Sudarshan Agarwal is the former Governor of the Indian state of Sikkim. His tenure started from October 2007 and lasted up to July 2008. Agarwal has also served as the Governor of Uttarakhand since January 2003. Sudarshan Agarwal is a unique personality, who maintains the sense of modesty, simplicity and integrity. Sudarshan Agarwal served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
Early Life of Sudarshan Agarwal
Sudarshan Agarwal was born on 19th June 1931 in Ludhiana. He graduated in Law from Punjab University in the year 1953 with first class. He joined the judicial service of Punjab and Delhi in the year 1956, after completing his education; and until 1971, he served as a Judicial Officer.
Political Career of Sudarshan Agarwal
In the year 1971Sudarshan Agarwal joined as the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. He served the post with distinction in various capacities till 1981. After that he was promoted to the designation of Secretary General to the Rajya Sabha. For almost a period of 12 years Sudarshan Agarwal retained thus position. In 1986, while still holding this office, Agarwal advanced to the rank and status of Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India. He was appointed to the National Human Rights Commission, after his retirement from the Rajya Sabha. From 1981 to 1993, he was Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha.
With the rank and status of a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, he joined the Human Rights Commission. In June 2001, Sudarshan Agarwal retired from the NHRC. Agarwal, on January 08, 2003, was sworn in as the 2nd Governor of the newly created state of Uttaranchal, now Uttarakhand. He left office as on 22 October 2007 he retired from the post of Governor of Uttrakhand and was sworn in as Governor of Sikkim on 25 October.
Activities of Sudarshan Agarwal
Sudarshan Agarwal has been significantly allied with a number of social and charitable causes, apart from holding high public office. He has been the President of the high-status Delhi Gymkhana Club for 2 years. Over 4 decades, he has shown his dedication to the noble principles of the Rotary Movement. Agarwal is considered as the distinguished Rotarian. He has been a major donor to the Rotary Foundation. He, as a director from 1987-1989, also delineated South-East Asia on the board of Rotary International and also served as the Chairman of Rotary Foundation India. The Rotary Blood Bank was set up under his headship and special guidance, at a cost of over Rs 5 crores.
Sudarshan Agarwal has also been vigorously implicated with the efforts of Rotary to exterminate polio. He carried out this spirit of social activism to Uttaranchal as well. Agarwal has personally monitored major developments in the state in the fields of education and health. His two initiatives are the Him Jyoti Foundation and the Him Karuna.
A state of the art blood bank was established in Dehradun with the support of ONGC and the Indian Medical Association under his personal involvement. Being a trustee of the Rotary service to Humanity Awards Trust and the Rotary Manav Sewa Award Trust, he has campaigned vigorously to remove corruption from public life. He has travelled extensively in India and abroad and has represented the country in numerous International Conferences.
Personal Life of Sudarshan Agarwal
Sudarshan Agarwal is married to Usha Agarwal and the couple has two children, a son and a daughter who are distinguished professionals in advertising and academics respectively.
