Only The Second Time

So long, farewell to retiring Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale who heads off into the Pune sunset at the end of his diplomatic innings. Incidentally, he was Secretary, Economic Relations, in Delhi when picked for the top job, which is not the norm. Generally, foreign secretaries have moved into South Block from some foreign capital, as Harsh Shringla is doing. In recent memory, the only other diplomat who rose to foreign secretary while in Delhi was Kanwal Sibal, known as tough and no-nonsense, which is probably why he didn’t get the extension he deserved.