Harsh Vardhan Shringla who was nominated by President Droupadi Murmu to the Rajya Sabha with a long and illustrious career in diplomacy is as comfortable in boardroom as he is on the ground handling peoples’ challenges.
Having reached the peak of Indian Foreign Service – Foreign Secretary (January 2020 and April 2022), he was also the Chief Coordinator of the G20 Summit that India hosted in 2023. Recently he was part of the MPs delegation that visited key countries in the Islamic World.
His stints as India’s envoy in the US as well as Bangladesh were exemplary. While in the USA he handled the Trump 1.0 with ease including organizing Howdy Modi and Howdy Trump and sowed the seeds for the BTA that is being currently negotiated, ties with Dhaka expanded across sectors when Shringla was the High Commissioner.
But that was the not first time that Shringla handled Bangladesh. He was the Joint Secretary in charge of Bangladesh-Sri Lanka-Myanmar-Maldives at the Headquarters handling critical elections of 2014 in Dhaka. The neighbourhood was his focus yet again when he was the Foreign Secretary. He handled big power ties with equal ease as the Foreign Secretary.
Shringla has been of the opinion that a big credit for India’s deepening diplomatic engagements globally must go to PM Narendra Modi’s personality that helps build chemistry with global leaders. On Sunday the senior diplomat thanked the President and PM for the trust entrusted in him.
A book on Shringla titled ‘Not an accidental Rise’ by Dipmala Roka of the Sikkim University recounted Shringla’s handling of ties with China after the Galwan conflict, besides the Covid-19 pandemic. Credit is also due in the way he handled students repatriation under challenging circumstances from Ukraine after the conflict broke in February 2022
‘Not an Accidental Rise’ also goes into Shringla’s work as co-chair of the India-Bangladesh Joint Boundary Working Group that finally led to the signing of the landmark agreement that boosted bilateral relations.
“The best diplomacy is preventive diplomacy,” said Shringla, according to the book. “If an issue arises then it should be worked behind the scenes, without fanfare and public attention.”
In his four-decade-long career as IFS, Shringla was also posted in Vietnam, deployed in the Europe West Division that oversaw India's relations with major European countries, handled India's relations with Nepal and Bhutan, and during his tenure in Tel Aviv and South Africa worked on India's relations with Israel and Pretoria.
Having reached the peak of Indian Foreign Service – Foreign Secretary (January 2020 and April 2022), he was also the Chief Coordinator of the G20 Summit that India hosted in 2023. Recently he was part of the MPs delegation that visited key countries in the Islamic World.
His stints as India’s envoy in the US as well as Bangladesh were exemplary. While in the USA he handled the Trump 1.0 with ease including organizing Howdy Modi and Howdy Trump and sowed the seeds for the BTA that is being currently negotiated, ties with Dhaka expanded across sectors when Shringla was the High Commissioner.
But that was the not first time that Shringla handled Bangladesh. He was the Joint Secretary in charge of Bangladesh-Sri Lanka-Myanmar-Maldives at the Headquarters handling critical elections of 2014 in Dhaka. The neighbourhood was his focus yet again when he was the Foreign Secretary. He handled big power ties with equal ease as the Foreign Secretary.
Shringla has been of the opinion that a big credit for India’s deepening diplomatic engagements globally must go to PM Narendra Modi’s personality that helps build chemistry with global leaders. On Sunday the senior diplomat thanked the President and PM for the trust entrusted in him.
A book on Shringla titled ‘Not an accidental Rise’ by Dipmala Roka of the Sikkim University recounted Shringla’s handling of ties with China after the Galwan conflict, besides the Covid-19 pandemic. Credit is also due in the way he handled students repatriation under challenging circumstances from Ukraine after the conflict broke in February 2022
‘Not an Accidental Rise’ also goes into Shringla’s work as co-chair of the India-Bangladesh Joint Boundary Working Group that finally led to the signing of the landmark agreement that boosted bilateral relations.
“The best diplomacy is preventive diplomacy,” said Shringla, according to the book. “If an issue arises then it should be worked behind the scenes, without fanfare and public attention.”
In his four-decade-long career as IFS, Shringla was also posted in Vietnam, deployed in the Europe West Division that oversaw India's relations with major European countries, handled India's relations with Nepal and Bhutan, and during his tenure in Tel Aviv and South Africa worked on India's relations with Israel and Pretoria.
You may also like
Did not look depressed: Neighbour, cab driver recall 'last meet' with Tripura girl
World Travel & Tourism Council proposes six-step plan for smarter tourism management to address destination overcrowding
Oral health key for cancer care, boosting survival rates: AIIMS
William and Kate Middleton's 'hidden role' in Harry talks as brothers' future is revealed
Frequent bloating is not just gas, it can be a sign of these 4 diseases
