Moti Kripalani

Moti K. Kripalani (IAST: Motī K Kripalāni), ICS, was an Indian civil servant who went to serve as Chief Commissioner of Ajmer and Pondicherry.^[1][2]

Chief Commissioner of Pondicherry

The state of Pondicherry comprised ex-French settlements in India after their de facto transfer in October 1954. Kripalani succeeded Kewal Singh as the chief commissioner of Pondicherry on 16 November 1956.^[2] The political musings of 1st Pondicherry Representative Assembly during its tenure became quite a sensation, and they caught the attention of then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and others. Some of his decisions were criticized by political leaders of Pondicherry, who rued that delay in de jure transfer^{[note 1]} is one of the main reasons as the Pondicherry assembly had only an advisory role and the Chief Commissioner could take decisions overriding the assembly.^[5]: 103

Autobiography

He has recounted some important events in his life and civil service in his book Some Memories of Old Bengal.^[6] In that book, he mentions that as a higher civil servant in those days, he pursued particular hobbies and other recreational activities during his posting in Rajshahi (now in Bangladesh).^[7]: 262

Offices held

Preceded by Chandrakant Balwantrao Nagarkar	Chief commissioner of Ajmer March 1946 – 31 October 1956	Succeeded by Gurumukh Nihal Singh (Governor of Rajasthan)
Preceded by Kewal Singh	Chief commissioner of State of Pondicherry 16 November 1956 – 27 August 1958	Succeeded by Lal Ram Saran Singh

See also

• Ajmer State
• List of lieutenant governors of Puducherry