Jyotindra Nath Dixit (8 January 1936 – 3 January 2005) was an Indian diplomat of Indian Foreign Service , who served as the National Security Advisor of India to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is mostly remembered for his role as a negotiator in disputes with Pakistan and China. He also served as Foreign Secretary (1991–1994), the highest bureaucratic post in the Ministry of External Affairs.J. N. Dixit: Hawkish diplomat and India's first full-time National Security Adviser The Independent, 5 January 2005.J.N. Dixit – a tribute. By Gopal Gandhi, The Hindu, 5 January 2005.J. N. Dixit, 68, Dies; Served as India's Negotiator in Pakistan and China Disputes New York Times, 9 January 2005.J.N. Dixit, Indian Security Adviser, Dies VOA News, By Anjana Pasricha. New Delhi, 3 January 2005.

Early life and education Born in Madras (present-day Chennai, India) to Malayali Nair parents, famous Malayali writer Munshi Paramu Pillai and Retnamayi Devi. He got his surname, Dixit, from his stepfather Sitaram Dixit, a freedom fighter and journalist.

He did his schooling in Central India, Rajasthan and Delhi. thereafter he did BA Honours Degree in Philosophy, Economics and Political Science the Zakir Husain College Delhi University(1952 Batch),1952, A College Story Indian Express, 5 July 2003. then he did his Master's in international law and international relations from Delhi University, and pursued studies for Doctoral Degree at the Indian School of International Studies, now part of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Career

Dixit joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1958, and served in Vienna, Austria. He became India's Deputy High Commissioner to Bangladesh (1971–74) after its liberation. Subsequently, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassies in Tokyo and Washington, followed by Ambassador in Chile, Mexico (1960-1961 3rd Secretary), Japan, Australia, Afghanistan (1980–85); High Commissioner Sri Lanka (1985–89) and Pakistan (1989–91). He was Chief administrator of Indian aid in Bhutan.

He later served as the Indian Foreign Secretary from 1991 and ultimately retired from Government service in 1994. He was also a representative of India to the United Nations, UNIDO, UNESCO, ILO and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). He was a member of the first National Security Advisory Board. He was also the author of several books. He was the High Commissioner in Colombo in 1987 when India signed an accord with Sri Lanka government and deployed of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to the Tamil area in the island nation at the height of ethnic crisis.

He succeeded to the post of the National Security Advisor in 2004.JN Dixit Is NSA Financial Express, 27 May 2004. His columns on international and regional affairs, appeared regularly in various publications including Outlook and Indian Express.Columnists He remained a visiting lecturer at many educational institutions.JN Dixit no more Financial Express, 4 January 2005.

Personal life and death Dixit died in harness as the National Security Advisor on 3 January 2005, in New Delhi, after suffering a heart attack. He was married to Vijaya Lakshmi Dixit (née Sundaram) and had five children- Ashok Dixit married to Manda Dixit, (Late) Rahul Dixit married to Rupa Dixit, Aabha Dixit married to V.B (Anand) Dhavle, Dipa Dixit married to Rajiv Shakdher and (Late) Dhruv Dixit. Five grandchildren: Abhishek Dhavle, Jaidev Dhavle (twins of Aabha and Anand), Sumiran Dixit and Sagiri Dixit (children of Rahul and Rupa), Sangamitra Dixit (Daughter of Ashok and Manda) and Vasudhaa Shakdher (Daughter of Dipa and Rajiv). Vijaya Lakshmi Dixit died in 1999 in New Delhi. Mr J.N Dixit married a second time. He was the first National Security Advisor who died in office.National Security Advisor JN Dixit passes away The Times of India, 3 January 2005.EXCLUSIVE PMO: 'They Killed Him...':Close friends say an ugly tug-of-war within the PMO put a huge strain on the late J.N. Dixit that he couldn't withstand Outlook, 28 March 2005.

Awards and honours India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, was posthumously conferred on J N Dixit in 2005.

Works Self in Autumn, 1982 (collection of poems) Anatomy of a Flawed Inheritance: A Survey of Indo–Pak Relations 1970–94, Konark Publishers, 1995 My South Block Years, UBS publishers Assignment Colombo, Konark Publishers, 1997. Across Borders: Fifty Years of India's Foreign Policy, PICUS Publishers. 1998. Liberation and Beyond: Indo-Bangladesh Relations 1971–99, Konark Publishers. 1999. An Afghom: Diary-Zahir Shah to Taliban, Konark Publishers, 2000. Indian Foreign Policies and its Neighbours, Gyan Books, New Delhi, 2001. . India’s Foreign Policy—challenge Of Terrorism Fashioning Interstate Equations, by Gyan Books, 2003. External Affairs. Roli Books, 2003. . Indian Foreign Service: History And Challenge. Konark Publishers, 2005. .

See also National Security Council Navtej Sarna Taranjit Singh Sandhu Harsh Vardhan Shringla

References

External links

J.N. Dixit, Official biography Indian Embassy J. N. Dixit Columns at Outlook A Mission in Jaffna & the Memories of War-Torn Jaffna