Appasaheb Pant (1912–1992), also known as Apa Pant, Appa Pant, Appa Sahib Pant, Appsaheb Balasaheb Pant, Parashuram-rao Pant (Parashuram being his first name), was an Indian diplomat, Prince of Aundh,

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi,one of the prominent figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environ ...

, writer and

freedom fighter A freedom fighter is a person engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom, particularly against an established government. The term is typically reserved for those who are actively involved in armed or otherwise violent rebellion. Termi ...

. A philosopher by nature and a mystic at heart, who served for over forty years as a career diplomat for the

Indian Government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

. He served as the Indian Commissioner at various African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika,

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

and the Belgian colony of the Congo and, later, as the Indian ambassador to countries like Indonesia, Norway, Egypt, United Kingdom and Italy.He also served as the Political Officer for India in the Kingdom of Sikkim . The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

honoured him in 1954, with the award of

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his contributions to the society, placing him among the first recipients of the award.

Biography

Appa Sahib Bala Saheb Pant was born on 11 September 1912 in the

Aundh, Satara Aundh is a town in India 26 mi. southeast of Satara. The population in 2011 was about 3500. It was part of the Aundh State Aundh State was a Maratha princely state during the British Raj, in the Deccan States Agency division of the Bo ...

capital city of princely state of Aundh in the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, presently near

Satara Satara may refer to: Places * Satara (city), Maharashtra, India * Satara district, Maharashtra, India * Satara Lok Sabha constituency * Satara Assembly constituency * Satara railway station * Satara State, a former princely state of British Ind ...

in the Indian state of Maharashtra, as the second son of

Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi, (24 October 1868 – 13 April 1951), popularly known as Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi, or Bhawanrao Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi, was the ruler of the princely state of Aundh State, Aundh during the British Raj ...

, the ruler of the state. After schooling at local institutions, he graduated (BA) from the

University of Mumbai University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

and studied

philosophy, politics and economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

. He continued his studies in London and passed Barrister at Law from

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

and returned to India in 1937 when the

Indian freedom movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement to ...

was gathering pace. Pant married Nalini Devi,Gaurav Desai
Commerce with the Universe: Africa, India, and the Afrasian Imagination
p. 75 a medical doctor and a

fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...

in 1942 and the couple had three children,

Aditi Aditi (Sanskrit: अदिति, lit. 'boundless' or 'limitless' or 'innocence') is an important Vedic goddess in Hinduism. She is the personification of the sprawling infinite and vast cosmos. She is the goddess of motherhood, consciousne ...

, Aniket and Avalokita. He died, aged 80, on 5 October 1992, succumbing to old age illnesses.

Political and diplomatic career

Pant started his political and diplomatic career as the Minister of Education of the

Aundh State Aundh State was a Maratha princely state during the British Raj, in the Deccan States Agency division of the Bombay Presidency. The Principality of Aundh covered an area of 1298 square kilometers with a population of 88,762 in 1941. The capi ...

in 1944 when his father was the ruler of the state. His tenure lasted one year and during this period and thereafter, he was involved in the discussions related to the integration of the state into Indian Union. After India's independence, he entered

Indian Foreign Service The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is a diplomatic service and a Central Civil Services, central civil service of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India under the Ministry of External Affairs (India), Ministry of External A ...

, got deputed to Africa and worked in Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika,

and the Belgian colony of the Congo. In 1954, he was appointed as the Officer on Special duty with the

Minister of External Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

when India's relationship with China was strained. He represented India at

Bandung Conference The first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference (), also known as the Bandung Conference, was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on 18–24 April 1955 in Bandung, We ...

in 1956 for the formation of

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...

. He also worked as the Officer in Charge of the missions of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

and

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

, and as Ambassador to Indonesia (1961–64), Norway (1964–66), Egypt (1966–69), United Kingdom (1969–72) and Italy (1972–75).

Literary career

Apasaheb Pant was a former judge for the

Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest ques ...

, an international recognition honouring the ''entrepreneurship of spirit'', He published eight books towards the latter part of his life. * ''

Surya Namaskar Sun Salutation, also called Surya Namaskar or Salute to the Sun (, ), is a practice in yoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve linked asanas. The asana sequence was first recorded as yoga in the early 20th century, though s ...

, an Ancient Indian Exercise'' (1970) * ''Towards Socialist Transformation of Indian Economy'' (1973) * ''A Moment in Time'' (1974) * ''Mandala: An Awakening'' (1976) * ''Survival of the Individual'' (1983) * ''Undiplomatic Incidents'' (1987) * ''An Unusual Raja – Mahatma Gandhi and the Aundh Experiment'' (1989) * ''An Extended Family of Fellow Pilgrims'' (1990)

Awards

In 1954, he was awarded with

, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his contributions to the society, placing him among the first recipients of the award.

Biography

Political and diplomatic career

Literary career

Awards

See also

References

Further reading