T N Seshan passes away at 86

Former Chief Election Commissioner Tirunellai Narayana Seshan who had brought in iconic reforms in the country's electoral process during his tenure in the nineties passed away after a cardiac arrest on November 10th. Seshan was 86 years old. He was a retired 1955 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre who led the Election Commission from 1990 to 1996. During his tenure as the 10th Chief Election Commissioner of India, he flexed the Election Commission’s far reaching constitutional powers to keep politicians in check.  Seshan was born on December 15, 1932 in Palakkad and completed his schooling at Basel Evangelical Mission Higher Secondary School. He did his intermediate from Government Victoria College, Palakkad before graduating from Madras Christian College. He even did masters in public administration at Harvard University after joining the civil services. After joining the civil services in 1955, he served as secretary of several departments in Tamil Nadu and at the centre. He was handpicked by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to be the Cabinet Secretary. He was also a member of the Planning Commission of India after which he was made the chief election commissioner. Seshan was a recipient the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award which is considered to be Asia's Nobel, in 1996 for his services to the government and his initiatives in making the electoral process more transparent. 

 

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