M. K. Narayanan
| M. K. Narayanan | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Narayanan in 2013 | |
| 24th Governor of West Bengal | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 24 January 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Devanand Konwar |
| 3rd National Security Advisor | |
| In office January 2005 – January 2010 |
|
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | J. N. Dixit |
| Succeeded by | Shivshankar Menon |
| Director of the Intelligence Bureau | |
| In office April 1987 – December 1989 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | March 10, 1934 |
| Spouse(s) | Padmini Narayanan |
| Residence | Raj Bhavan, Kolkata |
Mayankote Kelath Narayanan (born 23 July 1934) is the 24th and current Governor of West Bengal, a state in Eastern India. He was formerly the country's third National Security Advisor (2005–2010), assuming the role after the demise of his predecessor J. N. Dixit in January 2005.[1]
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Early life [edit]
M. K. Narayanan hails from Kelath family at Ottapalam, Palakkad, a district of the state Kerala.[2]
Narayanan completed his graduation from Loyola College, Chennai. He is married to Padmini Narayanan and the couple have a son, Vijay, and a daughter, Meena. Their son-in-law Ajit Nambiar is Chairman and Managing Director of BPL Ltd.[3]
Career [edit]
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This section has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. (March 2010) |
M. K. Narayanan joined the Indian Police Service in 1955 and passed out as the best all-round officer of his batch. After a brief stint as Sub-Divisional Police Officer in the erstwhile State of Madras, he went on deputation to the Intelligence Bureau in February 1959. The rest of his service career was spent under the Government of India, mainly in the Intelligence Bureau during which he dealt with a whole range of issues concerning internal and national security.
He headed the Intelligence Bureau (IB) from 1987 to 1990, before heading the Joint Intelligence Committee. He became Chief of the IB again in 1991, before retiring in 1992. He was the Special Advisor for Internal Security to the Prime Minister of India beginning in May 2004.[4]
He is alleged to plant his staunch supporters as RAW and IB chiefs. He grew infamous when he wanted to sack the then RAW chief C. D. Sahay. He began systematically undermining Sahay; he planted his own man, Hormis Tharakan, former Kerala police chief who was occasionally deputed to RAW, as Sahay’s eventual successor. The then NSA, J. N. Dixit, countered that Narayanan himself had not been sacked when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated (Narayanan was the IB chief), and that no intelligence heads rolled after the Kargil intrusions were discovered[5]
He presided over a post-Rabindra Singh(a RAW joint secretary suspected of being a double agent, defected in 2004. Singh was handing RAW secrets over to the USA, to where he fled from Kathmandu via Vienna once he was discovered) defection enquiry that has not damaged a single officer’s career; in some cases, the opposite has happened.[6] Shashi Bhushan Tomar, the last man to see Rabindra Singh after the latter’s car was searched as he left RAW HQ in Delhi on April 19, 2004. Tomar, suspect colleagues, tipped Singh off that he was under RAW surveillance, enabling the double agent to evade his stake-out and escaped and Tomar is now posted in New York.[7]
On 24th Jan 2010 he became the governor of West Bengal. He took over from Gopalkrishna Gandhi who had a few disagreements with the CPM-ruled West Bengal on critical issues like violence in Nandigram and Singur. He was awarded with the Gusi Peace Prize 2011.
Controversy [edit]
Narayanan offered to resign on 30 November 2008 over the attacks in Mumbai that killed nearly 200 people, but his resignation was not accepted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He experienced heavy criticism after the Mumbai terrorist attacks due to his preoccupation with Sri Lanka and the LTTE, instead of what others considered to be India's chief threat, Kashmiri insurgents and Pakistan.[citation needed]
According to the Outlook magazine, Narayanan asked investigative agencies to go slow when they zeroed-in on Hindutva organizations for Samjhauta Express bombings in 2007.[8]
See also [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mayankote Kelath Narayanan |
References [edit]
- ^ "Narayanan likely to be made Governor". PTINews.com.
- ^ "Tharakan brings glory to Palakkad". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 28 January 2005.
- ^ http://ibnlive.in.com/news/wikileaks-narayanan-in-pmos-keralite-mafia/146013-3.html
- ^ "The Palakkad connection to the N-deal". sify.com.
- ^ "The burial of an enquiry into a double agent". The New Indian Express.
- ^ "Why did NDA keep spy scandal under wraps? asks PM’s security pointman". Indian Express.
- ^ "Morale is low and expertise even lower". The New Indian Express.
- ^ "Dead In Its Tracks". Outlook.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Devanand Konwar |
Governor of West Bengal 2009 – present– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by J. N. Dixit |
National Security Advisor January 2005 – January 2010 |
Succeeded by Shivshankar Menon |
| Preceded by H.A. Barari |
Director of the Intelligence Bureau 1987 - 1989 |
Succeeded by R.P. Joshi |
