Vikas Swarup | |
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![]() Swarup in 2007 | |
Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs | |
In office 1 December 2019 [1] –30 June 2021 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Minister | Subrahmanyam Jaishankar |
Preceded by | A. Gitesh Sharma |
Succeeded by | Reenat Sandhu |
Secretary of Consular,Passport,Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs [2] | |
In office 1 August 2019 –1 December 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Minister | Subrahmanyam Jaishankar |
Preceded by | Dnyaneshwar Mulay |
Succeeded by | Sanjay Bhattacharya |
High Commissioner of India to Canada | |
In office 3 March 2017 –1 August 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Minister | Sushma Swaraj Subrahmanyam Jaishankar |
Preceded by | Vishnu Prakash [3] |
Succeeded by | Ajay Bisaria [4] |
Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs [5] [6] | |
In office 18 April 2015 –28 February 2017 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Minister | Sushma Swaraj |
Preceded by | Syed Akbaruddin |
Succeeded by | Gopal Baglay |
Personal details | |
Born | Prayagraj,Uttar Pradesh,India | 22 June 1961
Nationality | ![]() |
Spouse | Aparna Swarup |
Alma mater | University of Allahabad |
Occupation |
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Known for | Q &A (2005) Six Suspects (2008) The Accidental Apprentice (2013) |
Website | vikasswarup |
Vikas Swarup (born 22 June 1961) [7] is a retired Indian diplomat and writer. He retired from the Indian Foreign Service as the Secretary (West) at the Ministry of External Affairs,India on 30 June 2021 and has previously served as High Commissioner of India in Canada and has been the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. [8] He was best known as the author of the novel Q &A ,adapted in film as Slumdog Millionaire ,the winner of Best Film for the year 2009 at the Academy Awards,Golden Globe Awards and BAFTA Awards.
Swarup joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986 and served in Turkey,the United States,Ethiopia,the United Kingdom,South Africa and Japan in various Indian diplomatic missions. His other novels are Six Suspects and The Accidental Apprentice . In April 2015,he was appointed as the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India to head its Public Diplomacy divisions at New Delhi,succeeding Syed Akbaruddin. [9]
In December 2019,Swarup took charge as Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs,looking after relations with Europe,Central Asia as well as the United Nations system. [10]
Swarup was born in 1961 in the historic Indian city,Prayagraj in a family of lawyers. [11] He did his schooling at Boys' High School &College,Allahabad and pursued further studies at Allahabad University in Psychology,History and Philosophy.
Swarup is a career diplomat and joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986. He has served in different capacities in New Delhi and in India's missions abroad including his last assignment as High Commissioner of India to Canada followed by the post of the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. [12] [13] He also served in Ankara,Washington D.C.,Addis Ababa,London,Pretoria and as Consul General in Osaka-Kobe,Japan.
Swarup's debut novel, Q &A ,tells the story of how a penniless waiter in Mumbai becomes the biggest quiz show winner in history. [14] Critically acclaimed in India and abroad,this international best-seller has been translated into 43 different languages. It was shortlisted for the Best First Book by the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and won South Africa's Exclusive Books Boeke Prize in 2006,as well as the Prix Grand Public at the 2007 Paris Book Fair. It was voted winner of the Best Travel Read (Fiction) at the Heathrow Travel Product Award 2009.
A BBC radio series based on the book won the Gold Award for Best Drama at the 2008 Sony Radio Academy Awards and the 2008 IVCA Clarion Award. HarperCollins brought out the audio book,read by Kerry Shale,which won the Audie for best fiction audio book of the year. Film4 of the UK had optioned the movie rights and the movie titled Slumdog Millionaire ,directed by Danny Boyle,was first released in the US to great critical acclaim. [15] It won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and three awards (Best Film,Best Director and Most Promising Newcomer) at the British Independent Film Awards 2008. The National Board of Review picked Slumdog Millionaire as the best film of 2008. The movie swept five awards out of its six nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards,and all four nominations awarded at the Golden Globe Awards including best director,picture,screenplay and score,and seven BAFTA Awards. It received ten Oscar nominations of which it won eight,including Best Picture and Best Director. From The NY Times report:"[T]hough it had no actors nominated for prizes,[it also] swept many awards other than those on the top line,including prizes for cinematography,sound mixing,score and film editing. Slumdog's eight Oscars was the largest total won by a single film since The Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King won 11 in 2004." [16] The film was released in the UK on 9 January 2009 and in India on 23 January with William Losch.
Swarup's second novel Six Suspects ,published by Transworld,was released on 28 July 2008 and has been translated into more than 30 languages. The US edition was published by Minotaur Books in 2009. It was optioned for a film by the BBC and Starfield productions and John Hodge,who has been commissioned to write the screenplay.
Swarup's third novel is The Accidental Apprentice ,published by Simon &Schuster (UK) in 2013.
Swarup's short story "A Great Event" was published in The Children's Hours:Stories of Childhood,an anthology of stories about childhood to support Save the Children and raise awareness for its fight to end violence against children.
Swarup has participated in the Oxford Literary Festival,the Turin International Book Fair,the Auckland Writers' Conference,the Sydney Writers' Festival,the Kitab Festival in New Delhi,the St. Malo International Book &Film Festival in France,the 'Words on Water' Literary Festival at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg,the Jaipur Literature Festival in India,the Hay-on-Wye Festival in Wales and the Franschhoek Literary Festival in South Africa. In 2009 he participated in the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival as a jury member for the International Competition for Feature Digital Films.
He has written for TIME,Newsweek, The Guardian , The Daily Telegraph (UK),Outlook magazine (India) and Libération (France).
Vikas Swarup gives many motivational talks at institutions across the world.
On 21 September 2010,the University of South Africa (UNISA) conferred the degree of Doctor of Literature &Philosophy (honoris causa) on Swarup at a graduation ceremony in Pretoria. On June 18,2020,Montreal-based Concordia University conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Swarup for literary excellence and dedication to diplomacy. On June 16,2023,Swarup was awarded with an Honorary Doctorate at Carleton University in Ottawa,Ontario.
Swarup took over as the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs on 18 April 2015. [17]
Swarup speaks Turkish apart from English and other Indian languages. He is married to Aparna,an artist,and the couple have two sons.
Boys' High School &College (BHS) is an independent school in Prayagraj (Allahabad),India. It was founded in 1861 to provide a Christian education to the children of Europeans and Anglo-Indians,but has always accepted children from all backgrounds. Though originally co-educational,it now admits only boys. It has existed on its present site in central Allahabad since 1861. Since 1940 it has been managed by the Allahabad High School Society. It is currently affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations.
The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the current Foreign Secretary.
Q &A was published in 2005 and is the first novel of Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup. It tells the rags to riches story of Ram Mohammad Thomas,a young waiter who becomes the biggest quiz show winner in history,only to be arrested and jailed on accusations that he cheated. His lawyer is the only thing standing between him and the producers' and police' attempt to force a false confession that would deprive him of the prize. The only way to prove his innocence is by sharing the episodes of his life and travels in India which explain where and how he learned the answers to the quiz show questions.
The Ministry of External Affairs of India is the government agency responsible for implementing Indian foreign policy. The Ministry of External Affairs is headed by the Minister of External Affairs,a Cabinet Minister. The Foreign Secretary,an Indian Foreign Service officer,is the most senior civil servant who is the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry represents the Government of India through embassies and is also responsible for India's representation at the United Nations and other international organizations and expanding and safeguarding India's influence and Indian interests across the world by providing developmental aid to other countries worth billions of dollars. It also advises other Ministries and State Governments on foreign governments and institutions.
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel Q &A (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Patel in his film debut as Jamal,and filmed in India,the film was directed by Danny Boyle,written by Simon Beaufoy,and produced by Christian Colson,with Loveleen Tandan credited as co-director. As a contestant on Kaun Banega Crorepati,an Indian-Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,Jamal surprises everyone by being able to answer every question correctly,winning ₹2 crore ($460,000). Accused of cheating,Jamal recounts his life story to the police,illustrating how he is able to answer each question correctly.
Chonira Belliappa Muthamma was the first woman to clear the Indian Civil Services examinations. She was also the first woman to join the Indian Foreign Service. She was the first Indian woman diplomat as well. Later,she became the first Indian woman Ambassador also. She is remembered for her successful crusade for gender equality in the Indian Civil Services.
Loveleen Tandan is an Indian film and casting director. She is the co-director (India) of Slumdog Millionaire along with Danny Boyle. She has also been the casting director for several other films,including Monsoon Wedding (2001) and Brick Lane (2007). She has been a casting consultant for The Namesake (2007).
Resul Pookutty is an Indian film sound designer,sound editor and audio mixer. He won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing,along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp,for Slumdog Millionaire. Pookutty has worked in Hindi,Tamil,and Malayalam languages in addition to British films.
The 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire has been a subject of discussion among a variety of people in India and the Indian diaspora. Some film critics have responded positively to the film. At the same time,others objected to issues such as Jamal's use of British English or the fact that similar films by Indian filmmakers have not received equal recognition. A few notable filmmakers such as Aamir Khan and Priyadarshan have been critical of the film. Author and critic Salman Rushdie argues that it has "a patently ridiculous conceit."
Six Suspects is the second novel by Vikas Swarup,an Indian diplomat and author of The New York Times bestseller Q&A. It was published by Transworld in 2016 and in the US by Minotaur Books and has been optioned for a film by Starfield Productions and the BBC. In 2005,Swarup's first novel,Q&A,was published and was later turned into an Oscar Award-winning film,Slumdog Millionaire in 2008.
Lalit Mansingh is a former Indian diplomat. He was the Foreign Secretary of India from 1999 to 2000,and Indian Ambassador to the United States from 2001 to 2004. Prior to this,he was Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1998 to 99. Lalit Mansingh is the son of Odia poet and educationist Mayadhar Mansingh.
Abhay Kumar [Pen Name Abhay K.] is an Indian poet-diplomat and currently serves as the deputy director general of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR),New Delhi. He served as India's 21st ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros from 2019-2022 He has also served in different diplomatic capacities earlier in Russia,Nepal and Brazil. His published collections of poetry include Stray Poems,Monsoon,The Magic of Madagascar,The Alphabets of Latin America,The Prophecy of Brasilia,The Eight-Eyed Lord of Kathmandu,The Seduction of Delhi among others,while his edited books are CAPITALS,100 Great Indian Poems,100 More Great Indian Poems,New Brazilian Poems,The Bloomsbury Anthology of Great Indian Poems,The Bloomsbury Book of Great Indian Love Poems,The Book of Bihari Literature among others. His Earth Anthem has been translated into over 150 languages and was played at the United Nations to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Earth Day. He also wrote an anthem for SAARC spurring search for an official SAARC Anthem. He wrote a 'Moon Anthem' to celebrate the success of India's Moon Mission Chandrayaan-2. He has penned anthems on all the planets in the Solar System.
Syed Akbaruddin is a retired Indian diplomat from 1985 batch of the Indian Foreign Service and served as India's permanent representative at the United Nations at New York from January 2016 to April 2020. He had previously served as official spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs from January 2012 to April 2015 and was Indian representative at IAEA from 2006 to 2011. He is currently serving as the dean of Kautilya School of Public Policy.
Nagma Mohamed Mallick is an Indian civil servant of the Indian Foreign Service. She holds the rank of Secretary/Grade I of the government. She is currently ambassador of India to the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Lithuania since 2021. On June 29,2015 she was appointed as the High Commissioner of India to Brunei Darussalam. Before this posting,she served as India's Ambassador to Tunisia October 2012 to November 2015. She was a TV and stage actress,and acted in India's first television soap opera,Hum Log.
Vijay Keshav Gokhale IFS,born 24 January 1959,is a retired Indian diplomat and the 32nd Foreign Secretary of India. Gokhale previously served as the Ambassador of India to China.
Alexander Mikhailovich Kadakin was a Russian diplomat and the Russian Ambassador to India from 2009 until his death in 2017. Kadakin had earlier served as the ambassador to India between 1999 and 2004. He was a noted Indophile. Kadakin died from heart failure while in service in New Delhi in 2017. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2018.
Raveesh Kumar is an Indian diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. Currently he is an Indian ambassador to Finland also accredited to Estonia,residing in Helsinki. He was the former official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in the Government of India. He was the youngest ever official spokesperson. He was the Consul General of India in Frankfurt,Germany before being appointed as the spokesperson of the MEA.
Ruchi Ghanashyam is an Indian diplomat who belongs to the Indian Foreign Service.
The Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs is an Indian government official whose primary responsibility is to serve as the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs and to deal with other media affairs relating to Indian foreign policy. The spokesperson is a Additional secretary or joint-secretary rank officer,and formally heads the External Publicity division in the Ministry.