Shakti Sinha: The celebrated bureaucrat from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee era will always be remembered

An era ended with the sudden demise of the brightest sun of administrative service– Shakti Sinha. Former IAS officer and private secretary to the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shakti Sinha died at the age of 64 on Monday.

Sources close to Sinha’s family asserted, “He was talking to his family till 2 am. When he didn’t get up till 11 am, family members tried to wake him up only to find he was no more.”

Condolence pours in over Shakti  Sinha’s death

Soon after the news of his demise broke out in the media, several leaders began pouring in condolence tweets.

• BJP leader Ram Madhav tweeted, “Shocked to hear about Shakti Sinha’s demise. He was a member of the Governing Board of India Foundation and was scheduled to address a conference going on at Leh this afternoon.” In a Facebook post, Madhav said, “Shakti returned from Russia last week and was having some health issues but not really serious to take his life.

• Ajay Singh, Press Secretary to President Ram NathKovind, also tweeted, “How fragile the life is! Met Shakti Sinhaji only yesterday and had a long and enriching interaction…”

• The Press Club Of India also tweeted, “The Press Club of India is shocked at the untimely passing of Shakti Sinha, former bureaucrat and Director of Nehru Memorial Library and Museum at Teen Murti, academician and author. MrSinha was part of a PCI discussion just a few days ago. We mourn his untimely demise.”

Shakti Sinha: the close aid of Atal Bihari Vajpayee

It was in 1980, that is, before Shakti Sinha was appointed to the Prime Minister’s Office when he first met Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was fond of the former Prime Minister’s ideology and speeches, and he had always been a huge admirer of Vajpayee.

Sinha, an IAS officer from the 1979 batch, was involved in setting up two institutions; Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International Studies, at MS University, Vadodara and Delhi School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Delhi.

He has also authored a book on Atal Bihari Vajpayee titled ‘Vajpayee: The Years That Changed India’ in which he has described the period where he worked as the personal secretary of the former Prime Minister of India.

Sinha, a firm promoter of the administrative area was not only an efficient administrative officer but also a phenomenal writer and educationist. Despite being multi-dimensional, the way he embraced enormity with kindness is incomparable.

The 64-year-old was an honorary director at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International Studies at MS University, Vadodara and was also involved in setting up the Delhi School of Public Policy and Governance at Delhi University. He previously served as Director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.