Kalyan Sundaram

Who was Kalyan Sundaram?

Kalyan Vaidyanathan Kuttur Sunderam, also referred as K.V.K. Sundaram, was an Indian civil servant, who holds the record as the first Law Secretary of independent India and second Chief Election Commissioner of India. He also Chaired the Fifth Law Commission of India for the period 1968–71. He was the principal author of the White Paper which was used to guide the formation of India into states drawn along linguistic lines after its independence. For this, he received personal thanks and high praise from Lord Louis Mountbatten. He was also a Sanskrit scholar, translating for English audiences the works of the Sanskrit writer Kalidasa. A man of humility and discretion, according to The Independent, Sundaram received in 1968 the second highest civilian award which can be bestowed by the Indian Government: the Padma Vibhushan.