Gopalaswami Parthasarathy

For the Indian diplomat and journalist, see Gopalaswami Parthasarathy (diplomat).

Gopalaswami Parthasarathy
Capt. G Parthasarathy
Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University
In office 28 April 1969 – 27 April 1974
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri
Indian Ambassador to Myanmar
In office November 1992 – September 1995
President	Shankar Dayal Sharma
Preceded by	P.M.S Malik
Succeeded by	L.T Pudaite
Indian High Commissioner to Australia
In office 1995–1999
Preceded by	A.M. Khaleli
Succeeded by	C.P. Ravindranathan
High Commission of India to Pakistan
In office February 1999 – May 2000
President	K. R. Narayanan
Preceded by	Satish Chandra
Succeeded by	Vijay K. Nambiar
Personal details
Born	(1940-05-13) 13 May 1940
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	College of Engineering, Guindy
Occupation	Academic Indian Army officer Diplomat Author

Captain Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, popularly known as G. Parthasarathy (born 13 May 1940) is a former commissioned officer in the Indian Army (1963-1968) and a diplomat and author. He has served as the High Commissioner of India, Cyprus (1990–92), Ambassador of India to Myanmar, 1992–95, High Commissioner of India to Australia (1995–99) and the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan (1999-2000). Later he was the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister's Office.

Early life and background

He graduated with a B.E. Degree in Electrical Engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy, Madras, (now Chennai) in 1962.

Career

Parthasarathy began his career as a commissioned officer in the Indian Army from 1963 to 1968. He should not be confused with another G Parthasarthy, the first Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University from 1969 to 1974.

As a diplomat

In 1968, he joined the Indian Foreign Service, and his first diplomatic assignment was as the Third Secretary in the Embassy of India in Moscow from August 1970. For years he was known in the corridors of South Block (Secretariat Building) as "Chotta GP" ('chotta' is Hindi for small) to distinguish him from his namesake G Parthasarathy one of India's tallest diplomats, who served as India's High Commissioner to Pakistan between 1963 and 1965.

He then served in Dar es Salaam and Washington, and was Consul General in Karachi from 1982-1985. Later he was India's High Commissioner to Cyprus from 1990 to 92 Ambassador to Myanmar 1992 to 1995, High Commissioner to Australia from 1995 to 1998, and High Commissioner to Pakistan from 1998 to 2000. He was also Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs and Information Adviser and Spokesperson in the Prime Minister's Office with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (1985–1990).

Other fields of work

Mr. Parthasarathy is presently Chancellor of the Central University Jammu, President of the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi and Director in the India-Sri Lanka Foundation. He is also presently Visiting Professor in the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and a member of the Executive Committee of the Centre for Air Power Studies in New Delhi. He is on the Panel of Experts from India for Track 2 Dialogue with ASEAN. His main areas of interest are developments in India's neighbourhood and issues of economic integration, energy and national security and terrorism. He currently writes an influential column in The Pioneer, Business Line and Rediff.com, mostly on foreign affairs. In July 2018, he was appointed as the Chancellor of Central University of Jammu. He is popularly regarded as a "hawk" when it comes to matters of India's defence and policy towards Pakistan and terrorism.

As an author

He co-authored a book with ex-Pakistan Foreign Secretary, Humayun Khan. The book, Diplomatic Divide, debates the issues that divide India and Pakistan.

External links

• "G Parthasarathy columns". The Pioneer.
• "G Parthasarathy columns". Business Line.