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'Through the Broken Glass' is the autobiography of which former Chief Election Commissioner?
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Answer: Option D — T. N. Seshan
Detailed Solution
- Seshan. "Through the Broken Glass: An Autobiography" is the autobiography of T. N. Seshan, the former Chief Election Commissioner of India. It was published in 2023, after his death in 2019.
About the book:
- It describes his childhood in Palakkad, Kerala, his education, and his long career in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) from 1955.
- It covers his work in many important posts, including Cabinet Secretary of India (1989), and his years as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
- It reflects his strong views on discipline, honesty and the rule of law.
About T. N. Seshan (1932-2019):
- His full name was Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan.
- He was the 10th Chief Election Commissioner of India, from December 1990 to December 1996.
- He is famous for transforming the Election Commission into a strong, independent body that strictly enforced the rules of elections.
- His reforms included strict enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, limits on election expenditure, checks on misuse of government machinery, and the introduction of Electors' Photo Identity Cards (voter ID cards).
- He was sometimes called "Al-Seshan" (after the Alsatian dog) by politicians who feared his strictness.
In 1993, the government made the Election Commission a multi-member body by appointing two more Election Commissioners, partly to limit his power. The Supreme Court upheld this in 1995.
He received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 1996.
In 1997, he contested the presidential election but lost to K. R. Narayanan.
Other Chief Election Commissioners:
- Sukumar Sen: first CEC (1950-1958); conducted India's first general elections (1951-52).
- S. Ramadevi: the first woman CEC (1990, for a short period).
- M. Lyngdoh: Magsaysay Award (2003).
- Y. Quraishi: author of "An Undocumented Wonder: The Making of the Great Indian Election".
- S. Gill: CEC (1996-2001), later a Union Minister.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Y. Quraishi wrote "An Undocumented Wonder".
- ✗S. Gill succeeded Seshan as CEC.
- ✗M. Lyngdoh was CEC from 2001 to 2004.
Quick tip
Remember: "Through the Broken Glass" (2023) = T. N. Seshan (10th CEC, 1990-96; voter ID cards and Model Code of Conduct; Magsaysay 1996); first CEC = Sukumar Sen.
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.