Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Girish Chandra Saxena, whose tenure saw a significant decline of militancy in the Valley breathed his last on April 14, 2017.
Born in Agra in 1928, Saxena, an IPS officer of the 1950 batch of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
He also headed the country’s external intelligence agency RAW from 1983 to 1986,and is survived by his wife and two daughters.
He first took the charge as the Jammu and Kashmir Governor on May 26, 1990.
This was barely a few days after the religious head of Muslims in Srinagar Mirwaiz Malauvi Farooq was gunned down allegedly by militants of Hizbul Mujahideen.
He had succeeded Jagmohan, who quit owning moral responsibility for civilian killings which had taken place during the funeral procession of the Mirwaiz.
Saxena continued as the Governor till March 13, 1993 during which his focus was on winning the trust of the locals.
He was credited with the revival of intelligence gathering mechanism of the state police.
His experience at the RAW came in handy in discharging his duties from the Raj Bhavan.
After his first stint as the Governor, Saxena was again brought to the state in 1998.
He was lauded for his efforts which turned the state police into an effective counter insurgency force.
After his retirement from the RAW in 1986, Saxena served as an advisor to the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as well.
List of J&K Governors: Know More- Karan Singh: First J&K governor
- Bhagwan Sahay
- Lakshmi Kant Jha
- Braj Kumar Nehru
- Jagmohan
- K. V. Krishna Rao
- Jagmohan
- Girish Chandra Saxena
- K. V. Krishna Rao: 2 time governor
- Girish Chandra Saxena: Ex Raw Chief and IPS officer. 2 time governor
- S.K. Sinha
- Narinder Nath Vohra (present incumbent)
