Former Indian envoy to the US joins BJP: Who is Taranjit Singh Sandhu?

Joining an exclusive club of ex-diplomats who made the switch to politics under the Narendra Modi government, former Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Tuesday joined the BJP. Like him, Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and S Jaishankar are also former diplomats.

Sandhu is a 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer and the grandson of former Congress leader and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) founder member Teja Singh Samundri. Having retired on February 1, Sandhu began interacting with people from all walks of life in Amritsar from February 23 onwards, his grandfather’s birth anniversary. This sparked speculation about his entry into politics.

He is the first person from his family since his grandfather, who was jailed by the British for his role in the Gurdwara Reform Movement and Civil Disobedience Movement, to join politics.

Born on January 23, 1963, Sandhu is a career diplomat who served in the US on three occasions. He was a junior diplomat in the 1990s during the Pokhran tests and later went on to serve as Deputy Chief of Mission and Ambassador. Sandhu is credited with playing a significant role in warming up New Delhi’s relations with Washington, DC, which had soured after the 1998 Pokhran nuclear test. As First Secretary (political) in the Indian Embassy, he was a key figure when the US Congress passed a resolution condemning Pakistan’s role in the Kargil war.

Sandhu is known for his network in the US political and administrative set-up across party lines, be it the Democrats or Republicans. He is said to have played a key role in organising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US in June last year and US President Joe Biden’s India visit in September. During