Jyotindra Nath Dixit

Jyotindra Nath Dixit Biography

Jyotindra Nath Dixit was an Indian diplomat, who has served as Indian Foreign Secretary during the period, 1991–1994. Foreign Secretary post is the top bureaucrat in the Ministry of External Affairs. At the time of his death in January 2005, he was the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. As a Foreign Secretary, his role as a negotiator in disputes with Pakistan and China is his most significant work. His father is a famous Malayali writer Munshi Paramu Pillai.

Dixit was born in Chennai on January 8, 1936. He was born to noted writer, Munshi Paramu Pillai and Retnamayi Devi. His stepfather was Sitaram Dixit, a freedom fighter and journalist. Later Jyotindra accepted his Surname. His schooling was completed in North and Central India. He completed B.A. Honors Degree in Philosophy, Economics and Political Science the Zakir Husain College, University of Delhi in the year 1952. He did his Master’s in International Law and International Relations from Delhi University. Later he took Doctoral Degree at the Indian School of International Studies.

He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1958. He has served in the countries Vienna, Austria and first Ambassador to Bangladesh. He served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassies in Tokyo and Washington. He has also served as Ambassador in Chile, Mexico, Japan, Australia and Afghanistan. He has acted as High Commission in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. He was the High Commissioner in Colombo in 1987 when India signed an accord with the LTTE. He became Indian Foreign Secretary in 1991 and got retired from Government service, three years later in 1994. He has represented India in UN, UNIDO, UNESCO, ILO and NAM. J.N. Dixit died on 3 January 2005, in New Delhi.

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Updated: September 25, 2017