Girija Shankar Bajpai

Early life and education

Bajpai was born in Allahabad as the second son of Rai Bahadur Pandit Sir Seetla Prasad Bajpai CIE (1865 - 1947), who in the course of his career served as Chief Justice and Minister of Justice of Jaipur State and was knighted in 1939. and to Rukmine Shukla (18?? - 1945). He was a King's Scholar at Oxford, receiving a B.A. from Merton College, Oxford.

Career

He entered the ICS on 16 October 1915. He began his career in the then United Provinces as an assistant collector and magistrate, receiving a promotion to joint magistrate in May 1918. In April 1921, he was appointed as a secretary to V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, and served in this capacity until November 1922. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1923 New Year Honours list. From 1923 to 1930, Bajpai served in the Department of Education, Health and Lands, rising from under-secretary in September 1923 to deputy secretary (officiating) in March 1924 and to deputy secretary in June 1926. The secretary of a Government of India delegation to South Africa in 1926, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in that year's Birthday Honours List. He was promoted to secretary (officiating) in the department of Education, Health and Lands in December 1927 and to joint secretary in November 1929.

From November 1930 to January 1931, Bajpai was a member of the British Indian delegation to the First Round Table Conference in London, and was promoted to the rank of collector and magistrate in October 1931. After a brief posting to South Africa from December 1931 to August 1932, he was appointed as a full secretary in the Department of Education, Health and Lands, and was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1935 Birthday and Silver Jubilee Honours List. In March 1940, Sir Girija was appointed as one of the six members of the Viceroy's Executive Council, the colonial version of a Cabinet, having previously served as a temporary member of the council from 1935 to 1936. In October 1941, he was appointed the Agent-General (roughly equivalent to an ambassadorial post) to the USA for India. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) in that year's Birthday Honours List.

Sir Girija was known for his ethics, oratory, strong will and far-reaching vision. It is said he warned Prime Minister Nehru about the potential for a Chinese invasion more than a decade before it happened. He represented India in numerous international forums in the 1930s and 1940s, including at the UN during the Kashmir debate. American diplomat Mr Vincent Sheean has mentioned in his book "Nehru – The Years of Power" that it was a technical error on part of the team headed by Mr Girija Bajpai which filed India's appeal to the UN Pakistan's invasion in Kashmir which led to the issue being considered a dispute rather than an act of aggression by Pakistan. The appeal should have been made under Chapter 7 of the UN charter rather than Chapter 6.

Following the independence of India from the British Raj in 1947, Prime Minister Nehru retained Sir Girija as his principal foreign affairs adviser, appointing him the first Secretary General in the Ministry of External Affairs. In 1952, he was appointed as the Governor of Bombay State, a position he held until his death two years later.

Death

Sir Girija died in office of a cerebral haemorrhage in the early morning of 5 December 1954, aged 63. He lay in state in the audience hall of Raj Bhavan, his body draped with the tricolour as citizens, political leaders and consular officials filed past. Later that day, with thousands of people lining the streets, his corpse was conveyed to the crematorium in a gun carriage drawn by detachments of the army, navy, air force and the Mumbai Police. He was cremated with full ceremonial honours, including a 17-gun salute, fired as his eldest son, Uma Shankar, lit the funeral pyre.

The then Vice-President of India, S. Radhakrishnan, delivered a eulogy in which he said Bajpai's life had been "an example of devotion and dedication" which would be long remembered.

Personal life

Sir Girija Bajpai was known for his wealth and lifestyle. He always dressed impeccably and was considered an authority on clothes, fine wines and carpets. His ethics and strong sense of family responsibility led him to pay off his brother's debts, some of which were run up in his name, several times in an effort to preserve the family's reputation. He had four daughters and three sons; Uma Shankar Bajpai, Durga Shankar Bajpai and K.S Bajpai, all who became diplomats. Kanti Bajpai, the son of Uma Shankar, is a noted academic.

He was an early notable in Scouting and Guiding in India, and worked to unify their scattered organisations during the pre-independence era.