List of High Commissioners of India to the United Kingdom


The High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom is the head of the High Commission of India to the United Kingdom. The High Commission is located at India House in London.

History

In 1919, a committee chaired by the Marquess of Crewe determined there existed the need to separate the agency work of the India Office from its other political and administrative roles, and recommended the transfer of all such work to "a High Commissioner for India or some similar Indian Governmental Representative in London." It was also felt popular opinion in India would view this as a step towards full Dominion status for India. The Government of India Act that same year upheld the recommendations of the committee, making provision for "the appointment of a High Commissioner by His Majesty by Order in Council, which might delegate to the official any of the contractual powers of the Secretary of State in Council, and prescribe the conditions under which he should act on behalf of the Government of India or any Provincial Government."
On 13 August 1920, King-Emperor George V issued the required Order in Council. Until India became independent in 1947, the post was styled High Commission for India. The first High Commissioner for India was Indian Civil Service officer Sir William Stevenson Meyer; the first of Indian origin was Sir Dadiba Merwanji Dalal. The High Commissioner enjoyed the same status as his counterparts from the British Dominions. Upon Indian independence, the post was given the present designation.

High Commissioners for British India (1920-1947)

List of High Commissioner to British India
NamePortraitEntered officeLeft officeNotes
Sir William Stevenson Meyer GCIE, KCSISeptember 1920October 1922
J. W. Bhore CBEOctober 1922April 1923'
Sir Dadiba Merwanji Dalal CIEApril 1923December 1924First High Commissioner of Indian origin
Sir Atul Chandra Chatterjee KCSI, KCIE19251931
Sir Bhupendra Nath Mitra KCSI, KCIE, CBE19311936
Malik Sir Feroz Khan Noon KCSI, KCIE, Kt.1936December 1941
Khan Bahadur Maulvi Sir Muhammad Aziz-ul-Haq CIEDecember 1941May 1943
Dewan Bahadur Sir Samuel Ebenezer RunganadhanMay 1943April 1947
M. K. Vellodi CIEApril 1947August 1947'

High Commissioners of India to the United Kingdom (1947-present)

List of former High Commissioners

Dominion of India (1947-1950)

List of former High Commissioners
NamePortraitEntered officeLeft officeNotes
V. K. Krishna MenonAugust 194726 January 1950

Republic of India (1950-present)

NamePortraitEntered officeLeft officeNotes
V. K. Krishna Menon26 January 19501952First High Commissioner of the Republic of India
B. G. Kher19521954
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit19541961
M. C. Chagla19621963
Jivraj Narayan Mehta19631966
S. S. Dhawan19681969
Appa B. Pant15 September 196912 October 1972
Braj Kumar Nehru19731977
N. G. Gore19771979
V.A. Seyid Muhammad19801984
P. MehrotraJuly 1984December 1984
P. C. Alexander19851987
Maharaja Krishna Rasgotra19881990
Kuldip NayarMarch 1990November 1990
Laxmi Mall Singhvi19911997
Salman HaidarJanuary 1998July 1998
Lalit Mansingh19981999
Nareshwar Dayal20002002
Ronen SenMay 2002April 2004
Kamalesh SharmaJuly 2004January 2008
Shiv Shankar MukherjeeJanuary 2008August 2009
Nalin SurieSeptember 2009August 2011
Jaimini BhagwatiFebruary 2012December 2013
Ranjan MathaiDecember 2013December 2015
Navtej SarnaJanuary 2016December 2016
Yashvardhan Kumar SinhaDecember 2016October 2018
Ruchi GhanashyamNovember 20182 June 2020She is the only second Women High Commissioner to UK since 1947 after Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Gaitri Issar Kumar3 June 2020Incumbent