Maxlogistic at 06:52, 19 April 2026

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{{Short description|Punjabi Indian diplomat (1915–2003)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai
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| birth_date = 30 March 1915
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| death_date = 2003
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| office = [[Chief secretary (India)|Chief Secretary]] of [[East Punjab]]<br />[[Chief secretary (India)|Chief Secretary]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]<br />Special Secretary in the [[Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas|Ministry of Petroleum]]
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| spouse = {{marriage|[[Nayantara Sahgal]]|1979}}
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'''Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai''' (30 March 1915 – 2003) was a Punjabi Indian Christian diplomat who served as the [[Chief secretary (India)|Chief Secretary]] of [[East Punjab]] from 1957 to 1962 and the [[Chief secretary (India)|Chief Secretary]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] from 1964 to 1966, among holding other government positions in colonial India and independent India.<ref name="Bangash2020">{{cite web |last1=Bangash |first1=Yaqoob Khan |title=When Christians were partitioned in the Punjab-IV |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/593471-whenchristians-were-partitioned-in-the-punjab-iv |work=[[The News International]] |access-date=10 January 2023 |language=English |date=5 January 2020}}</ref> Receiving an education in both India and England, Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai was a member of the [[Indian Civil Service]].<ref name="Bangash2020"/> During his tenure as the Chief Secretary of East Punjab, Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai was instrumental in designing the city of [[Chandigarh]].<ref name="Bangash2020"/>

== Early life and education ==
Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai was born on 30 March 1915 to [[Dora Chatterjee]] and Rai Sahib Mangat Rai, with his family hailing from [[Multan]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[colonial India]].<ref name="Bangash2020"/> The Mangat Rais settled in [[Abbottabad]], [[North-West Frontier Province]], colonial India.<ref name="Bangash2020"/> Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai belonged to a Punjabi family of the [[Khatri]] caste who adhered to the [[Christianity|Christian]] religion.<ref name="Bangash2020"/><ref name="Singh2003">{{cite web |author=[[Khushwant Singh]] | title=Love in times of war | url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030215/windows/above.htm | work=[[The Tribune (India)|The Tribune]] | access-date=11 January 2023 | language=English | date=15 February 2003 }}</ref><ref name="Parimoo2019"/> Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai's maternal grandfather Kali Charan Chatterji was a [[Bengali Christians|Bengali Christian]] of the Brahmin caste.<ref name="Parimoo2019"/> His siblings included Charles Rajinder Mangat Rai, who later served as a [[Brigadier (India)|Brigadier]] in the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]], Priobala Mangat Rai, who served as the principal of [[Kinnaird College]] in Lahore, and Leena Sushiela, who married Arthur Lall, a [[Punjabi Christian]] who belonged to the Indian Civil Service and represented India at the [[United Nations]].<ref name="Singh2003"/> In Abbottabad, Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai was educated, after which he subsequently studied in [[St. Stephen's College, Delhi|St. Stephen's College]] in Delhi, where he earned a B.A and M.A. in History.<ref name="Parimoo2019"/> He then studied at the [[Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College]] in [[Dehra Dun]].<ref name="Bangash2020"/> He was academically astute and "carried away just about every academic prize in his class", according to his classmate and renowned diplomat [[Khushwant Singh]].<ref name="Singh2003"/>

At the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College, he sat for the [[Civil Services Examination]] to join the [[Indian Civil Service]].<ref name="Bangash2020"/> After clearing the exam, Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai completed his probationary year at [[Keble College, Oxford]], a constituent college of the [[University of Oxford]], England.<ref name="Bangash2020"/> There, he was the only student out of both Indians and Britons, "who scored full marks in English essay: 200 out of 200."<ref name="Singh2003"/>

== Career ==
Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai returned to India in October, 1938.<ref name="Bangash2020"/> In the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]] of British India, Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai served in various government roles, including being the director of the [[Civil Supplies Department]] by 1947.<ref name="Bangash2020"/> At the time of the [[partition of India]] in 1947, Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai opted for independent India, stating: "For a Christian, the choice between Pakistan and India was genuine, for he did not, by virtue of his religious label fall automatically within one fold or another. … Yet, as it was inevitable, when the choice was put to us in the form of either/or, many of us debated and considered an assessment of the future shape of things. … I myself had no doubt whatever that I would opt for India, and not for Pakistan."<ref name="Bangash2020"/>

In [[East Punjab]] in independent India, Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai served as the Finance Secretary and later, the Planning and Development Commissioner.<ref name="Bangash2020"/> He served as the [[Chief secretary (India)|Chief Secretary]] of East Punjab from 1957 to 1962 and during his tenure, Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai, along with [[Partap Singh Kairon]], was instrumental in designing the city of [[Chandigarh]].<ref name="Bangash2020"/>

From 1964 to 1966, Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai served as the [[Chief secretary (India)|Chief Secretary]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] under the leadership of [[Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq]].<ref name="Bangash2020"/>

He subsequently served as the Special Secretary in the [[Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas|Ministry of Petroleum]] at Delhi.<ref name="Bangash2020"/><ref name="Singh2003"/>

Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai died in 2003.<ref name="Parimoo2019">{{cite web | author=Bhushan Parimoo | title=Remembering Ex-Chief Secretary EN Mangat Rai & His Plaudit for Jammu | url=https://www.thedispatch.in/remembering-ex-chief-secretary-en-mangat-rai-his-plaudit-for-jammu/ | website=www.thedispatch.in | publisher=The Dispatch | access-date=11 January 2023 | language=English |date=2 June 2019 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Politicians from Multan]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:Indian Protestants]]
[[Category:Alumni of Keble College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Rashtriya Indian Military College alumni]]
[[Category:People from Abbottabad]]
[[Category:Indian Civil Service (British India) officers]]
[[Category:People from Punjab Province (British India)]]
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]

Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai - Revision history

Maxlogistic at 06:52, 19 April 2026