Former Chief Election Commissioner, Civil Servant
Author of an International Bestseller and Columnist
Navin B Chawla joined the prestigious
Indian Administrative Service in 1969. He enjoyed a distinguished 35-year civil
service career. He rose to the rank of Special Secretary in the Ministry of
Environment and Forests. He was then appointed Secretary in the Department of
Consumer Affairs, before taking on the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
in 2004. In 2005 he was appointed Election Commissioner. In April 2009, he was
appointed a India’s 16th Chief Election Commissioner. During his tenure he
successfully completed, to national and international acclaim, the General
Elections in April-May 2009.
He was privileged to have a 23-year long association with Mother
Teresa. Although not of her faith (she a most devoted Catholic, while he is a
practising Hindu), she reposed her confidence in him from the time she met him
till the very end). He wrote her best-selling biography in 1992. The royalties
are largely donated to the Missionaries of Charity or to The Lepra India Trust
that he set up in 2006, to look after leprosy and disability related causes.
(“see “The Lepra India Trust” and “Darshan”
Mother Teresa (Missionaries of Charity)
by Navin Chawla
The acclaimed biography of the most famous and admired woman in the world. 'Chawla's book is one written from the heart.' - The Pioneer
'Chawla write[s] clear-headedly about Mother Teresa's failings, such as leaving donations unacknowledged … [Mother Teresa's] negative side is minute compared to the vast ocean of charity she has dispensed to the poor—without any discrimination … This non-exclusivity, in a world torn by religious intolerance, is the real message I took from this book.'— Lady Antonia Fraser
Navin Chawla , who is already the Visitor's (President of India) nominee on the Executive Council, Delhi University, has w.e.f. 30 July 2015 been appointed as the Chairman of Governing Body of College of Vocational Studies, New Delhi for a period of one year
