By The Political Editor Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu is tipped to be appointed the Indian Ambassador to the US while Gopal Bagley is to be appointed Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. Before taking over as the High Commissioner for Indian in Sri Lanka in 2017, Sandhu served as the Head of the Political Wing in the Indian High Commission in Colombo from December 2000 to September 2004. Hence, Sri Lanka was no strange place for Sandhu, who had a good sense of Sri Lanka’s political diagram. However, Sandhu’s term in Sri Lanka as the Indian High Commissioner would be remembered for his successful efforts that managed to place Indo-Lanka ties on a growth path after relations between the two countries soured during the second term of the former Mahinda Rajapaksa regime between 2010 and 2014. During the period of 2010-2014, India believed that the then Government was more tilted towards favouring China, which was detrimental to India’s geopolitical and strategic interests. According to Hindustan Times, Sandhu had put India back in the reckoning as the island nation’s most important partner, “elbowing out the aggressive Chinese”. On the night of 17 November, as results of the 2019 presidential election came in, Sandhu was the first foreign diplomat to call on President-elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who made India his first foreign visit a fortnight later, the Hindustan Times further noted. “Sri Lanka is our special neighbour. Our bonds are reflected in different ways. Our friendship is mutual, natural, spiritual, and truly special,” Sandhu told The Sunday Morning when inquired about his experience as Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. “Personally having done two tenures, SL is a second home where my daughter was born. I was privileged to make friends across party lines and received the affection of people from different walks of life,” he observed. Elaborating further on his tenure in Sri Lanka, Sandhu said: “I’m happy that in my present tenure, we were able to focus more on people-oriented projects that touched the lives of ordinary people, including building hospitals, an emergency ambulance service, assistance in the education sector including building the largest auditorium in Ruhuna University, housing projects for the poor across Sri Lanka, etc.” With the new appointment as Indian Ambassador to the US, Sandhu is to succeed Harsh Vardhan Shringla in Washington DC. According to the Indian media, Shringla had left Washington DC last week to start work as the new Foreign Secretary in New Delhi, and Sandhu is to arrive in the US from Sri Lanka. Testimonials The Hindustan Times had quoted a former congressional aide who had gone on to hold a senior administration position recalling working with Sandhu from his first stint in Washington DC as a political officer at the Indian Embassy in the late 1990s. “Among other things, Taranjit grew to understand the Hill the best, with his ability to work with both parties,” the person has said, referring to Capitol Hill – home to US Congress. Sandhu’s stint in the US in the 90s is identified as probably the most turbulent period in the India-US relationship, which was rocked by the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests conducted by the then Vajpayee Government, and the resulting shock and outrage felt in several capitals around the world and in Washington DC. The US at the time had followed that up with severe sanctions. According to the Indian media, led by then Indian Ambassador, the very politically astute Naresh Chandra, a former cabinet secretary and the last Indian Administrative Service Officer to head the Indian Mission, Sandhu was part of the team that dealt with the outrage and quietly worked to unravel the sanctions – he was handling the toughest elements among the Americans, the Hill, which called for and slapped crippling sanctions that remained in force for years, with diminishing scope and coverage. But the crisis was also an opportunity, founding as it did the current and ongoing warming of ties marked by President Bill Clinton’s visit to India in 2000 and by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to the US later that year. Meanwhile, Ambassador T.P. Sreenivasan had told the Indian media: “Taranjit has the ideal temperament to deal with the Americans who understand firmness and appreciate flexibility.” “He can hold his ground with a cheerful face and still make it clear that India and the US are partners, not rivals,” Sreenivasan had added. Sandhu will be the first Indian diplomat to be posted to the US four times and even more significantly, he has already had two postings at crucial positions in the Indian Embassy in Washington. No other ambassador to the US has had the experience of being a foot soldier and a deputy before heading the mission on Massachusetts Avenue, Sreenivasan had added. The only Indian foreign service officers who had served in Washington before becoming ambassador are Lalit Mansingh and Arun Singh, who were both deputy chiefs of mission. ..................................................................................................... Gopal Baglay, who is tipped to be the next Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, is seen as one of the bright officers of the Indian Foreign Service. Baglay has held key posts in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), having joined the service in 1992. Currently serving as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), he has also had a brief stint as the Joint Secretary for the External Publicity Division (XPD) of the MEA and the Ministry’s spokesperson, sources in India informed The Sunday Morning. Baglay is also an experienced Pakistan hand, having served as India’s Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan and Director of the crucial PAI (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran) division.