Kannan Gopinathan was an IAS officer from Kerala. He came into limelight after resigning from his post and saying that he was unhappy with how the fundamental rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir were being denied after the abrogation of Article 370.
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Wiki/Biography
Kannan Gopinathan was born on Thursday, 12 December 1985 (age 33 years; as in 2018) in Kottayam, Kerala. Their zodiac sign is Sagittarius. He did his schooling from Technical Higher Secondary School, Puthuppally, Kerala. He did B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra in Ranchi, Jharkhand.
Kannan Gopinathan during his younger days
In 2007, after completing his college education he started working as a design engineer in a company called “Freescale Semiconductors” for 4 years. He also volunteers for a non-profit organization called “AID India”, where he teaches underprivileged children. In April 2011, he started preparing for the civil services examinations and after passing the examination and interview he started his training as an IAS officer in September 2012.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 9″
Eye colour: dark brown
Hair Color: Black
Family, Caste and Wife
Kannan Gopinathan belongs to a Hindu Brahmin family. There is not much information about his family. He is married to Himani Pathak, whom he met while volunteering for “AID India”. They have a son named Aadu.
Kannan Gopinathan with his father.
Kannan Gopinathan with his wife Himani Pathak and their son Aadu
livelihood
Kannan’s first posting was as an Assistant Collector in Delhi from July 2013 to July 2014. He was transferred to Mizoram where he was posted as Deputy Collector of Hanathiyal in September 2014. He worked for one and a half years before being promoted as Dist. Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner of Aizawl in Mizoram in February 2016.
He served as DM of Aizawl till December 2017, after which he was posted as District Collector of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. He was appointed as the Managing Director of Dadra and Nagar Haveli Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (DNHPDCL). DNHPDCL was a loss making government department but Kannan brought the electricity department into profit.
Kannan Gopinathan in office
controversies
- His resignation from the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS) on 21 August 2019 drew criticism from a section of the society; He cited the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A in Jammu and Kashmir as one of the reasons for his resignation. He expressed concern over the denial of fundamental rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Another reason that Kannan cited behind his resignation was the lack of freedom of expression that he felt during his tenure in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
- On 6 November 2019, the Home Ministry filed a charge sheet against him and accused him of insubordination. Kanan posted the charge sheet on Twitter and said-
now first @ians_india Forwarded it as a scoop to all the newspapers, just let me put it out without my reaction. You can still do it secretly @ians_india, no complaints.
Memo of departmental inquiry given 2 months after resignation. first page ??? pic.twitter.com/XhVjQg4QW4
– Kannan Gopinathan (@bureaucratshah) 6 November 2019
Favorite
- Singer: Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani
- Comedian: Raju Srivastava
Facts/General Knowledge
- Kannan likes travelling, playing badminton, listening to music and playing drums.
Kannan Gopinathan playing drums
- During the 2018 Kerala floods, he volunteered for flood relief work. He kept his identity secret so that no commotion could be created over his presence. When Kannan was volunteering, the Ernakulam District Collector visited the relief camp and recognized him. He posted Kannan’s photo on social media which went viral. People appreciated and appreciated his efforts.
Kannan Gopinathan is volunteering during Kerala floods
- After his visit to Kerala he received a memorandum from the authorities asking him to explain the reason behind his voluntary service in Kerala.
- He also presented a check of Rs 1 crore for the “Kerala CM Disaster Relief Fund” as the official representative of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Kannan Gopinathan presenting a check of Rs 1 crore to the Kerala Chief Minister Disaster Relief Fund.
- When Kannan was posted in Mizoram, he got a chance to meet Pullela Gopichand. He encouraged Gopichand to open 30 badminton training centers for children and a “high-altitude center of excellence for sports” in Mizoram.
Kannan Gopinathan with Pullela Gopichand
- He posted several tweets explaining why he resigned. In a tweet, he said that he thought being an IAS would help him keep others’ opinions in check, but he couldn’t even keep his own opinions.
I once thought that being in civil services meant an opportunity to expand the rights and freedoms of fellow citizens!
– Kannan Gopinathan (@bureaucratshah) 20 August 2019
- Many people in the bureaucracy were surprised by Kannan’s resignation. They said he was an excellent officer and were surprised that he resigned.
- On 26 August 2019, Priyanka Gandhi took a dig at the Narendra Modi government by tweeting a news article about Kannan’s resignation and quoting a Polish poet.
“In a room where people unanimously plot silence, a word of truth sounds like a pistol shot.”
– Czeslaw Milosz, Polish poet and writer.
Nobel Prize Lecture, December 8, 1980. https://t.co/e7s141o6Rr
-Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@PriyankaGandhi) 26 August 2019
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn