Bhairav Dutt Pande Biography 
Bhairav Dutt Pande shortly called B. D. Pande was a Civil Service officer, who served as Union Cabinet Secretary of the Government of India under Indira Gandhi, followed by governor of Indian states, West Bengal and Punjab in the 1980s. He also briefly served as Administrator of Chandigarh. His son Lalit Pande is an environmentalist and social worker, and a recipient of Padma Shri awards. His brother-in-law, Vinod Chandra Pande, was also a former Governor and Union Cabinet Secretary. For his contributions towards Indian society, government of India honoured him with Padma Vibhushan in 2000 and Padma Shri in 1972.
Bhairav Dutt Pande was born on 17 March 1917 in Almora district, Uttarakhand. His wife’s name is Vimla Pande, who was fondly called Maami, known for her social work. Many of his family members and close relatives are Padma award winners including Lalit Pande, his younger son, a social worker. His brother-in-law Vinod Pande (brother of Vimla) and his daughter-in-law, Mrinal Pande too are Padma Shri winners. His elder daughter-in-law Mrinal Pande is a television personality, journalist and author, who wrote the book The Other Country: Dispatches from the Mofussil.
Bhairav Dutt Pande joined Indian civil service in 1939, and was one of the last living members of the Imperial Civil Service. He rose to become the country's senior-most civil servant, and served as governor of West Bengal (1981–1983) and then Punjab (1983–1984). After his active years of civil service in Delhi, he chose to return to hometown Almora, where he spent the rest of his life. He passed away on 4 April 2009. His wife passed away in 2006 November.
Published: November 29, 2018
Updated: November 29, 2018
