10 things you didn't know about Pratap Singh, Indian High Commissioner

Indian High Commissioner His Excellency Mr Pratap Singh arrived in
Jamaica just over three-weeks ago and presented his credentials to
Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, making his appointment as successor
to HE Mohinder Grover.

A career diplomat with a long and varied
career in the public service, the Indian high commissioner and his wife
Mrs Prem Lata Singh, recently hosted a vin d' honneur at his official residence as his first official task here.

It
was an occasion for the high commissioner to get a chance to meet and
introduce himself to his diplomatic colleagues as well as to meet some
leading members of the political and social establishment.

Today, we share 10 things we did not know about the new Indian high commissioner.

1 He lists hobbies as playing badminton, golfing, morning walks and reading.

2 At the age of 16, he abandoned his family to become an ascetic, and he remained in a hermitage for over three years before rejoining his family and resuming his studies.

3 During university education, he remained actively involved in student politics.

4 He is a postgraduate in political science, and has also obtained a degree in law.

5 He joined the government of India as a labour officer but he quit that position within a couple of years and returned home. However, within a few months, he took up a position in the public sector as an administrative officer.

6 Since his school days, becoming a member of the Indian civil service was a dream, and therefore he tailored his skills in pursuit of that dream. In 1987, he received his first appointment.

7 He is a direct witness to the pathetic condition of migrants from different countries to Iraq and Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990-91. His association with the evacuation of Indian migrants from Kuwait and Iraq during the war has made him more aware of the need for diplomatic representation for his people when abroad.

8 His experience of working in a war zone like Afghanistan, where, as consul general of India, Jalalabad, he faced several attacks on the Indian consulate but was fortunate enough to dodge them all. However, he still has nightmarish memories of his stint in Afghanistan.

9 Two months ago before taking up his assignment here in Kingston, the high commissioner was posted as ambassador of India to DPR Korea which, he says, is entirely a different world to be in.

10 He is a published writer and poet. His first collection of poems in Hindi titled Shanti Manjusha (Basket of Peace) was published in 1999. And his first novel in English titled A View From The Margins was published in the 2011.