James Michael Lyngdoh
| J.M. Lyngdoh | |
|---|---|
| Chief Election Commissioner of India | |
|
In office 14 June 2001 – 7 February 2004 |
|
| Preceded by | M.S.Gill |
| Succeeded by | T.S. Krishnamurthy |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | civil servant |
| Awards | Ramon Magsaysay Award 2003 Government Service |
James Michael Lyngdoh is an Indian civil servant and was Chief Election Commissioner of India from 14 June 2001 to 7 February 2004. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 2003.
Of Khasi origin, Lyngdoh hails from the northeastern state of Meghalaya. He did his schooling from St. Edmund's School, Shillong. Lyngdoh is the son of a district judge.
Lyngdoh completed his education in Delhi, at St Stephen's College.
Lyngdoh entered the IAS, when he was twenty-two. He quickly became known for probity and toughness and for favouring the underdog against politicians and the local rich. In one early post, his principled execution of mandated land reforms so enraged landlords that he was transferred before the year was out., . Similar clashes with the powers-that-be marked his rise in the Service.., But rise he did, eventually serving as Secretary, Coordination and Public Grievances, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India.
In 1997, the president named Lyngdoh one of India's three election commissioners. By 2001 he was chief election officer. Lyngdoh soon faced crises in two of India's most troubled states.
In July 2002, S S Bhandari, Governor of Gujarat on the recommendation of State Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Narendra Modi, dissolved the Gujarat Assembly nine months before its term was due to end. The decision, attacked by main Opposition Congress and Left parties, was seen as an attempt to force the Election Commission to hold early elections in view of the Constitutional mandate prohibiting a more than six-month gap between two sessions of the House. The dissolution of the assembly had been publicly opposed by the Election Commission in wake of the then recent communal violence in the state. The Election Commission headed by Lyngdoh, however, ruled out early elections in Gujarat. On 20 August 2002, in a public meeting at Bodeli, near Vadodara, Narendra Modi targeted Chief Election Commissioner JM Lyngdoh. Modi insinuated that the reason the Election Commission had delayed holding the Gujarat assembly elections was because Lyngdoh was a Christian. Narendra Modi used to quote his full name James Michael Lyngdoh in press conferences, public meetings, etc., to highlight his religious background. Lyngdoh had hit back at Narendra Modi for attacking him on religious grounds saying it was "quite despicable" and "gossip of menials" by those who have not heard of atheism. A day after Prime Minister Vajapayee's rebuke, Modi claimed that the controversy with Lyngdoh was over following Vajpayee's "guidelines" but reiterated his demand for early assembly elections in Gujarat. In October 2002, the Indian Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission's order to defer assembly elections in Gujarat.
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