G D Bakshi

Military career

Maj Gen(Dr) GD 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 Vishist 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 Operation sarp vinash and succeeded in pacifying the area. 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.

Early life and education

Bakshi was born in a Punjabi Mohiyal Brahmin family and educated at St. Aloysius Hr. Secondary School in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.His eldest brother Capt Raman Bakshi was killed in action during the 1965 war. In acknowledgment of Raman's sacrifice, the route to Katanga in Jabalpur where Bakshi's bungalow is located, was named Raman Bakshi Marg. Bakshi graduated from school in 1966. He joined the National Defence Academy in June 1967 (a year and a half after his elder brother was martyred) Though selected as an Airforce Cadet, Bakshi switched to Army to serve in the same unit, where his father and brother had served the Indian Army. Soon after graduating from the Indian Military Academy on 14 November 1971, Bakshis batch was called into action at the outbreak of hostilities in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and suffered heavy casualties.He led a company of Sikh troops very successfully for Anti terror and border sealing ops in the Punjab from 1985-1987.He commanded his battalion in heavy skirmishes in Kargil in an area of major intrusion in Dalunang 1990-91. Bakshi's unit won 25 awards( including a VRC posthumous) and he himself was given the VSM. An indication of the severity of the fighting is given by the fact that his unit suffered 6 boys martyred and 21 wounded in these heavy skirmishes in Kargil. He later commanded a Brigade in CT ops in Kishtwar and won the SM for his leadership. he prevented Ethnic cleansing of Dogra Hindus from kishtwar by vigorous operations to eliminate terrorist groups that were slaughtering the minorities.Finally he commanded a Division in intensive CT ops ( Romeo Force)in Rajuri and Punch in the wake of Op Sarp Vinash and succeeded in pacifying the area. ( Source:Soldiers in the Sun and Snow: A History of the J&K Rifles,The J&K Rifles Regimental Centre Jabalpur, Kishtwar cauldron: The Struggle Against Ethnic Cleansing in Kishtwar, Pentagon Press, New Delhi 2010)

After retirement

He is a prolific writer on matters military and non-military and has published 36 books and over 200 papers in many prestigious research journals. His articles have also been published in various National Newspapers. He taught at the Indian Military Academy Dehradun and 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 master's degree in Defence Science and an M Phil in Strategic Studies from the University of Madras. He recently completed his Ph.d from the same University on” Limited Wars in South Asia”.

He is an Associate member of the IDSA and a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Air Power Studies. He has taken over as the Editor-in-Chief of the Defence and Security Alert magazine. His 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.” Bose an Indian Samurai: A military assessment of Netaji and The INA"Knowledge world New Delhi, Guardians of the Gate: A Military History of the Mohiyal Fighting Brahmins, Knowledge World, New Delhi.

Public Speaking

Maj Gen GD Bakshi is a regular on Prime Time and Republic T.V generally with Arnab Goswami in debates on Indian Television and mostly speaks on tackling cross-border terrorism, Pakistan and China. He advocates a strong, proactive approach to raise costs for Pakistan for its sponsorship of terror. He speaks regularly at prestigious institutions like Army War college, College of Defense Management, Defense Services Staff College, Indian police Academy, Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy IAS. He has spoken at IIT Delhi, Kanpur and Chennai. He gave a speech on Aug 11, 2016 at IIT Chennai on the subject "National Security and History of Indian Army", as part of Extra Mural Lecture Series. Bakshi mentioned peace with Pakistan would come at a cost to India and advised eternal vigilance would be needed on India's part to maintain peace. He is a trustee of the Netaji Subash Bose INA trust and speaks extensively on the need to correct the distortions in the recording of our history of the freedom struggle wherein the role of Netaji and the INA has been totally wiped out by a set of court historians. He regularly speaks at schools and colleges all over India to instil the values of patriotism and nationalism.

Selected publications