Maj. Gen. G D Bakshi

About the Author

Major General (Dr.) G. D. Bakshi, SM, VSM (Retd.) is a combat veteran of many skirmishes on the LC and Counter-Terrorist operations in J&K and Punjab. He commanded his battalion in active operations in Kargil and was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal. Later, he commanded a brigade in Counter-Terrorist operations in the very rugged mountains of Kishtwar and was awarded the Sena Medal for his distinguished services. He subsequently commanded the reputed Romeo Force during intensive Counter-Terrorist operations in the Rajouri-Punch Districts of J&K in the wake of Op Sarp Vinash and succeeded in pacifying the area. In these repeated combat tenures, he became something of a turn-around specialist-turning defeat into victory. He has served two tenures at the highly prestigious Directorate General of Military Operations (during Op Pawan and Op Vijay) and was the first BGS (IW) at HQ Northern Command where he dealt with Information Warfare and Psychological Operations. He is a prolific writer-on matters military and non-military-and has published 45 books and over 400 papers in many prestigious research journals. His articles have also been published in various national newspapers. He taught at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun, and at the Prestigious Defence Services Staff College at Wellington for three years each. He taught at the National Defense College at New Delhi for two years and retired from this prestigious assignment in June 2008. He holds a Masters degree in Defence Science and an M. Phil. in Strategic Studies from the University of Madras. He later completed his Ph.D. from the same University on "Limited Wars in South Asia." Post his retirement, he was a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulations at the USI and later served as Deputy Director Research at the Vivekananda International Foundation. He is currently the Editor of Indian Military Review. He was Senior Security Advisor (Consultant) to Reliance Industries Limited for five years. His major books include Afghanistan-the First Fault line War, War in the 21st Century, The Indian Art Of War, The Paradox of Pakistan, The Rise of Indian Military Power: Evolution of an Indian Strategic Culture and Limited Wars in South Asia. He has also written many books on Indian Philosophy-in both Hindi and English. He appears regularly on major TV News Channels as an expert on the subjects of terrorism and national security. He lectures frequently at the Army War College, the College of Defense Management, the College of Materials Management, The National Defence Academy and the National Police Academy and also at the IAS Academy Mussorie. He has been featured in innumerable documentaries and talk shows on television on issues of National Security. He is an acknowledged thought leader in this domain. He comes from a military family and his elder brother Capt. S.R. Bakshi was killed in action in the 1965 War. The road in Jabalpur (where their ancestral house is located) is named after his brother.