>Fylindfotberserk at 16:11, 16 April 2021

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{{short description|19th Chief Election Commissioner of India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Harishankar Brahma
|image = File:The Chief Election Commissioner, Shri H.S. Bramha addressing a Curtain Raiser Press Conference on the project of seeding of Aadhar with Electoral Roll database, in New Delhi on February 26, 2015 (cropped).jpg
|office = 19th [[Chief Election Commissioner of India]]
|term_start = 16 January 2015 <ref name="Shri H.S.Brahma - Profile"/>
|term_end = 19 April 2015 <ref name="Shri H.S.Brahma - Profile"/>
|president = [[Pranab Mukherjee]]
|primeminister = [[Narendra Modi]]
|predecessor = [[V. S. Sampath]]
|successor = [[Nasim Zaidi]]
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1950|4|19}}<ref name="Shri H.S.Brahma - Profile"/>
|birth_place = [[Gossaigaon]], [[Assam]]<ref name=BS/>
|profession = [[Civil service|Civil servant]]
|alma_mater = [[St. Edmund's College, Shillong]] (BA)<br>[[Gauhati University]] (MA)
}}

'''Harishankar Brahma''' (born 19 April 1950<ref name="Shri H.S.Brahma - Profile">{{cite web|title=Shri H.S.Brahma - Profile|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/ecb.aspx|publisher=Election Commission of India|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106230949/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/ecb.aspx |archive-date=6 November 2014 |access-date=6 March 2019}}</ref>) served as 19th [[Chief Election Commissioner of India]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=PTI |title=India has nearly 83 crore voters: Brahma |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-has-nearly-83-crore-voters-brahma/article6805508.ece |access-date=16 April 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=20 January 2015 |language=en-IN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Harishankar Brahma: H S Brahma to be India's next Chief Election Commissioner |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/H-S-Brahma-to-be-Indias-next-Chief-Election-Commissioner/articleshow/45886967.cms |access-date=16 April 2021 |work=The Times of India |date=14 January 2015 |language=en}}</ref> He is a retired [[I.A.S.]] officer of 1975 batch from the [[Andhra Pradesh]] [[En cadre|cadre]]<ref name="Harishankar Brahma new Election Commissioner">{{cite news|title=Harishankar Brahma new Election Commissioner |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/latest-news/Harishankar-Brahma-new-Election-Commissioner/articleshow/6428483.cms |work=[[The Economic Times]] |date=24 August 2010 |access-date=10 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828042256/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/latest-news/Harishankar-Brahma-new-Election-Commissioner/articleshow/6428483.cms |archive-date=28 August 2010 }}</ref>

Mr. Brahma, who retired as the Union Power Secretary in April 2010,<ref>{{cite news |title=REC chief to be power secretary |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-05-01/india-business/28273983_1_coal-supply-power-secretary-power-stations |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707083750/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-05-01/india-business/28273983_1_coal-supply-power-secretary-power-stations |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 July 2012 |work=[[The Times of India]] |date= 1 May 2010|access-date=10 October 2011 }}</ref> held office till 18 April 2015. He is second person from the North-East to become an Election Commissioner, after [[J. M. Lyngdoh]].<ref name="Harishankar Brahma new Election Commissioner"/>

==Early life and education==
Born in a [[Bodo people|Bodo]] family in [[Gossaigaon]], [[Kokrajhar district]], Assam on 19 April 1950, he completed his post graduation in Political Science from [[Gauhati University]] and graduated from [[St. Edmund's College, Shillong]]. He did his schooling from Don Bosco School, Guwahati. He is a 1975 [[Indian Administrative Service]] officer belonging to the [[Andhra Pradesh]] cadre<ref name="eci.nic.in">{{cite web|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/ecb.aspx|title=Election Commission of India|work=eci.nic.in}}</ref><ref name=BS>{{cite news |title=BS People: Hari Shankar Brahma, election commissioner |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/bs-people-hari-shankar-brahma-election-commissioner-110100100012_1.html |date=21 January 2013 |access-date=6 March 2019 |work=[[Business Standard]] |author=Jyoti Mukul}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Assam Tribune Online |url=http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jan1915/state051 |access-date=24 January 2020 |work=www.assamtribune.com |date=19 January 2015}}</ref>

==Career==
Harishankar Brahma has held various senior level posts in the [[Government of India]] and [[State governments of India|State Government]] prior to the present posting. Before retiring as Secretary from the [[Ministry of Power (India)|Ministry of Power]], Shri Brahma held posts such as Joint Secretary (Border Management) for more than four years and completed almost all the border fencing and other border infrastructural work on Indo-Pak – Indo-Bangladesh border. He also worked as Special Secretary & Additional Secretary in National Disaster Management Authority ([[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]]). He was the Member-Secretary of the State Electricity Board, Andhra Pradesh and also worked as:
* District Collector & Magistrate for 4 years;
* Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad for 3 and a half years;
* Commissioner (Transport) & Ex-officio Secretary (Transport, Road & Building), Government of Andhra Pradesh for 2 and a half years;
* Commissioner & Ex-officio Secretary (Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs) for 5 years; and
* Principal Secretary (Environment, Forest, Science & Technology), Government of Andhra Pradesh.<ref name="eci.nic.in"/>
He was appointed as the election commissioner in August 2010. He has overseen two Lok Sabha elections and at least one round of Assembly elections in every state.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sriram|first1=Jayant|title=Brahma to be new CEC|publisher=The Hindu|date=15 January 2015}}</ref>

== Views on 2012 Assam violence ==

In an article in [[The Indian Express]] on 28 July 2012, he blamed [[illegal immigration in India|illegal immigration]] from [[Bangladesh]] for the [[2012 Assam violence]].<ref name="telegraphindia1">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120803/jsp/opinion/story_15804467.jsp |title=Twist in the tale |publisher=Telegraphindia.com |date=3 August 2012 |access-date=9 August 2012 |location=Calcutta, India |first=Swapan |last=Dasgupta}}</ref> He mentioned that even Election Commission is faced with this problem by saying, "Even the Election Commission of India is not immune to this problem. It has to tackle the problem of D-Voters (doubtful voters), numbering approximately 1.5 lakh, while preparing the electoral rolls of Assam. The subject matter is sub-judice. This also poses a very serious security threat to the country. It is advisable that these pending cases lying in various courts and tribunals be disposed of quickly and within a definite timeframe. People who are found to be illegal migrants by these tribunals should be deported. Unless this basic issue of illegal migration into the country is resolved, the problem is bound to recur from time to time and in place to place."<ref name="indianexpress1">{{cite web|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/how-to-share-assam/980438/0 |title=How to share Assam |publisher=Indian Express |date=28 July 2012 |access-date=9 August 2012}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{commons|Category:Harishankar Brahma}}
{{Chief Election Commissioners of India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brahma, Harishankar}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Chief Election Commissioners of India]]
[[Category:Politicians from Guwahati]]
[[Category:Don Bosco schools alumni]]
[[Category:Bodo people]]

Harishankar Brahma - Revision history

>Fylindfotberserk at 16:11, 16 April 2021