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Kasab prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam to former diplomat Shringla — a look at the four nominees for Rajya Sabha

• Posted on July 13, 2025

The President has nominated former diplomat Harsh Shringla, Special Public Prosecutor in Ajmal Kasab case Ujjwal Nikam, historian Meenakshi Jain, and Kerala teacher C. Sadanandan Master to the Rajya Sabha, marking an entry of two high-profile people to the Upper House.

In a notification issued on Saturday (July 12, 2025) The Union Home Ministry said the President nominated the four to fill the vacancies caused due to retirement of nominated members. In total, the President of India nominates 12 persons as her nominees to the Rajya Sabha — persons known for their eminence in the fields of arts and letters, and public service. Out of these 12, four seats are currently vacant.

Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a retired diplomat of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), served as a Foreign Secretary of India and as an Ambassador to the United States. Prior to that, Mr. Shringla served as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh. Graduating from St. Stephen’s college, Delhi University, Mr. Shringla worked in public sectors before joining as a (1984 batch) IFS officer. Mr. Shringla, in his first ambassadorial assignment, served Thailand for a period of two years.

He was also given the charge as the coordinator of G-20 Summit, which India hosted for the first time, across multiple cities in November 2023.

Ujjwal Nikam, a celebrated lawyer, has represented Maharashtra in several court cases, the most notable being a Special Public Prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack trial of Ajmal Kasab and the 1991 Bombay bomb blasts case. In his decades-long career, Mr. Nikam has worked under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. Mr. Nikam has also been a recipient of several awards for his contribution to the legal field.

He was fielded by the BJP in 2024 in the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Maharashtra’s Mumbai North seat, replacing Poonam Mahajan.

C Sadanandan Master, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran from Kannur district in Kerala, is reckoned a “living martyr” by the party after he lost both his legs in a suspected Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] attack in 1994. The lower primary school teacher had contested as the BJP candidate from the Koothuparambu constituency in the 2021 Kerala legislative Assembly elections. 

Mr. Sadanandan Master had served as the president of the National Teachers’ Union and is an active member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh think tank. Bharatiya Vichara Kendram.

Dr. Meenakshi Jain, a noted historian, served as an Associate Professor of history at Gargi college, Delhi University. She has served as a fellow of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, was a member of the governing council of Indian Council of Historical Research, and was a senior fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

Her most notable published works include: The Battle for Rama: Case of the temple at Ayodhya, Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries and the changing Colonial Discourse, Parallel Pathways: Essays on Hindu–Muslim Relations, Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples.

Dr. Jain was also conferred the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award, for her contribution to the the field of literature and education.

Rajya Sabha elections: President nominates Harsh Shringla, Ujjwal Nikam, Meenakshi Jain, and C. Sadanandan Master to Rajya Sabha. | Source: The Hindu

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