Narinder Nath Vohra

(Redirected from N.N. Vohra)

Narinder Nath Vohra (born 5 May 1936), popularly referred as N. N. Vohra, is a retired 1959 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Punjab cadre who was the 12th governor of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. He was the first civilian governor of Jammu and Kashmir in eighteen years after Jagmohan.

Narinder Nath Vohra
12th Governor of Jammu and Kashmir
In office
25 June 2008 (2008-06-25) – 23 August 2018 (2018-08-23)
Chief MinisterGhulam Nabi Azad
Omar Abdullah
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
Mehbooba Mufti
Preceded byS. K. Sinha
Succeeded bySatya Pal Malik[1]
8th Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India
In office
1 July 1997 (1997-07-01) – 19 March 1998 (1998-03-19)
Appointed byAppointments Committee of the Cabinet
Prime MinisterI. K. Gujral
Preceded byT. R. Satishchandran
Succeeded byBrajesh Mishra
Home Secretary of India
In office
1 April 1993 (1993-04-01) – 31 May 1994 (1994-05-31)
Appointed byAppointments Committee of the Cabinet
22nd Defence Secretary of India
In office
1 March 1990 (1990-03-01) – 1 April 1993 (1993-04-01)
Appointed byAppointments Committee of the Cabinet
Preceded byT. N. Seshan
Succeeded byK. A. Nambiar
18th Defence Production Secretary of India
In office
1 May 1989 (1989-05-01) – 1 March 1990 (1990-03-01)
Appointed byAppointments Committee of the Cabinet
Preceded byP. C. Jain
Succeeded byN. Raghunathan
Personal details
Born
Narinder Nath Vohra

(1936-05-05) 5 May 1936 (age 88)
Punjab, India
Alma materPanjab University
Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford
OccupationRetired IAS officer
AwardsPadma Vibhushan (2007)

As an IAS officer, Vohra has also served as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, Home Secretary of India, Defence Secretary of India and Defence Production Secretary of India.

From February 2003 until he became the governor of the state, Vohra had been the Government of India's interlocutor in Jammu and Kashmir. He was awarded India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, for his contributors to the field civil service, in 2007.

Education

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Vohra is a postgraduate (MA) and topper in English from Panjab University.[2] Vohra also was a visiting fellow at Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.[2]

Career

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Before IAS

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Before being appointed an IAS officer, Vohra served as lecturer in the Panjab University.[2]

As an IAS officer

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Vohra served in key positions for both the Government of India and the Government of Punjab, such as Secretary (Home), Commissioner and Secretary (Industries), Finance Commissioner, Commissioner (Urban Development), Secretary (Urban Development), Punjab's labour commissioner, Director (Information) and as Director (Panchayati Raj) in the Government of Punjab;[3][2][4] as Union Home Secretary, Union Defence Secretary, Union Defence Production Secretary, additional secretary in the Department of Defence of the Ministry of Defence, joint secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and as an area organiser in the Cabinet Secretariat in the Government of India.[3][2][4]

Vohra also served as a consultant to the World Health Organization.[3][2][4]

Defence Production Secretary

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Vohra was appointed Union Defence Production Secretary by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), he assumed the office of Defence Production Secretary on 1 May 1989,[3][2][4] and remitted it on 1 March 1990.[3][2][4]

Defence Secretary

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Vohra was appointed Union Defence Secretary by ACC, he assumed the office of Defence Secretary on 1 March 1990,[3][2][4] and demitted it on 1 April 1993,[3][2][4] serving for more than three years.

Home Secretary

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N. N. Vohra was appointed Union Home Secretary by ACC after the 1993 Bombay serial bomb blasts,[5][6][7] he assumed the office of Home Secretary on 1 April 1993,[3][2][4] and demitted it and simultaneously superannuated from service on 31 May 1994.[3][2][4]

Post Retirement

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Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister

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N. N. Vohra was appointed Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, Inder Kumar Gujral, and the administrative head of Prime Minister's Office by ACC in June 1997, he assumed the office of principal secretary on 1 July 1997,[3][2][4] and demitted it on 19 March 1998.[3][2][4]

India’s special representative for carrying out the Jammu and Kashmir dialogue

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N. N. Vohra was appointed India's interlocutor for carrying out the Jammu and Kashmir dialogue by the Government of India in 2003,[3][2] he remained as India's interlocutor till 2008,[3][2] when he was appointed Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

As the interlocutor, Vohra had been holding wide-ranging discussions with both the elected representatives in the state and also the separatists in a bid to forge a common ground for the all-round development of the state.[3]

 
Vohra taking salute from Jammu and Kashmir Police on 61st Republic Day of India

Governor of Jammu and Kashmir

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Vohra taking salute from Jammu and Kashmir Police 61st Republic Day of India

Vohra was appointed Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) by President of India in 2008,[3][8] his first act as the governor of J&K was to rescind the controversial Amarnath shrine land transfer order.[9]

Vohra was reappointed the governor of Jammu and Kashmir by the president of India in 2013.[10][11][12] Vohra retired from the position of governor in August 2018 and was replaced by Satya Pal Malik, a Bharatiya Janata Party politician and a former governor of the state of Bihar.[6][13]

Vohra ruled Jammu and Kashmir directly four times (governor's rule) during his tenure as governor,[6][7][14][13] with his tenure as state governor being widely seen to be a positive one.[5][6][7][14][13]

Awards and recognition

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Selected bibliography

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  • Vohra, N. N.; Mathews, K. (1997). Africa, India & South-South cooperation. New Delhi: Har-Anand Publications. ISBN 9788124105030.
  • —————; Dixit, Jyotindra Nath (1998). Religion, politics, and society in South and Southeast Asia. Delhi: Konark Publishers in association with India International Centre. ISBN 9788122005295.
  • ————— (1999). Culture, society, and politics in Central Asia and India. Delhi: SHIPRA Publications India International Centre. ISBN 9788175410404.
  • —————; et al. (2000). Issues before the World Trade Organization: India's perspective: report on a seminar held on 20 March, 1999, at the India International Centre. New Delhi: Mosaic Books, in association with India International Centre. ISBN 9788185399515.
  • ————— (2001). Culture, democracy, and development in South Asia. New Delhi, India: Shipra Publications. ISBN 9788175410701.
  • ————— (2002). India and East Asia: culture and society. Delhi, India: Shipra Publications. ISBN 9788175411067.
  • —————; Bhattacharya, Sabyasachi (2002). Looking back, India in the twentieth century. New Delhi: National Book Trust, India in association with India International Centre. ISBN 9788123737508.
  • ————— (2003). Emerging Asia: challenges for India and Singapore. New Delhi, India: India International Centre Manohar. ISBN 9788173044847.
  • ————— (2003). History, culture, and society in India and West Asia. Delhi, India: Shipra Publications. ISBN 9788175411234.
  • ————— (2004). India and Australasia: history, culture, and society. Delhi: Shipra Publications. ISBN 9788175411685.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Centre Appoints Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik as New Jammu and Kashmir Governor". Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Present Governor - N. N. Vohra". Raj Bhavan, Jammu and Kashmir. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Sinha, Amitabh (12 June 2008). "Vohra: Just the man for Kashmir". The Indian Express. New Delhi. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "N N Vohra - Executive Record Sheet". Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b Bhan, Ashok (23 August 2018). "Narinder Nath Vohra- A Man for all seasons will be remembered for governance and democratic values". Daily Excelsior. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d Munshi, Suhas (22 August 2018). "NN Vohra, a Tough Act to Follow in Kashmir's Political Theatre". News18. New Delhi: Network 18. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  7. ^ a b c "N N Vohra: J&K's man for all seasons, all parties". The Times of India. New Delhi: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Press Trust of India. 20 June 2018. OCLC 23379369. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  8. ^ "VOHRA APPOINTED JK GOVERNOR". Greater Kashmir. Srinagar. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  9. ^ Vohra saves J&K Govt, rescinds Amarnath land order. Retrieved on 9 July 2008.
  10. ^ "Vohra gets fresh term as J&K Governor". The Hindu. New Delhi. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  11. ^ "N N Vohra gets a fresh term as J&K governor". The Times of India. New Delhi. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Vohra re-appointed as Jammu and Kashmir governor". News 18. New Delhi. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  13. ^ a b c Devadas, David (23 August 2018). "Outgoing J&K Governor N.N. Vohra Was as Astute as Any Wily Politician". The Wire (India). Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  14. ^ a b Jameel, Yusuf (22 August 2018). "A decade of grace: NN Vohra's term in J&K". The Asian Age. Srinagar. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  15. ^ "Padma Vibhushan for Nariman, Khushwant, Naresh Chandra". The Indian Express. New Delhi. 26 January 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  16. ^ "Padma Vibhushan for Khushwant, Nariman". The Hindu. New Delhi. 26 January 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  17. ^ "Padma Vibhushan for Fali Nariman, Khushwant Singh". Daily News and Analysis. New Delhi. 26 January 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
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Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Jammu and Kashmir
25 June 2008 (2008-06-25) – 23 August 2018 (2018-08-23)
Succeeded by