Vadodara, January 6: Lord Bhikhu Parekh carries a unique impression of national security advisor J N Dixit, who died on Monday morning. Professor Parekh, who arrived in Vadodara for a visit, remembers the late diplomat for his academic credentials. Parekh knew Dixit as a disciplined student who did a course from the University of Hull, England, where he taught.

Parekh spoke to Dixit just a day before his death. ‘‘He told me, ‘I will be around for a long time.’ We shared a special relationship. I knew him as a student and an intellect,’’ said Parekh.

Dixit was keen on expanding his knowledge of foreign policies and national security, he said, adding, ‘‘In 1997, after my interaction with Dixit, he decided to do a six-week’s course in Britain. I arranged for his scholarship at Hull University in England.’’

‘‘It was the time when he was being threatened by the Tamil Tigers. But Dixit was fearless. He reached London alone and took a bus to Hull,’’ said Parekh. ‘‘Dixit remained shorn of office trappings and insisted on staying at a student house. He said he wanted to relive his college days during the trip. He did not allow any security guard to accompany him. Finally, we had to depute a cop in plainclothes outside the student house,’’ said Parekh.

The condition for the scholarship was that Dixit would submit a study paper before the course got over. Dixit produced a paper on ‘How is Foreign Policy Made in India’ four days before he left. Without wasting time, he also presented another research paper on ‘What are India’s Vital National Interests’ just before he left. ‘‘No person I knew has ever shown so much dedication. He sent his first paper to the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao by diplomatic mail. Rao was so impressed, he asked all civil servants to read the paper,’’ said Parekh. Punctuality was another of his key virtues, he said.

‘‘Dixit used to joke that it came naturally to all civil service employees. The death of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and the tsunami tragedy had disturbed him, yet he continued to work for more than 18 hours a day. Such was his dedication.’’