User:Wvik/sandbox

Shrinivas Sohoni

Shrinivas Sohoni (9 August, 1946-) is a member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) retired, 1970 batch from the Maharashtra cadre. He is the son of Dr. Shridhar Vasudev Sohoni. After an illustrious career in the IAS where he served as Secretary to the Governor of Maharashtra, Secretary to the President of India with Cabinet Secretary rank and Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha, amongst other assignments, he retired in 1998 amid a court case he filed against the then Vice President of India Krishna Kant's decision to supersede him as Secretary General with another appointee. The High Court of Delhi upheld his case and after winning the High Court case, Sohoni retired from the position.

From 2007 through 2013, Sohoni was Senior Advisor to the President of Afghanistan. He therefore spent over 7 years living in Kabul, Afghanistan. He is an expert on Afghanistan and Indian foreign policy relating to the Afghan region including Pakistan. He has given several speeches and written extensively about the implications of AfPak policy on India over the last several years. He is also a published author having written two books - the Charkha and the Rose (about letters between Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru) and the Prithvi Sukta, a translation into English of the Hymn to the Earth from the Rig Veda, as well as several articles for leading national and local newspapers and websites.

Views on AfPak policy
Mr. Sohoni's view on India's policies regarding Pakistan are shaped by a foundational belief that the principle aim of GHQ Rawalpindi is the dismemberment of India.

In several speeches including to large audiences, Sohoni has outlined the modern philosophy of Hindavi Swarajya, coined by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, as a way of combating Islamic radicalism and terrorism in India.

He was also quoted in a Wikileaks cable on his advice on Parliamentary procedure in Afghanistan.

Personal life
Sohoni has been married to his wife Radhika Sohoni since 1975. They have two children, Vikram Sohoni who is a Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company and Priyanka Sohoni, an officer in the Indian Foreign Service.