Interview with K Shankar Bajpai: Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with K Shankar Bajpai, conducted 13th June 2013 in New Delhi as part of the Commonwealth Oral History Project. The project aims to produce a unique digital research resource on the oral history of the Commonwealth since 1965 through sixty oral history interviews with leading figures in the recent history of the organisation. It will provide an essential research tool for anyone investigating the history of the Commonwealth and will serve to promote interest in and understanding of the organisation. Biography: Bajpai, K Shankar. 1928- . Born in Jaipur, India. Educated at Merton College, Oxford, and Ecole des Hautes Etudes Universitaire, Geneva. Joined Indian Foreign Service in 1952, serving in Germany, Turkey and Pakistan. Consul General, United States West of the Mississippi, 1967-70. Government of India’s Representative in Sikkim, 1970-74. Ambassador to the Netherlands, 1975. High Commissioner to Pakistan, 1976-80. Ambassador to China, 1980-82. Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs, 1982-83. Ambassador to the United States, 1984-86. Co-founder (in 1994) and Chairman, Delhi Policy Group. Visiting Appointments at the University of California (1987-92), Brandeis University (1992-93), and Stanford University (2002).