India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has been helming the press briefings by the Indian government on the tensions between India and Pakistan.
The top Indian diplomat, who has been at the forefront amid the “combat-like situation”, recently fell victim to trolls on social media over “the India-Pakistan ceasefire announcement.”
After facing abuses over the social media plaform, Vikram Misri locked his X account on Sunday.
Who is Vikram Misri?
Vikram Misri is a distinguished IFS officer. He is a “a career diplomat from the 1989 batch of the Indian Foreign Service [IFS],” the Ministry of External Affairs says.
He was the face of government actions and decisions during the four-day India-Pakistan conflict — with the both sides deciding to halt military action after a ‘bilateral understanding.’
Vikram Misri’s early life and education
Ambassador Vikram Misri was born in Srinagar and had his early education there (Burn Hall School and DAV School) as well as in Udhampur (Carmel Convent School) in Jammu and Kashmir.
He studied at Scindia School in Gwalior and went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in History from the Hindu College, University of Delhi and an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur.
Ambassador Misri is married to Dolly Misri. They have two children.
Before joining the government, he worked for three years in the private sector in advertising (Lintas India—Bombay and Contract Advertising—Delhi) and advertising film-making.
Vikram Misri is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute USA’s India Leadership Initiative (now the Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellowship).
He speaks fluent Hindi, English and Kashmiri and has a working knowledge of French.
Vikram Misri’s diplomatic career
Misri assumed the charge as Foreign Secretary on July 15, 2024. He also served in various capacities at the Ministry of External Affairs, in the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi and in various Indian Missions abroad in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.
According to the external affairs ministry, Ambassador Vikram Misri was part of Pakistan desk of the Ministry of External Affairs.
He also had stints on the staffs of two foreign ministers (IK Gujral and Pranab Mukherjee).
Apart from serving as the Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, Vikram Misri also served as Private Secretary to three Prime Ministers of India — IK Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi.
Ambassador Misri served abroad in Brussels, Tunis, Islamabad and Washington DC. He was Deputy High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka and Consul General of India in Munich.
He was appointed India’s Ambassador to Spain in 2014, Ambassador to Myanmar in 2016 and Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, where he served from January 2019 to December 2021.
He was most recently the Deputy National Security Adviser (Strategic Affairs) of India, a post he held from 01 January 2022 to 30 June 2024.
Many come in support of FS Vikram Misri
Several former diplomat and politicians came out in support of Vikram Misri following the social media trolling. Former foreign secretary Nirupama Menon called the trolling of the senior diplomat “utterly shameful” and said it “crosses every line of decency”
“It’s utterly shameful to troll Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and his family over the India-Pakistan ceasefire announcement. A dedicated diplomat, Misri has served India with professionalism and resolve, and there is no ground whatsoever for his vilification,” Menon said.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra urged Misri to “stand strong”. She posted on X, “Disgusting to see social media trolling of Foreign Secretary @VikramMisri & family – no professional diplomat doing his job should be subjected to this. Stand strong, Sir – not everyone in this country is as vile as AndhBhakts.”
The IAS Association also commented, expressing “solidarity with Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary, & his family.” It posted on X, “Unwarranted personal attacks on civil servants performing their duties with integrity are deeply regrettable. We reaffirm our commitment to uphold the dignity of public service.”
Comedian Vir Das also said, “Vikram Misri was amazing, so were Colonel Sophiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.”
