The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, on Monday conferred the Padma Shri to academician David Reid Syiemlieh from Meghalaya in the field of Literature and Education during the ceremony. Prof. Syiemlieh is a scholar of history and culture of the North East and a former Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission. Born on January 22, 1953, in Assam’s Mutrapore, he graduated with honours in History in 1974 from St. Edmund’s College, Shillong.
This was followed by an MPhil in 1980 and a PhD in 1985 from the North-Eastern Hill University. He taught in St. Edmund’s College (1977-1979) and NEHU (1979-2012), where he held several responsible positions, including Dean of Students’ Welfare, Head, Department of History, and Controller of Examinations, apart from officiating as Registrar and holding the position of Pro-Vice-Chancellor.
Prof Syiemlieh was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the Rajiv Gandhi University in Arunachal Pradesh in October 2011. He joined as a Member of the UPSC in 2012 and was elevated to Chairman five years later.
