K.B. Lall (1917–2005) was an eminent and highly respected civil servant of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and a member of ICS. He was Principal Defence Secretary of India in Indo-Pak war in 1971. Earlier, he served as Commerce Secretary as well as Ambassador to the European Common Market, as the European Union was then known. Ambassador Lall was also accredited to the Grand Duchy of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. In this capacity he inaugurated with the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, Mr.

Gaston Thorn Gaston Egmond Thorn (3 September 192826 August 2007) was a Luxembourg politician who served in a number of high-profile positions, both domestically and internationally. Amongst the posts that he held were the 19th Prime Minister of Luxembour ...

, the bust of Mahatma Gandhi in the Municipal Park in Luxembourg-City on 21 June 1973. The bronze bust sculpture by the famous modernist artist Amar Nath Sehgal (1922-2007) was a gift by the philanthropist

Henry J. Leir Henry J. Leir (January 28, 1900 – July 15, 1998) was an American industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. He is primarily known for his role in the post-World War II economic development of Luxembourg. Early life and career Leir was born ...

. Greatly respected by Defence minister Jagjivan Ram, Lall's stewardship of the Ministry of defence contributed materially to the smooth conduct of, and victory in the

1971 War The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

. He was conferred

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

award in 2000. He died at the age of 88 in 2005.

External links

* Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Indian civil servants Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in civil service 2005 deaths Defence Secretaries of India 1917 births {{India-diplomat-stub