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{{Short description|Indian diplomat (born 1957)}}
'''Navtej Sarna''' is an [[India]]n author-columnist, and diplomat, who is the present Indian Ambassador to [[Israel]].<ref name=hin>[http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/30/stories/2008033060311000.htm Navtej Sarna, envoy to Israel] ''[[The Hindu]]'', March 30, 2008.</ref>
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[His Excellency]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.indianembassy.org/pages.php?id=169 | title=H. E. Ambassador Navtej Sarna | publisher=Embassy of India, Washington | accessdate=8 April 2018 }}</ref>
| name = Navtej Sarna
| image = Navtej Sarna at US DOE 2017 (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| order = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by adding a number-->
| ambassador_from = Indian
| country = the United States
| term_start = November 2016
| term_end = December 2018
| predecessor = [[Arun Kumar Singh]]
| successor = [[Harsh Vardhan Shringla]]
| president = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by adding a number-->
| office1 = [[High Commission of India to the United Kingdom|High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom]]
| term_start1 = January 2016
| term_end1 = December 2016
| predecessor1 = [[Ranjan Mathai]]
| successor1 = [[Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha]]
| office2 = Ambassador of India to [[Israel]]
| term_start2 = November 2008
| term_end2 = August 2012
| predecessor2 = [[Arun Kumar Singh]]
| successor2 =
| pronunciation =
| birth_name = Navtej Singh Sarna
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1957}}
| birth_place = [[Jalandhar]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], India
| nationality = Indian
| party =
| otherparty = <!--For additional political affiliations-->
| height = <!-- "X cm", "X m" or "X ft Y in" plus optional reference (conversions are automatic) -->
| spouse =
| partner = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
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| parents = Mohinder Singh Sarna and Surjit Sarna<!-- overrides mother and father parameters -->
| mother = <!-- may be used (optionally with father parameter) in place of parents parameter (displays "Parent(s)" as label) -->
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| relatives =
| residence =
| education = B.Com Hons; LL.B.
| alma_mater = St.Joseph's Academy, Dehradun; Shriram College of Commerce; Faculty of Law, Delhi University
| occupation = Diplomat and Author
| profession =
| known_for =
| salary =
| net_worth = <!-- Net worth should be supported with a citation from a reliable source -->
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<!--Embedded templates / Footnotes-->
| module =
| footnotes =
}}


'''Navtej Singh Sarna''' (born 1957) is an Indian [[author]], [[columnist]], [[diplomat]] and former [[List of ambassadors of India to the United States|Indian Ambassador to the United States]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/navtej-sarna-appointed-indias-new-envoy-to-us/article9136128.ece|title=Navtej Sarna appointed India's new envoy to US|last=Basu|first=Nayanima|date=2016-09-22|newspaper=The Hindu Business Line|access-date=2016-11-10}}</ref> He previously served as the [[High Commission of India to the United Kingdom|High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom]], and the Ambassador to [[Israel]].<ref name=hin>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080404001456/http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/30/stories/2008033060311000.htm Navtej Sarna, envoy to Israel] ''[[The Hindu]]'', 30 March 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news18.com/news/india/new-indian-high-commissioner-to-uk-navtej-sarna-takes-charge-1188898.html|title=New Indian High Commissioner to UK Navtej Sarna takes charge|date=12 January 2016|work=News 18|accessdate=26 July 2016}}</ref> He has published three novels and many short stories and essays of literary criticism.
He was born in [[Jalandhar]], [[India]] to noted writer in Punjabi, Mohinder Singh Sarna, and graduated as a part of the 1980 Class of [[Indian Foreign Service]]. Before holding his current post, he was Joint Secretary for external publicity at the [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs]] (MEA), since October 2002,<ref>[http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/25379061.cms Navtej Sarna is new foreign office spokesman] ''[[Hindustan Times]]'', October 16, 2002.</ref> and holds the distinction of being the longest-serving spokesperson of the ministry,<ref name=hin/> and served two prime ministers, three foreign ministers and four foreign secretaries, till the end of his term in September, 2008<ref>[http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?sectionName=&id=2657c9a5-da69-4741-82ed-5f420049090d&&Headline=Navtej+Sarna+ends+tenure+on+Monday&strParent=strParentID Navtej Sarna, longest serving foreign ministry spokesman, ends tenure Monday] ''[[Hindustan Times]]'', September 14, 2008.</ref>


==Early life and career==
Previously as a diplomat served in Moscow, Warsaw, Thimphu, Geneva, Teheran and Washington, DC <ref>[http://specials.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/13chat.htm The Rediff Chat: Ambassador Navtej Sarna] ''[[Rediff.com]]''.</ref>
Navtej Singh Sarna was born in 1957 in [[Jalandhar]], [[East Punjab]], [[India]] to noted writer in Punjabi, [[Mohinder Singh Sarna]] and Punjabi poet and translator Surjit Sarna, and did his schooling from [[St. Joseph's Academy, Dehradun]]. Later he joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1980.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55043717 ''PG Wodehouse: Why India still holds a flame for the English author'', by Vincent Dowd, BBC news, 27 November 2020].</ref> He was the longest-serving spokesperson of the Indian Foreign Ministry (six years),<ref name=hin/> under two prime ministers, three foreign ministers and four foreign secretaries, till the end of his term in September, 2008.<ref>[http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?sectionName=&id=2657c9a5-da69-4741-82ed-5f420049090d&&Headline=Navtej+Sarna+ends+tenure+on+Monday&strParent=strParentID Navtej Sarna, longest serving foreign ministry spokesman, ends tenure Monday]{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} ''[[Hindustan Times]]'', 14 September 2008.</ref>


Previously as a diplomat served in Moscow, Warsaw, Thimphu, Geneva, Teheran and Washington, DC.<ref>[http://specials.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/13chat.htm The Rediff Chat: Ambassador Navtej Sarna] ''[[Rediff.com]]''.</ref> He served as India's ambassador to Israel from 2008 to 2012, High Commissioner to the UK 2016 and as India's ambassador to the United States from November 2016 to December 2018 and retired from the [[Indian Foreign Service]] on 31 December 2018, after serving his country for over 36 years.
He also writes short stories, and book reviews. His first novel published was ''[[We Weren't Lovers Like That]]'' in 2003,<ref name=dip>[http://www.hindu.com/lr/2004/01/04/stories/2004010400020100.htm Diplomat into novelist] ''[[The Hindu]]'',January 4, 2004.</ref> followed by The Book of Nanak in the same year, his latest, ''The Exile'', published in 2008, is based on the life of [[Duleep Singh]], the last Maharaja of Lahore, and son Raja [[Ranjit Singh]].<ref>[http://specials.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/15sl1.htm The Exile: A maharaja's tragic journey] ''[[Rediff.com]]'', October 15, 2008.</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Writing career==
Navtej Sarna's first novel published was ''We Weren't Lovers Like That'' in 2003,<ref name=dip>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040717174841/http://www.hindu.com/lr/2004/01/04/stories/2004010400020100.htm Diplomat into novelist] ''[[The Hindu]]'', 4 January 2004.</ref> followed by ''The Book of Nanak'' was published in the same year. ''The Exile'', published in 2008, is a novel based on the life of [[Duleep Singh]], the last Maharaja of the [[Sikh Empire]], and son of Maharaja [[Ranjit Singh]].<ref>[http://specials.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/15sl1.htm The Exile: A maharaja's tragic journey] ''[[Rediff.com]]'', 15 October 2008.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Singh |first=Sakoon N. |date=Spring 2024 |title=The Conversion and “Education” of Duleep Singh in Navtej Sarna’s The Exile and Lady Login’s Sir John Login and Duleep Singh |journal=dialog |volume=43 |pages=264-79}}</ref> His short stories which appeared earlier in the ''London Magazine'' and broadcast over BBC have been put together in the collection 'Winter Evenings.' He translated the 'Zafarnama', the letter written in Persian verse by Guru Gobind Singh to emperor Aurungzeb. 'Savage Harvest' is Sarna's translation of thirty of his father's short stories on the [[partition of India]] from Punjabi to English. Sarna has also contributed extensively to journals and newspapers in India and abroad including The Financial Times, Times Literary Supplement, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, etc. His literary columns written over seven years for The Hindu have now appeared as a book entitled 'Second Thoughts on Books, Authors and the Writerly Life.'
* ''Folk Tales of Poland'', Sterling Publications, 1991. ISBN 81-207-1072-X.<ref name=dip/>
* ''We Weren't Lovers Like That''. Penguin, May 2003. ISBN 0-14-302961-4.
* ''The Book of Nanak'', Penguin, September 2003. ISBN 0-670-04978-6.<ref>[http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/Authordetail.aspx?AuthID=4271 Navtej Sarna] [[Penguin]]''.</ref>
* ''The Exile''. Penguin, 2008. ISBN 978-0-670-08208-7.


In 2022, he wrote Crimson Spring, on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He appeared on The Literary City with [[Ramjee Chandran]] podcast to talk about his book.
===Within anthologies===

* ''Journeys : Heroes, Pilgrims, Explores'', edited by Geeti Sen and Molly Kaushal. New Delhi, Penguin, 2004. ISBN 0-670-05796-7. ''2. And the Baba went along the way, by Navtej Sarna''.
==Personal life==
* ''The Harper Collins Book of New Indian Fiction : Contemporary Writing in English'', edited by [[Khushwant Singh]]. New Delhi, Harper Collins, 2005, . ISBN 81-7223-584-4. ''5. Madame Kitty by Navtej Sarna''.
Ambassador Sarna speaks English, Hindi and Punjabi and also has knowledge of Russian and Polish. He is married to Dr. Avina Sarna and has one son and one daughter.<ref>[https://www.indianembassy.org/pages.php?id=169 H.E. Ambassador Navtej Sarna], 15 October 2008.</ref>

==Publications==
* ''Folk Tales of Poland'', Sterling Publications, 1991. {{ISBN|81-207-1072-X}}.<ref name=dip/>
* ''We Weren't Lovers Like That''. Penguin, May 2003. {{ISBN|0-14-302961-4}}.
* ''The Book of Nanak'', Penguin, September 2003. {{ISBN|0-670-04978-6}}.<ref>[http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/Authordetail.aspx?AuthID=4271 Navtej Sarna] [[Penguin Books|Penguin]].</ref>
* ''The Exile''. Penguin, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-670-08208-7}}.
* 'Zafarnama'- a translation, Penguin 2011
* 'Winter Evenings'- a collection of short stories, Rupa Rainlight 2012
* 'Savage Harvest'- a translation of partition stories of Mohinder Singh Sarna, Rupa 2013.
* 'Indians at Herod's Gate'- a Jerusalem narrative, Rupa Rainlight 2014.
* 'Second Thoughts- on books, authors and the writerly life'- HarperCollins 2015

==Within anthologies==

* ''Journeys : Heroes, Pilgrims, Explores'', edited by Geeti Sen and Molly Kaushal. New Delhi, Penguin, 2004. {{ISBN|0-670-05796-7}}. ''2. And the Baba went along the way, by Navtej Sarna''.
* ''The Harper Collins Book of New Indian Fiction : Contemporary Writing in English'', edited by [[Khushwant Singh]]. New Delhi, HarperCollins, 2005. {{ISBN|81-7223-584-4}}. ''5. Madame Kitty by Navtej Sarna''.
* 'Signals', a London Magazine anthology, UK

==See also==
*[[Harsh Vardhan Shringla|Harsh V Shringla]]
*[[Vijay Keshav Gokhale|Vijay Gokhale]]
*[[Taranjit Singh Sandhu]]
*[[Subrahmanyam Jaishankar|Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar]]


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.navtejsarna.com/bio.htm Biography - Official website]
* [http://www.navtejsarna.com/bio.htm Biography - Official website]
* {{IMDb name|1507005}}
* {{IMDb name|1507005}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->

| NAME = Sarna, Navtej
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH =
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarna, Navtej}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarna, Navtej}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian diplomats]]
[[Category:Punjabi Sikhs]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Israel]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Israel]]
[[Category:Indian writers]]
[[Category:High commissioners of India to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to the United States]]

[[Category:Indian Foreign Service officers]]
{{Asia-diplomat-stub}}
[[Category:Indian columnists]]
[[Category:Punjabi-language writers]]
[[Category:Indian historical novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:People from Jalandhar]]
[[Category:Novelists from Punjab, India]]

Latest revision as of 05:53, 19 December 2024

His Excellency[1]
Navtej Sarna
Indian Ambassador to the United States
In office
November 2016 – December 2018
Preceded byArun Kumar Singh
Succeeded byHarsh Vardhan Shringla
High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom
In office
January 2016 – December 2016
Preceded byRanjan Mathai
Succeeded byYashvardhan Kumar Sinha
Ambassador of India to Israel
In office
November 2008 – August 2012
Preceded byArun Kumar Singh
Personal details
Born
Navtej Singh Sarna

1957 (age 66–67)
Jalandhar, Punjab, India
Parent(s)Mohinder Singh Sarna and Surjit Sarna
EducationB.Com Hons; LL.B.
Alma materSt.Joseph's Academy, Dehradun; Shriram College of Commerce; Faculty of Law, Delhi University
OccupationDiplomat and Author

Navtej Singh Sarna (born 1957) is an Indian author, columnist, diplomat and former Indian Ambassador to the United States.[2] He previously served as the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, and the Ambassador to Israel.[3][4] He has published three novels and many short stories and essays of literary criticism.

Early life and career

[edit]

Navtej Singh Sarna was born in 1957 in Jalandhar, East Punjab, India to noted writer in Punjabi, Mohinder Singh Sarna and Punjabi poet and translator Surjit Sarna, and did his schooling from St. Joseph's Academy, Dehradun. Later he joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1980.[5] He was the longest-serving spokesperson of the Indian Foreign Ministry (six years),[3] under two prime ministers, three foreign ministers and four foreign secretaries, till the end of his term in September, 2008.[6]

Previously as a diplomat served in Moscow, Warsaw, Thimphu, Geneva, Teheran and Washington, DC.[7] He served as India's ambassador to Israel from 2008 to 2012, High Commissioner to the UK 2016 and as India's ambassador to the United States from November 2016 to December 2018 and retired from the Indian Foreign Service on 31 December 2018, after serving his country for over 36 years.

Writing career

[edit]

Navtej Sarna's first novel published was We Weren't Lovers Like That in 2003,[8] followed by The Book of Nanak was published in the same year. The Exile, published in 2008, is a novel based on the life of Duleep Singh, the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, and son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.[9][10] His short stories which appeared earlier in the London Magazine and broadcast over BBC have been put together in the collection 'Winter Evenings.' He translated the 'Zafarnama', the letter written in Persian verse by Guru Gobind Singh to emperor Aurungzeb. 'Savage Harvest' is Sarna's translation of thirty of his father's short stories on the partition of India from Punjabi to English. Sarna has also contributed extensively to journals and newspapers in India and abroad including The Financial Times, Times Literary Supplement, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, etc. His literary columns written over seven years for The Hindu have now appeared as a book entitled 'Second Thoughts on Books, Authors and the Writerly Life.'

In 2022, he wrote Crimson Spring, on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He appeared on The Literary City with Ramjee Chandran podcast to talk about his book.

Personal life

[edit]

Ambassador Sarna speaks English, Hindi and Punjabi and also has knowledge of Russian and Polish. He is married to Dr. Avina Sarna and has one son and one daughter.[11]

Publications

[edit]
  • Folk Tales of Poland, Sterling Publications, 1991. ISBN 81-207-1072-X.[8]
  • We Weren't Lovers Like That. Penguin, May 2003. ISBN 0-14-302961-4.
  • The Book of Nanak, Penguin, September 2003. ISBN 0-670-04978-6.[12]
  • The Exile. Penguin, 2008. ISBN 978-0-670-08208-7.
  • 'Zafarnama'- a translation, Penguin 2011
  • 'Winter Evenings'- a collection of short stories, Rupa Rainlight 2012
  • 'Savage Harvest'- a translation of partition stories of Mohinder Singh Sarna, Rupa 2013.
  • 'Indians at Herod's Gate'- a Jerusalem narrative, Rupa Rainlight 2014.
  • 'Second Thoughts- on books, authors and the writerly life'- HarperCollins 2015

Within anthologies

[edit]
  • Journeys : Heroes, Pilgrims, Explores, edited by Geeti Sen and Molly Kaushal. New Delhi, Penguin, 2004. ISBN 0-670-05796-7. 2. And the Baba went along the way, by Navtej Sarna.
  • The Harper Collins Book of New Indian Fiction : Contemporary Writing in English, edited by Khushwant Singh. New Delhi, HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 81-7223-584-4. 5. Madame Kitty by Navtej Sarna.
  • 'Signals', a London Magazine anthology, UK

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "H. E. Ambassador Navtej Sarna". Embassy of India, Washington. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  2. ^ Basu, Nayanima (22 September 2016). "Navtej Sarna appointed India's new envoy to US". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b Navtej Sarna, envoy to Israel The Hindu, 30 March 2008.
  4. ^ "New Indian High Commissioner to UK Navtej Sarna takes charge". News 18. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  5. ^ PG Wodehouse: Why India still holds a flame for the English author, by Vincent Dowd, BBC news, 27 November 2020.
  6. ^ Navtej Sarna, longest serving foreign ministry spokesman, ends tenure Monday[dead link‍] Hindustan Times, 14 September 2008.
  7. ^ The Rediff Chat: Ambassador Navtej Sarna Rediff.com.
  8. ^ a b Diplomat into novelist The Hindu, 4 January 2004.
  9. ^ The Exile: A maharaja's tragic journey Rediff.com, 15 October 2008.
  10. ^ Singh, Sakoon N. (Spring 2024). "The Conversion and "Education" of Duleep Singh in Navtej Sarna's The Exile and Lady Login's Sir John Login and Duleep Singh". dialog. 43: 264–79.
  11. ^ H.E. Ambassador Navtej Sarna, 15 October 2008.
  12. ^ Navtej Sarna Penguin.
[edit]
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