Indian envoy Taranjit Singh Sandhu bids adieu to Washington

India’s ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu bid adieu to Washington on January 31 after four tumultuous years tending what he described as “one of the most consequential relationships” over two administrations.

“Adieu, Washington DC, USA! As I depart, sharing a few glimpses from an incredible journey,” he posted on Thursday with a 7.25-minute video of an “incredible journey.”

“Always and forever: no greater honour, than serving India,” wrote Sandhu, who has been part of the India-US story since 1997 when he first came to Washington as First Secretary (Political) liaisoning with the US Congress for three years.

Adieu, Washington DC 🇺🇸!
As I depart, sharing a few glimpses from an incredible journey.

Always and forever: no greater honour, than serving 🇮🇳. pic.twitter.com/pgRFPD2zL9

— Taranjit Singh Sandhu (ਮੋਦੀ ਦਾ ਪਰਿਵਾਰ) (@SandhuTaranjitS) February 1, 2024

“Thank you Team India in USA for your support, dedication, & commitment. Wish all of you the very best professionally & personally,” he added.

Sandhu, who also retired from the Indian Foreign Service after 35 years of service, came to Washington as ambassador in February 2020 and immediately set about planning then-President Donald Trump’s state visit to India.

He was set to hang his boots last January but was given a one-year extension ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit at the invitation of President Joe Biden.

Ambassador Taranjit Sandhu: Indian American community plays critical role in boosting India-US ties (June 30, 2020)

During the Indian presidency of G20, Sandhu also played a role in ensuring that the US remained broadly supportive of New Delhi’s quest for a consensus-based declaration.

Sandhu’s term as ambassador was praised by South Asia analysts and prominent US senators.

“Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu will be remembered fondly in Washington for a long time,” said Dr. Aparna Pande, the Director of the Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. “The Ambassador is one of those Indian diplomats who built relationships outside of government and the diaspora – he built them in universities, in the corporate sector, and the policy world.”

Pointing out that Sandhu was at the Indian embassy in Washington for three different spells, the Hudson scholar said, in each instance, “he made sure that the bonds he had built in his previous tenure were not just maintained but deepened when he returned.”

Pande, author of such books as “Making India Great: The Promise of a Reluctant Global Power” (2020) and “From Chanakya to Modi: Evolution of India’s Foreign Policy” (2017), added: “Ambassador Sandhu was in Washington at key periods of India-U.S. relations and helped strengthen them at every level – with the administration, the Congress, and the broader society. However, what helped him accomplish the goals of the Indian government was his ability to build strong personal relationships with people in diverse segments of society.”

Earlier, Sen. Mark Warner, speaking at a farewell reception hosted at India House on January 24, lauded Sandhu’s contributions to the US-India relations.

“Ambassador Sandhu and I have had lots and lots of conversations when there have been challenges in our relationship, and we always dealt with each other honestly,” said Warner, the co-chair of the US India caucus in the United States Senate. “We dealt with each other as friends, and we realize that the core of the friendship between our two countries is based on common values around decency, around democracy, around innovation.”

The farewell reception was attended by several notable figures, including Warner’s colleagues, Senators Amy Klobuchar, Jon Ossoff, and Joe Manchin. During their speeches, both Klobuchar and Ossoff praised Ambassador Sandhu and extended their best wishes to him.

Representatives of the Indian American business community were also effusive in their praise of the outgoing ambassador.

“Ambassador Sandhu had an excellent relationship with the Indian American business community,” said Ravi Puli, founder and CEO of the Northern Virginia-based International Solutions Group and co-founder of the trade group Indian American Business Impact Group. “We are grateful for his support and friendship with the Indian American business community.”

Puli recalled that when he chartered a plane under the umbrella of the U.S.-India Solidarity Mission to repatriate Indians stuck in the United States in June 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ambassador and his team were very helpful.

READ: A hello and a good-bye: Indian Americans welcome Navtej Sarna, bid farewell to Taranjit Sandhu (December 6, 2016)

One of the most experienced Indian diplomats in US affairs, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India in Washington, DC, from July 2013 to January 2017.

He was also at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, New York from July 2005 to February 2009. Sandhu was Consul General of India in Frankfurt from September 2011 to July 2013.

Prior to his current assignment in Washington, DC, Sandhu served as the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka from January 2017 to January 2020. Earlier, he had served as the Head of the Political Wing from December 2000 to September 2004.

Sandhu started his diplomatic career in the former Soviet Union where he worked as Third Secretary (Political) / Second Secretary (Commercial) in the Indian Mission from 1990 to 1992.

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, he was sent to open a new Embassy in Ukraine. He served as Head of Political and Administration Wings in Indian Embassy in Kiev from 1992 to 1994.

Born on January 23, 1963, in a family of educationists, Sandhu studied at The Lawrence School, Sanawar and graduated with History Honors from St. Stephens’ College, Delhi. He pursued a master’s degree in international relations at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

Sandhu is married to Reenat Sandhu, who is a senior officer in the Indian Foreign Service and currently Ambassador of India to the Netherlands. They have two children. His interests include books, movies and outdoor sports.