassination">{{cite web | url=http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main21.asp?filename=Ne110406_I_am.asp | title=I am not sure if Prabhakaran ordered Rajiv's assassination | publisher=Tehelka | date=4 November 2006 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | author=P. C. Vinoj Kumar | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904200724/http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main21.asp?filename=Ne110406_I_am.asp | archivedate=4 September 2014}}</ref>
The declaration generated much publicity and had no precedence where the termination of service of a Class I civil services officer being announced at a press conference.<ref name="Indian Administration" /> Venkateswaran, present at the press conference,<ref name="Former foreign secretary Venkateswaran cremated in Bangalore">{{cite news | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19870215-rajiv-gandhis-most-insensitive-blunder-ap-venkateswaran-removal-as-foreign-secretary-798506-1987-02-14 | title=Former foreign secretary Venkateswaran cremated in Bangalore | publisher=The New Indian Express | date=4 September 2014 | access-date=4 September 2014}}</ref> sent the letter of his resignation to the Prime Minister's office immediately.<ref name="Manorama Online" /> The incident attracted worldwide media interest.<ref name="History repeats itself, says former foreign secy" /><ref name="Gandhi Actions Stir Strong Criticism" /><ref name="Associated Press">{{cite web | url=https://apnews.com/b04990d06a6b53e1e2cd9c9625c01a0f | title=Associated Press | publisher=Associated Press | date=20 January 1987 | accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="An avoidable blunder">{{cite news | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19870215-rajiv-gandhis-most-insensitive-blunder-ap-venkateswaran-removal-as-foreign-secretary-798506-1987-02-14 | title=An avoidable blunder | publisher=India Today | date=15 February 1987 | access-date=4 September 2014}}</ref> Years later, Venkateswaran commented that the decision to send IPKF to Sri Lanka was a mistake which finally led to the [[assassination of Rajiv Gandhi]].<ref name="I am not sure if Prabhakaran ordered Rajiv’s assassination">{{cite web | url=http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main21.asp?filename=Ne110406_I_am.asp | title=I am not sure if Prabhakaran ordered Rajiv's assassination | publisher=Tehelka | date=4 November 2006 | accessdate=4 September 2014 | author=P. C. Vinoj Kumar | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904200724/http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main21.asp?filename=Ne110406_I_am.asp | archivedate=4 September 2014}}</ref>


==Positions==
==Positions==
Venkateswaran has served in the Indian foreign offices across the globe, except in South American continent,<ref name="Manorama Online" /> and was the Indian Ambassador in the [[Ambassador of India to United States of America|US]], China and Syria.<ref name="Manorama Online" /> After his Embassy stints, he served as the Indian representative in the United Nations before returning to India, in 1986, when he was made the [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary of India]], the highest job in the [[Indian Foreign Service]], during [[Rajiv Gandhi]]'s term as the [[Prime Minister of India]].<ref name="Manorama Online" />
Venkateswaran has served in the Indian foreign offices across the globe, except in South American continent,<ref name="Manorama Online" /> and was the Indian Ambassador in the [[Ambassador of India to United States of America|US]], China and Syria.<ref name="Manorama Online" /> After his Embassy stints, he served as the Indian representative in the United Nations before returning to India, in 1986, when he was made the [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary of India]], the highest job in the [[Indian Foreign Service]], during [[Rajiv Gandhi]]'s term as the [[Prime Minister of India|prime minister of India]].<ref name="Manorama Online" />


'''Career sketch'''<ref name="Profile" /><ref name="A._P._Venkateswaran" />
'''Career sketch'''<ref name="Profile" /><ref name="A._P._Venkateswaran" />


{| border="1" class="wikitable"
{| border="1" class="wikitable"
|+ The table's caption
! Office
! Office
! Position
! Position
Line 83: Line 87:
! Embassy – Washington DC
! Embassy – Washington DC
| Ambassador (correction: Venkateshwaran was only chargé d'affaires (acting ambassador) in Washington)
| Ambassador (correction: Venkateshwaran was only chargé d'affaires (acting ambassador) in Washington)
| 1975–1976
| 1975–1977
|-
|-
! Embassy – [[Damascus]]
! Embassy – [[Damascus]]
| Ambassador
| Ambassador
| 1976–1977
| 1977–1980
|-
|-
! United Nations
! United Nations
Line 102: Line 106:
|}
|}


Venkateswaran resigned from Indian Government service in 1987 after which he founded [https://asiacentrebangalore.org/ Asia Centre Bangalore], ''a think tank of diplomats and intellectuals, based in Bangalore.''
Venkateswaran resigned from Indian Government service in 1987 after which he founded [https://asiacentrebangalore.org/ Asia Centre Bangalore, ''a think tank of diplomats and intellectuals, based in Bangalore.''


==See also==
==See also==
Line 116: Line 120:
* {{cite web | url=http://www.sangam.org/Analysis.htm | title=List of Articles on India – Sri Lanka relationship | publisher=Sangam.org | accessdate=4 September 2014}}
* {{cite web | url=http://www.sangam.org/Analysis.htm | title=List of Articles on India – Sri Lanka relationship | publisher=Sangam.org | accessdate=4 September 2014}}
* {{cite book | url=http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1040461 | title=The Making of India's Foreign Policy | publisher=Allied Publishers | author=Jayanta Bandyopadhyay | author-link=Jayanta Bandyopadhyay | year=2003 | page=270 of 310 pages | isbn=9788177644029}}
* {{cite book | url=http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1040461 | title=The Making of India's Foreign Policy | publisher=Allied Publishers | author=Jayanta Bandyopadhyay | author-link=Jayanta Bandyopadhyay | year=2003 | page=270 of 310 pages | isbn=9788177644029}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Romesh Bhandari]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Foreign Secretary of India]]|years=1986 - 1987}}
{{s-aft|after=[[K. P. S. Menon Jr.]]}}
{{s-end}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Venkateswaran, A. P.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Venkateswaran, A. P.}}
Line 124: Line 135:
[[Category:Indian diplomats]]
[[Category:Indian diplomats]]
[[Category:Malayali Brahmins]]
[[Category:Malayali Brahmins]]
[[Category:Indian Foreign Secretaries]]
[[Category:Foreign secretaries of India]]
[[category:Ambassadors of India to Syria]]
[[category:Ambassadors of India to China]]
[[category:Ambassadors of India to the United States]]
[[category:High commissioners of India to Fiji]]
[[Category:Permanent representatives of India to the United Nations]]

Latest revision as of 11:00, 25 November 2025


A. P. Venkateswaran
Foreign Secretary of India
In office
1 April 1986 - 20 January 1987
Preceded byRomesh Bhandari
Succeeded byK P S Menon Jr.
Personal details
Born2 June 1930
Brahmapur, Odisha, British India
Died2 September 2014(2014-09-02) (aged 84)
Bangalore, India
Resting placeWilson Garden Crematorium, Bangalore[1]
Spouse(s)Usha
ChildrenKalpana
Parent(s)A. S. Panchapakesa Ayyar
Vedanayaki Ammal
OccupationDiplomat
AwardsFellowship – Harvard University

Ayilam Panchapakesha Venkateswaran (2 August 1930 – 2 September 2014) was an Indian diplomat, former Foreign Secretary of India[2] and former chairman of Asia Centre, Bangalore,[3] rated by many as one of the most efficient foreign secretaries of India.[4] The circumstances in which he resigned from the Indian Foreign Service made news at that time[5] and drew widespread comments in the media.[6][7][8][9][10]

Life sketch[edit | edit source]

The summary removal of the Foreign Secretary, A. P. Venkateswaran, in the shabbiest manner imaginable, has...., wrote Inder Malhotra in The Times of India, sent shock waves through the entire edifice of the government, shattered the morale of the bureaucracy and aroused the gravest misgivings about the future patterns of the government in New Delhi[6][11]

A. P. Venkateswaran comes from a Tamil Brahmin family with roots in a small Palakkadu hamlet of Ayilam, in the south Indian state of Kerala. His father, A. S. Panchapakesa Ayyar was a former Madras High Court judge[1] turned civil servant and Venkateswaran was born at Brahmapur, while his father was staying in Odisha with his mother, Vedanayaki Ammal.[1] Venkateswaran was good at studies and he secured three post graduate degrees in Science, Economics, and Political Science from the Madras Christian College[12] before joining Indian Foreign Service on 2 April 1952, at the age of 22.[1][13] After joining the service, Venkateswaran continued his studies at Oxford on International Law (1952–53) and at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, London (1953–54).[14]

Venkateswaran was married to Usha and the couple had a daughter, Kalpana, who is settled in the US. He died on 2 September 2014, at Bangalore, succumbing to a cardiac arrest.[2][15] His mortal remains were cremated at Wilson Garden Crematorium in the city.[1]

Venkateswaran was a Fellow of the Center for Industrial Affairs at Harvard University from 1974 to 1975.[14] He has also written several articles on international politics in journals and magazines.[16]

Controversy[edit | edit source]

Rajiv Gandhi (1987)

One year after he assumed office as the Foreign Secretary of India, Venkateswaran made a public statement that the Indian Peace Keeping Force operations in Sri Lanka was a mistake, a statement which appeared to have irked Rajiv Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India. Weeks later, when asked by a Pakistani journalist about the impending Pakistan visit for the SAARC summit, announced earlier by Venkateswaran, Rajiv Gandhi replied with the now famous words,[5]

Soon, you will be talking to a new foreign secretary

The declaration generated much publicity and had no precedence where the termination of service of a Class I civil services officer being announced at a press conference.[6] Venkateswaran, present at the press conference,[4] sent the letter of his resignation to the Prime Minister's office immediately.[1] The incident attracted worldwide media interest.[5][7][17][18] Years later, Venkateswaran commented that the decision to send IPKF to Sri Lanka was a mistake which finally led to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.[19]

Positions[edit | edit source]

Venkateswaran has served in the Indian foreign offices across the globe, except in South American continent,[1] and was the Indian Ambassador in the US, China and Syria.[1] After his Embassy stints, he served as the Indian representative in the United Nations before returning to India, in 1986, when he was made the Foreign Secretary of India, the highest job in the Indian Foreign Service, during Rajiv Gandhi's term as the prime minister of India.[1]

Career sketch[13][14]

Office Position Tenure
Embassy in Prague Officer 1955–1957
New York Consulate Consul 1957–1959
Embassy – Addis Ababa Secretary of Legation – First Class 1959–1962
Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi Deputy Secretary 1962–1964
Embassy – Moscow Secretary of Legation – First Class 1964–1967
Consulate – Bonn Consul 1967–1969
Indian High Commission – Fiji High Commissioner 1969–1971
Center for Industrial Affairs – Harvard University Fellow 1974–1975
Embassy – Washington DC Ambassador (correction: Venkateshwaran was only chargé d'affaires (acting ambassador) in Washington) 1975–1977
Embassy – Damascus Ambassador 1977–1980
United Nations Representative 1980–1982
Embassy – Beijing Ambassador 1982–1986
Government of India Foreign Secretary 1986–1987

Venkateswaran resigned from Indian Government service in 1987 after which he founded [https://asiacentrebangalore.org/ Asia Centre Bangalore, a think tank of diplomats and intellectuals, based in Bangalore.

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Manorama Online". Manorama Online. 4 September 2014. Archived from the original (web article) on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran passes away". United News of India. 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  3. "Asia Centre". website. Asia Centre. 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Former foreign secretary Venkateswaran cremated in Bangalore". The New Indian Express. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Express News Service (29 September 2013). "History repeats itself, says former foreign secy". Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 S. R. Maheswari (1 January 2001). Indian Administration. Orient Blackswan. p. 237 of 666 pages. ISBN 978-8125019886.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Steven R Weisman (8 February 1987). "Gandhi Actions Stir Strong Criticism". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  8. Archis Mohan (26 May 2010). "Manmohan waltzes where many predecessors slipped". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  9. "Foreign Seretary Quits aAfter Gandhi Embarrasses Him in Public [sic]". Associated Press. 20 January 1987. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  10. Jayanta Bandyopadhyaya (2003). The Making of India's Foreign Policy. Allied Publishers. p. 270 of 310 pages. ISBN 9788177644029.
  11. Inder Malhotra (22 January 1987). "Political Commentary: Bashing the Bureaucracy". The Times of India.
  12. "Madras Christian College – Some Outstanding Alumni of the College". website. Madras Christian College. 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  13. 13.0 13.1 "Profile". Jagaranrosh.com. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 A. P. Venkateswaran, Retrieved 4 September 2014[circular reference]
  15. "Former Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran's body cremated". The Economic Times. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  16. Raju G. C. Thomas (7 May 1999). "NATO and International Law". Sarantakos.com. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  17. "Associated Press". Associated Press. 20 January 1987. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  18. "An avoidable blunder". India Today. 15 February 1987. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  19. P. C. Vinoj Kumar (4 November 2006). "I am not sure if Prabhakaran ordered Rajiv's assassination". Tehelka. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.

External links[edit | edit source]

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Romesh Bhandari
Foreign Secretary of India
1986 - 1987
Succeeded by
K. P. S. Menon Jr.