P. C. Alexander
{{short description|Indian diplomat and politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = P. C. Alexander
|image = The Governor of Maharashtra, Shri P. C. Alexander calling on the President of India, Shri K. R. Narayanan at Rashtrapati Bhavan.jpg
|caption =
|office = Governor of Maharashtra
|1blankname = Chief Minister
|1namedata = * Manohar Gajanan Joshi
|term_start = 12 January 1993
|term_end = 13 July 2002
|predecessor = C Subramaniam
|successor = Mohammed Fazal
|office2 = Governor of Tamil Nadu
|1blankname2 = Chief Minister
|1namedata2 =
|term_start2 = 17 February 1988
|term_end2 = 24 May 1990
|predecessor2 = Sundar Lal Khurana
|successor2 = Sardar Surjit Singh Barnala
|office3 = Governor of Goa
|1blankname3 = Chief Minister
|1namedata3 =
|term_start3 = 19 July 1996
|term_end3 = 15 January 1998
|predecessor3 = Romesh Bhandari
|successor3 = T. R. Satish Chandran
|birth_date = {{birth date|1921|03|20|df=y}}
|birth_place = Mavelikara, Travancore, British India
|nationality = Indian
|death_date = {{death date and age|2011|08|10|1921|03|20|df=y}}
|death_place =Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
|alma_mater = University of Kerala
Annamalai University
|profession = Retired IAS officer
Politician
}}
{{Indian name|Alexander|Padinjarethalakal Cherian}}Padinjarethalakal Cherian Alexander (20 March 1921 – 10 August 2011) was an Indian Administrative Service officer of 1948 batch who served as the Governor of Tamil Nadu from 1988 to 1990 and as the Governor of Maharashtra from 1993 to 2002. He was considered as a candidate for the post of the President of India in 2002. During his time in Maharashtra, he had additional charge of Goa from 1996 to 1998. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha representing Maharashtra as an independent candidate from 29 July 2002 to 2 April 2008.{{cite web | title = Members Page:Dr. P. C. Alexander |publisher=Rajya Sabha website| url = http://164.100.47.5/newmembers/Website/Main.aspx | access-date = 2014-02-03 }}
His career included extended stints with the United Nations and India's Ministry of Commerce and his high-profile appointment as the powerful Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India during his years with Indira Gandhi. He also served as the Indian High Commissioner to the Court of St. James's.
His autobiography is Through the Corridors of Power. His other works include My years with Indira Gandhi, The Perils of Democracy, and India in the New Millennium.[http://www.mathrubhumi.com/story.php?id=206422 ഡോ.പി.സി.അലക്സാണ്ടര് അന്തരിച്ചു - Latest News - Mathrubhumi] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919120342/http://www.mathrubhumi.com/story.php?id=206422 |date=2012-09-19 }}
Family history, early life and background
File:The_Governor_of_Maharashtra,_Shri_P._C._Alexander_calling_on_the_President_of_India,_Shri_K._R._Narayanan_at_Rashtrapati_Bhavan.jpg, Shri K. R. Narayanan at Rashtrapati Bhavan]]
P. C. Alexander was born to an aristocratic Malankara Orthodox Christian Padinjarethalakal family on 20 March 1921 to P. J. Cherian and Mariamma.{{cite web |last1=Gupta |first1=Smita |title=PC Alexander Passes Away |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pc-alexander-passes-away/article2342503.ece#:~:text=Born%20into%20an%20upper%20middle,of%20Jacob%20Cherian%20and%20Mariamma. |website=The Hindu |access-date=6 October 2023}} He studied at Bishop Hodges Higher Secondary School, and gained his post-graduate degree in History and Economics from the University of Travancore (now University of Kerala). During this period he also remained President, Travancore University Students Union.
Career
Alexander started his career as a civil servant in 1949, entering the IAS on 15 October of that year as an emergency recruited officer.{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 2 |page=1535 |date=5 November 1949|url=https://egazette.gov.in/WriteReadData/1949/O-2356-1949-0000-109471.pdf |publisher=The Gazette of India}} He held several high positions during his career, and also involved himself in public life. Alexander was the principal secretary to Indira Gandhi and virtually served as her shadow and policy adviser for the years after her return to power in January 1980.
On 18 January 1985, he resigned as the principal secretary to the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi owing to the Coomar Narain spy scandal wherein his private secretary TN Kher, personal assistant Malhotra among others was implicated as supplying top secret defense and security documents Coomar Narain who was a Bombay-based businessman with the Maneklal group of industries which was involved in government military contracts.{{Cite web |title=Coomar Narain News Photo Coomar Narain (centre), a busi... |url=https://timescontent.timesgroup.com/photo/news/Coomar-Narain/135885 |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Times Of India |language=English}} Coomar Narain's sources were tactically placed within various Indian government agencies and was unveiled when the Intelligence Bureau started the surveillance of numerous civil servants and diplomats. Narain supplied sensitive information which included India's defense and internal security documents to major superpowers like France and the Soviet Union which were the major defense suppliers to India. {{Cite web |date=2024-07-29 |title=Unveiling India’s Biggest Spy Scandal: The Coomer Narain Case |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/global/story/unveiling-indias-biggest-spy-scandal-the-coomer-narain-case-2573456-2024-07-29 |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=India Today |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Gharekhan |first=Chinmaya R. |date=2023-06-14 |title=An advisor to former PM Rajiv Gandhi recalls how a 1985 espionage scandal rocked Indian politics |url=https://scroll.in/article/1050786/an-advisor-to-former-pm-rajiv-gandhi-recalls-how-a-1985-espionage-scandal-rocked-indian-politics |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Scroll.in |language=en}}
He was sent as India's High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom (1985-1987).
He was considered a potential candidate for the 2002 presidential elections. His candidacy was opposed by the Congress party.{{Cite web |title=rediff.com: Sonia to Vajpayee: Anyone but Alexander |url=https://m.rediff.com/news/2002/may/18prez.htm |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=m.rediff.com}} However, Abdul Kalam was chosen instead. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha representing Maharashtra as an independent candidate from 29 July 2002 to 2 April 2008.
Illness and death
Alexander died at the Madras Medical Mission hospital in Chennai at the age of 90.{{cite web | title = Former High Commissioners of India to the United Kingdom | publisher = High Commission of India, London | url = https://www.hcilondon.in/former_high_commissioners.html | access-date = 2014-02-03 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140218223610/https://www.hcilondon.in/former_high_commissioners.html | archive-date = 2014-02-18 }} He was undergoing treatment for cancer.{{Cite news |date=2011-08-11 |title=PC Alexander, principal secretary to Indira, is dead |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/pc-alexander-principal-secretary-to-indira-is-dead/articleshow/9560414.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2023-06-21 |issn=0013-0389}} His dead body was taken to his native land, and was buried there with full state honours.
Personal life
He was married to Akkamma Alexander, and had two sons and two daughters.{{Cite news |date=2011-08-10 |title=P.C. Alexander passes away |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pc-alexander-passes-away/article2342503.ece |access-date=2023-06-21 |issn=0971-751X}} His son, Jawahar Alexander was named after Jawaharlal Nehru. His other son, Ashok Alexander is the Founder-Director of The Antara Foundation, a non-profit focused on public health.
Bibliography
- My Years with Indira Gandhi by P. C. Alexander, Orient Paperbacks, {{ISBN|978-81-709408-7-6}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.rediff.com/freedom/25pc.htm An interview]
- [http://www.orthodoxherald.net/archives/6406 An interview]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100615193356/http://rajbhavan.maharashtra.gov.in/previous/pcalexander.htm Profile on Government of Maharashtra website]
{{Governors of Tamil Nadu}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, P. C.}}
Category:Governors of Maharashtra
Category:Governors of Tamil Nadu
Category:Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra
Category:People from Alappuzha district
Category:Annamalai University alumni
Category:High commissioners of India to the United Kingdom
Category:Indian autobiographers
Category:Deaths from cancer in India