A Sikh Diplomat

An autobiography, observing people, politics and events from 1921 to 1979. The son of a Civil Engineer in Karachi, toured with his parents and educated by his mother. Later on he studied in universities in Europe including Cambridge. He experienced the changes in Europe as war loomed, joined the Officers Training Corps, and also worked as a scientist with colleagues involved in developing advanced materials for the war effort. During the war, he served as a Royal Air Force Officer, supporting aircrews from bases in Norfolk, and after the war, because of his facility with languages, he was sent with the interrogation teams to Germany. After the war came the trauma of India's partition and the family's emigration to Delhi. Gunwant Malik joined the Indian Foreign Service in the new India which took him to Belgium, Ethiopia, Japan, Singapore, French West Africa, South America, Thailand and finally back to Europe. Along the way he dealt with the effects of Latin American coups d'etat , in particular the tragic end of President Allende in Chile, receiving what was probably The President's last phone call before he died. He retired from the service at the statutory age of 58, as the Indian Ambassador in Madrid.