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Apa Pant

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His Excellency
Apasaheb Balasaheb Pant
PS
Jomo Kenyatta, Apa Pant and Achieng Oneko
High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom
In office
15 September 1969 – October 1972
Preceded byS. S. Dhawan
Succeeded byBraj Kumar Nehru
Personal details
Born11 September 1912
Aundh State, British India (present-day Maharashtra, India)
Died5 October 1992(1992-10-05) (aged 80)
Pune, Maharashtra, India
Parent
Alma materUniversity of Bombay
University of Oxford
OccupationDiplomat, freedom fighter
AwardsPadma Shri (1954)

Appasaheb Pant (1912–1992), also known as Apa Pant,[1] Appa Pant, Appa Sahib Pant, Appsaheb Balasaheb Pant, Parashuram-rao Pant (Parashuram being his first name), was an Indian diplomat, Prince of Aundh, Gandhian, writer and freedom fighter.[2][3][4] A philosopher by nature and a mystic at heart, who served for over forty years as a career diplomat for the Indian Government. He served as the Indian Commissioner at various African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, Nyasaland 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 .[3] The Government of India honoured him in 1954, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his contributions to the society,[5] placing him among the first recipients of the award.

Biography

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Appa Sahib Bala Saheb Pant was born on 11 September 1912[6] in the Aundh, Satara capital city of princely state of Aundh in the British India, presently near Satara in the Indian state of Maharashtra, as the second son of Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi,[7] the ruler of the state.[3] After schooling at local institutions, he graduated (BA) from the University of Mumbai and studied philosophy, politics and economics at Brasenose College, Oxford.[4][8] He continued his studies in London and passed Barrister at Law from Lincoln's Inn and returned to India in 1937 when the Indian freedom movement was gathering pace.[3]

Pant married Nalini Devi,[9] a medical doctor and a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1942 and the couple had three children, Aditi, Aniket and Avalokita.[4] He died, aged 80, on 5 October 1992,[6] succumbing to old age illnesses.[3]

Political and diplomatic career

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Pant started his political and diplomatic career as the Minister of Education of the Aundh State in 1944 when his father was the ruler of the state.[4] 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.[3] After India's independence, he entered Indian Foreign Service, got deputed to Africa and worked in Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, Nyasaland and the Belgian colony of the Congo.[4] In 1954, he was appointed as the Officer on Special duty with the Minister of External Affairs when India's relationship with China was strained.[4] He represented India at Bandung Conference in 1956 for the formation of Non-Aligned Movement. He also worked as the Officer in Charge of the missions of Tibet and Bhutan and Sikkim,[10] and as Ambassador to Indonesia (1961–64), Norway (1964–66), Egypt (1966–69),[11] United Kingdom (1969–72) and Italy (1972–75).[3][6]

Literary career

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Apasaheb Pant was a former judge for the Templeton Prize,[12] an international recognition honouring the entrepreneurship of spirit,[13] He published[4] eight books towards the latter part of his life.[3]

  • Surya Namaskar, an Ancient Indian Exercise (1970)[14]
  • Towards Socialist Transformation of Indian Economy (1973)[15]
  • A Moment in Time (1974)[16]
  • Mandala: An Awakening (1976)[17]
  • Survival of the Individual (1983)[18]
  • Undiplomatic Incidents (1987)[19]
  • An Unusual Raja – Mahatma Gandhi and the Aundh Experiment (1989)[20]
  • An Extended Family of Fellow Pilgrims (1990)[21]

Awards

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In 1954, he was awarded with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his contributions to the society, placing him among the first recipients of the award.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ see for instance declassified file no. 7(4)-P, 1955 at the National Archives of India, available on line via https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/
  2. ^ Guyot-Réchard, Bérénice (2022). "Stirring Africa towards India: Apa Pant and the Making of Post-Colonial Diplomacy, 1948–54" (PDF). The International History Review. 44 (4): 892–913. doi:10.1080/07075332.2022.2093941. ISSN 0707-5332. S2CID 250598023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Benegal". Benegal. 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Apa Pant in East Africa". Awaaz Magazine. 1 November 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Padma Shri" (PDF). Padma Shri. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "WMF Labs". WMF Labs. 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.[user-generated source]
  7. ^ "Free Library". Free Library. 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  8. ^ Bowers, John (16 February 2021). "Principal's Blog: 16th February 2021". Brasenose College, Oxford. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  9. ^ Gaurav Desai, Commerce with the Universe: Africa, India, and the Afrasian Imagination, p. 75
  10. ^ "TH Library" (PDF). TH Library. 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Middle East Institute". Middle East Institute. 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  12. ^ "The Templeton Prize – Judges. Previous Judges". Templeton Foundation. 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  13. ^ "Templeton About". Templeton Foundation. 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  14. ^ Apa Pant (1970). Surya Namaskar, an Ancient Indian Exercise. Sangam Books. ISBN 9788125013877.
  15. ^ Bhuleshkar, Ashok V.; Pant, Apa B. (1973). Towards Socialist Transformation of Indian Economy. Humanities Press.
  16. ^ Pant, Apa B. (1974). A Moment in Time. United Kingdom: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. ISBN 9780340147900.
  17. ^ Apa B. Pant (1976). Mandala: An Awakening. Sangam Books. p. 218. ISBN 978-0861310630.
  18. ^ Apa Pant (1983). Survival of the Individual. Sangam Books. ISBN 9780861314003. OCLC 13215863.
  19. ^ Pant Apa B. (1987). Undiplomatic Incidents. Majestic Books. ISBN 9780861316908.
  20. ^ Apa Pant (1989). An Unusual Raja Mahatma Gandhi and the Aundh Experiment. Oscar Publications. ISBN 9780861317523.
  21. ^ Apa Pant (1990). An Extended Family or Fellow Pilgrims. Oscar Publications. ISBN 9780863111099.

Further reading

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