Jyotindra Nath Dixit (8 January 1936 – 3 January 2005) was an Indian

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

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 ...

, who served as the National Security Advisor of India to the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

and is mostly remembered for his role as a negotiator in disputes with Pakistan and China. He also served as Foreign Secretary (1991–1994), the highest bureaucratic post in the Ministry of External Affairs.J. N. Dixit: Hawkish diplomat and India's first full-time National Security Adviser

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, 5 January 2005.

Early life and education

Born in Madras (present-day

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, India) to Malayali Nair parents, famous

Malayali The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...

writer Munshi Paramu Pillai and Retnamayi Devi. He got his surname, ''Dixit'', from his stepfather Sitaram Dixit, a freedom fighter and journalist. He did his schooling in Central India, Rajasthan and Delhi. thereafter he did BA Honours Degree in Philosophy, Economics and Political Science the Zakir Husain College

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

(1952 Batch), then he did his Master's in

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

and

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

from

, and pursued studies for Doctoral Degree at the Indian School of International Studies, now part of

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

Career

He joined the

in 1958, and served in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria. He became India's Deputy High Commissioner to Bangladesh (1971–74) after its liberation. Subsequently, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassies in Tokyo and Washington, followed by Ambassador in Chile, Mexico (1960-1961 3rd Secretary), Japan, Australia, Afghanistan (1980–85); High Commissioner Sri Lanka (1985–89) and Pakistan (1989–91). He was Chief administrator of Indian aid in Bhutan. He later served as the Indian Foreign Secretary from 1991 and ultimately retired from Government service in 1994. He was also a representative of India to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, ILO and

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 ...

(NAM). He was a member of the first National Security Advisory Board. He was also the author of several books. He was the High Commissioner in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

in 1987 when India signed an accord with Sri Lanka government and deployed of the

Indian Peace Keeping Force Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lanka ...

(IPKF) to the Tamil area in the island nation at the height of ethnic crisis. He succeeded to the post of the National Security Advisor in 2004. His columns on international and regional affairs, appeared regularly in various publications including ''

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'' and ''

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language India, Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the Indian Express Limited, ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnat ...

''. He remained a visiting lecturer at many educational institutions.

Personal life and death

J N Dixit, died in harness as the National Security Advisor on 3 January 2005, in New Delhi, after suffering a heart attack. He was married to Vijaya Lakshmi Dixit (née Sundaram) and had five children, Ashok Dixit married to Mandakini Dixit (née Haldipurkar), Rahul Dixit married to Rupa Dixit (née Thakkar), Aabha Dixit married V. B Anand Dhavle, Dipa Dixit married to Rajiv Shakdher and the late Dhruv Dixit, who died in 2002. His grandchildren are Sanghamitra Dixit, Sumiran and Sagiri Dixit, Jaidev and Abhishek Dhavle and Vasudhaa Shakdher. He married a second time. He was the first National Security Advisor who died in office.

Awards and honours

India's second highest civilian award, the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") 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 w ...

, was posthumously conferred on J N Dixit in 2005.

Works

* ''Self in Autumn'', 1982 (collection of poems) * ''Anatomy of a Flawed Inheritance: A Survey of Indo–Pak Relations 1970–94'', Konark Publishers, 1995 * ''My South Block Years'', UBS publishers * ''Assignment Colombo'', Konark Publishers, 1997. * ''Across Borders: Fifty Years of India's Foreign Policy'', PICUS Publishers. 1998. * ''Liberation and Beyond: Indo-Bangladesh Relations 1971–99'', Konark Publishers. 1999. * ''An Afghom: Diary-Zahir Shah to Taliban'', Konark Publishers, 2000. * ''Indian Foreign Policies and its Neighbours'', Gyan Books, New Delhi, 2001. . * ''India’s Foreign Policy—challenge Of Terrorism Fashioning Interstate Equations'', by Gyan Books, 2003. * ''External Affairs''. Roli Books, 2003. . * ''Indian Foreign Service: History And Challenge''. Konark Publishers, 2005. .

References

External links

J.N. Dixit, Official biography
Indian Embassy
J. N. Dixit Columns
at

A Mission in Jaffna & the Memories of War-Torn Jaffna
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixit, Jyotindra Nath 1936 births 2005 deaths Delhi University alumni Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni High commissioners of India to Pakistan Permanent representatives of India to the United Nations Permanent delegates of India to UNESCO Indian Foreign Secretaries Indian male writers Foreign policy writers Indian international relations scholars Indian columnists Malayali people Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in civil service High commissioners of India to Bangladesh Ambassadors of India to Chile Ambassadors of India to Japan Ambassadors of India to Afghanistan High commissioners of India to Australia High commissioners of India to Sri Lanka Indian Foreign Service officers Indian political writers 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Chennai Writers from Chennai Indian foreign policy writers Scholars of Indian foreign policy International relations historians Indian Peace Keeping Force People of the Sri Lankan civil war National Security Advisor of India Zakir Husain Delhi College alumni