George Gilbert Swell (5 August 1923 – 25 January 1999) was an Indian college professor, politician and diplomat. He was deputy speaker of Lok Sabha and its member from

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

Early life

He was born at Laitkynsew village near

Cherrapunji Cherrapunji () - popularly known as, or Sohra - it's original native and official name, is a sub-divisional town (Proposed District) East Khasi Hills district in the Indian state of Meghalaya. It was the traditional capital of ''ka hima Sohra'' ...

in the present-day state of Meghalaya. He completed his earlier years of schooling at the Ramakrishna Mission School at Cherrapunji. After passing the Bachelor of Arts examination from the

Scottish Church College Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in Asia. ...

, Kolkata, he completed his Master of Arts degree in English from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

in 1946. Within months thereafter, he married Lajopthiaw Lyngdoh, second daughter of Phrolibon Lyngdoh and Wellington Kearney. Soon after, their first child, Lakyntiew, was born in 1947, followed by a son, Sanbor, in 1950. In 1952, they moved to Ethiopia, part of a cadre of instructors recruited to teach in Ethiopia in the early 1950s. Swell taught English at the high school level. They returned to Shillong in 1956, and Swell worked as a professor of English at several Shillong area colleges. Swell contributed to the formation of the state of Meghalaya, breaking away from the parent state of Assam. He, with his wife's uncle, Brington B Lyngdoh, and Stanley Nichols Roy, as well as other community leaders, conducted a campaign for the separate identity of their proposed state which would combine the peoples of the Khasi and Janintia Hills and other tribes from the Garo Hills and adjacent areas. Swell then moved into national politics.

Political career

Swell was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Autonomous Districts (Lok Sabha) constituency in 1962, 1967 and 1971 and from the Shillong (Lok Sabha) constituency in 1984 and 1996. He was the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha from 9 December 1969 to 27 December 1970 in the 4th Lok Sabha and again 27 March 1971 to 18 January 1977. Swell served as India's ambassador to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and Iceland from 1977 to 1980 (appointed by PM Moraji Desai), and

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

, 1980 to 1984 (appointed by PM Indira Gandhi). Subsequently, he was appointed as ambassador-designate to Canada, then Spain, but instead chose to return to national political life in India. In 1985, as a member of parliament, he served as the head of the Indian delegation to the United National General Assembly, New York. In 1992 he contested the Indian presidential election as a joint opposition candidate against

Shankar Dayal Sharma Shankar Dayal Sharma (; 19 August 1918 – 26 December 1999) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the President of India from 1992 to 1997. Born in Bhopal, Sharma studied at Agra, Allahabad and Lucknow and received a doctorate i ...

but lost. He was member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) from Meghalaya during 1990-1996. The worsening health of his wife, Lajopthiaw, who died in early 1998, was a factor in his withdrawal from political life.

Death

Swell died on 25 January 1999. His daughter, Lakyntiew Lyngdoh Watrous, and his granddaughter, Yarissa Lyngdoh Sommer, established a museum in the town of his birth, Laitkynsew, in 2016.

References

External links

Official Biographical Sketch in Lok Sabha Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swell, George Gilbert Meghalaya politicians Ambassadors of India to Norway

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

Deputy speakers of the Lok Sabha India MPs 1962–1967 India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1996–1997 Ramakrishna Mission schools alumni Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Candidates for President of India People from East Khasi Hills district Lok Sabha members from Meghalaya Rajya Sabha members from Meghalaya 1923 births 1999 deaths Lok Sabha members from Assam People associated with Shillong