NEW DELHI, July 17: Kocheri Raman Narayanan's elevation to the presidency caps a career of outstanding achievements.It also marks the fulfilment, in the golden jubilee year of the country's independence, of Mahatma Gandhi's wish to see a harijan occupy the highest office of the country. In an era of coalition politics and with the seeming end of one-party dominance, Narayanan's job will be much more than purely ceremonial which was what once the presidency was thought to be.The 11th president of India was born in a poor dalit family in Uzhavur village in Kottayam district of Kerala on October 27, 1920 where there was not always enough food to eat. His education came the hard way through scholarships and tutoring jobs. He had a brilliant academic career and graduated from the university college in Thiruvanthapuram in 1943 with record marks. Starting his career as a lecturer, Narayanan moved into journalism. He won a Tata scholarship to the London School of Economics where he was taught by the world famous scholar thinker Professor Harold Laski. In 1948, he completed his three year Economics degree.Prof Laski was so, impressed by his student that he wrote a letter to Jawaharlal Nehru praising Narayanan. He was inducted into the Indian Foreign Service in 1949 and embarked on a distinguished career as a diplomat.As a career diplomat cast in a different mould, Narayanan combined professional diplomacy with scholastic pursuits to produce a new blend of Indian intellectualism in dealing with foreign policy problems. He served as the Indian ambassador to Thailand and Turkey having worked earlier in the missions in Rangoon, Tokyo, London, Australia and Hanoi.But his most challenging assignment was as the ambassador to China, where he was sent in July 1976 after the two countries resumed full diplomatic relations after a lapse of 15 years. He retired from foreign service two years later and was appointed vice-chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University. However, in 1980, then prime minister Indira Gandhi recalled him and appointed him ambassador to Washington, a post he held for four years.As a joint secretary and later as additional secretary, Narayanan worked in the policy planning division of the external affairs ministry. He became additional secretary in the ministry in 1975. and rose to be the secretary in 1976.He was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru fellowship in 1970-72 for a study of Nehru's concept of non-alignment. Narayanan joined politics after returning home on completing his Washington assignment.He became minister of state for planning and was later minister in the same capacity in the foreign office and the science and technology.
