Page 12 - Leap of Faith inside pages with cover (1)

Foreword

Secretary General, Election Commission of India

ndia has entered 75 year of her independence. valuable suggestions to improve the publication. The
Independence of a country is not determined by Election Commissioners Shri Rajiv Kumar and Shri Anup
Ifreedom from foreign subjugation alone. It is also Chandra Pandey extended their whole hearted support to
about establishing a democratic order, in which all the making of the book.
grown-up citizens of India could be stakeholders through
Shri Priyadarshi Dutta, the author, has done commendable
elections. Election Commission of India (estd. 1950), by
research and compilation in a short time. Neeraj Sahai and
doing its duty dedicatedly and efficiently, has always
Pallavi Sahai as designers have brought up a qualitative
honored the democratic ideals of India.
production. Ms. Harini Srinivasan as editor and Dr. Aarti
The Election Commission feels obliged to share its vision Aggarwal, and Ms. Sonal Gupta of ECI as editorial
and narrative with the new generations. This book “Leap of coordinators have done laudable work. Archana Printing
Faith – Journey of Indian Elections” which links the past, Press ensured that the coffee table book came out as a
present and the envisaged future of elections in India was high-quality publication. The entire team was led by
born out of such a desire. Election Commission of India's Dr. Sadhana Rout, Senior Consultant, who deserves
standard publications comprise narrative and statistical compliments for dedication and focus.
reports. This project was, however, bound to be different as
I sincerely thank my colleagues, Director General Shri
it had to foray into the realm of history involving interaction
Dharmendra Sharma, Deputy Election Commissioner
with other institutions, personalities and entities.
Dr. Chandra Bhushan Kumar, Director General (Media)
Shri Sunil Arora, the then Chief Election Commissioner of Ms. Sheyphali Sharan, CEO Delhi Dr. Ranbir Singh,
India, welcomed the idea of the book and gave it the CEO Rajasthan Shri Praveen Kumar, Former CEO Bihar
much-needed guidance and inspiration at every step. The Shri Ajay Nayak, Former CEO Karnataka Shri Sanjiv Kumar,
Chief Election Commissioner Shri Sushil Chandra, gave his and senior officers of the Commission, Ms. Mona A.

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