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List of high commissioners of India to the United Kingdom

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The High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom is the head of the High Commission of India to the United Kingdom. The High Commission is located at India House in London.

High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom
since 22 September 2022
ResidenceIndia House, London
NominatorDroupadi Murmu
Inaugural holderV. K. Krishna Menon
Formation1947
WebsiteHigh Commission of India, London., UK

History

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See also: List of Deputy High Commissioners of India to the United Kingdom

In 1919, a committee chaired by the Marquess of Crewe determined there existed the need to separate the agency work of the India Office from its other political and administrative roles, and recommended the transfer of all such work to "a High Commissioner for India or some similar Indian Governmental Representative in London." It was also felt popular opinion in India would view this as a step towards full Dominion status for India.[3] The Government of India Act that same year upheld the recommendations of the committee, making provision for "the appointment of a High Commissioner by His Majesty by Order in Council, which might delegate to the official any of the contractual powers of the Secretary of State [for India] in Council, and prescribe the conditions under which he should act on behalf of the Government of India or any Provincial Government."

On 13 August 1920, King-Emperor George V issued the required Order in Council. Until India became independent in 1947, the post was styled High Commission for India. The first High Commissioner for India was Indian Civil Service officer Sir William Stevenson Meyer; the first of Indian origin was Sir Dadiba Merwanji Dalal. The High Commissioner enjoyed the same status as his counterparts from the British Dominions.[3] Upon Indian independence, the post was given the present designation.

High Commissioners for India (1920–1947)

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List of High Commissioner for India[4]

Name Portrait Assumed office Left office Notes
Sir William Stevenson Meyer GCIE, KCSI[3] September 1920 October 1922
J. W. Bhore CBE[3]   October 1922 April 1923 (acting)
Sir Dadiba Merwanji Dalal CIE[3] April 1923 December 1924 First High Commissioner of Indian origin
Sir Atul Chandra Chatterjee KCSI, KCIE[5]   1925 1931
Sir Bhupendra Nath Mitra KCSI, KCIE, CBE [6] 1931 1936
Malik Sir Feroz Khan Noon KCSI, KCIE, Kt.[7]   1936 December 1941
Khan Bahadur Maulvi Sir Muhammad Aziz-ul-Haq CIE [8] December 1941 May 1943
Dewan Bahadur Sir Samuel Ebenezer Runganadhan[9] May 1943 April 1947
M. K. Vellodi CIE [10] April 1947 August 1947 (acting)

High Commissioners of India to the United Kingdom (1947–present)

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List of former High Commissioners [11]

Dominion of India (1947-1950)

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List of former High Commissioners [11]

Name Portrait Assumed office Left office Notes
V. K. Krishna Menon   August 1947 26 January 1950

Republic of India (1950-present)

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Name Portrait Assumed office Left office Notes
V. K. Krishna Menon   26 January 1950 1952 First High Commissioner of the Republic of India (from 26 January 1950)
B. G. Kher   1952 1954 Second Prime Minister of Bombay.
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit   1954 1961 First woman President of the United Nations General Assembly.
M. C. Chagla   1962 1963 Earlier Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.
Jivraj Narayan Mehta   1963 1966 First Chief Minister of Gujarat.
S. S. Dhawan 1968 1969
Appa B. Pant 15 September 1969 12 October 1972
Braj Kumar Nehru   1973 1977 Earlier Ambassador of India to the United States. Served as Governor of seven Indian states over two decades.
N. G. Gore   1977 1979
V.A. Seyid Muhammad 1980 1984
P. Mehrotra July 1984 December 1984
P. C. Alexander 1985 1987 Later Governor of Tamil Nadu and Governor of Maharashtra.
Maharaja Krishna Rasgotra   1988 1990 Later Foreign Secretary of India.
Kuldip Nayar   March 1990 November 1990
Laxmi Mall Singhvi   1991 1997 Second longest tenure after K. V. Krishna Menon.
Salman Haidar January 1998 July 1998 Later Foreign Secretary of India.
Lalit Mansingh   1998 1999 Later Foreign Secretary of India.
Nareshwar Dayal 2000 2002
Ronen Sen   May 2002 April 2004 Later Ambassador of India to the United States.
Kamalesh Sharma   July 2004 January 2008 Later Commonwealth Secretary-General.
Shiv Shankar Mukherjee[12][13] January 2008 August 2009
Nalin Surie[14]   September 2009 August 2011
Jaimini Bhagwati   February 2012 December 2013
Ranjan Mathai   December 2013 December 2015 Later Foreign Secretary of India.
Navtej Sarna   January 2016 December 2016 Later Ambassador of India to the United States.
Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha   December 2016 October 2018 Current Chief Information Commissioner of India.
Ruchi Ghanashyam   November 2018 2 June 2020 She is the only second Woman High Commissioner to UK since 1947 after Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit[15]
Gaitri Issar Kumar[1][2] 3 June 2020 30 June 2022
Vikram Doraiswami   22 September 2022 Incumbent

References

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  1. ^ a b "Indian High Commissioner to the UK". High Commissioner Of India to London.
  2. ^ a b "Gaitri Issar Kumar Appointed as new High Commissioner to the UK". NDTV.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Chapter XV- The High Commissioner for India"
  4. ^ Also represented British Burma until 1937, when it became a Crown Colony separate from India
  5. ^ "The British Empire - India and Dependencies: Government and Constitution," pg. 113, The Statesman's Year Book, 1926, Epstein. Macmillan. London 1926
  6. ^ The Statesman's Year-Book, 71st Edition, pg 118, Macmillan & Co, 1934
  7. ^ "The British Commonwealth - India and Dependencies: Government and Constitution," pg. 110, The Statesman's Year Book, 1938, Epstein. Macmillan. London 1938
  8. ^ "The British Commonwealth - India and Dependencies: Government and Constitution," pg. 111, The Statesman's Year Book, 1942, Epstein. Macmillan. London 1942
  9. ^ "The British Commonwealth - India and Dependencies: Government and Constitution," pg. 112, The Statesman's Year Book, 1946, Epstein. Macmillan. London 1946
  10. ^ "The British Commonwealth - India and Dependencies: Government and Constitution," pg. 107, The Statesman's Year Book, 1947, Epstein. Macmillan. London 1946
  11. ^ a b "Former High Commissioners of India to the United Kingdom". High Commissioner of India, London. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  12. ^ Times of India - "Shiv Shankar Mukherjee is India's new envoy to UK"
  13. ^ Hindustan Times - "Warm farewell for Shiv Mukherjee"
  14. ^ "High Commission press release on appointment". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  15. ^ "Ruchi-Ghanshyam-India's-second-woman-envoy-to-uk-since-1947". Hindustan Times. September 2018.
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