G G Dwivedi

Early life and education

Dwivedi was born in Kolkata. His parents were Omprakash (1913-1991) and Vilma Devi (1920-2005) His grandfather was eminent physician Rai Sahib Dr. Dewan Chand Dwivedi (1888-1971). He attended the Sainik School, Amaravathinagar and then in 1968 joined the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla. He holds an M Sc in Defence Studies, dual M Phil in Defence and Strategic Studies from Madras University and a Ph.D. in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New Delhi.

Military career

Major General Dwivedi retired as assistant chief of the Integrated Defence Staff in 2009, after 38 years of distinguished service in the army (infantry). He is a veteran of the Bangladesh War and he later commanded 16 JAT in Siachen, a brigade in the Kashmir Valley and a mountain division in the North East. He was India's Defence Attaché in China from 19 January 1997 to 19 August 1999.

Other work

He contributed to the operational planning for 2010 Commonwealth Games, and was in charge of Spectator Services at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India.

Academic career

In his academic career Major General Dwivedi has achieved distinction recognition both at national and global levels. He holds

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)

In April 2013 Dwivedi was appointed Professor in the Centre of West Asian Studies, Faculty of Social Science for a period of three years or until he attained the age of 65 years, whichever comes first, with effect from the date he joined his duty. The appointment created controversy in newspapers and among academics and students. The Milli Gazette commented that the AMU had become an institution run by retired officers and any criticism could be met with severe penalty or expulsion. AMU academic Aftab Alam questioned why the university was being run by non-academics and why it was happening in minority Muslim institutions. Lt Gen (retired) Zameeruddin Shah who was appointed pro-vice-chancellor acknowledged that some felt that Dwivedi's appointment meant that the academic and democratic nature of the university was being threatened.

The students' union pursued the restoration of the AMU's minority character. AMU was established for the educational development of the Muslims of India and its essential character was enshrined in the Parliamentary Act of 1920 and the AMU Amendment Act of 1981 but the Allahabad High Court has ruled that AMU is not a minority institution. In April 2016, the Indian government advised the court it would not appeal the decision.

In Jan 2016 Dwivedi's position was Professor and Chairperson, Faculty of International Studies and he was also appointed Coordinator of the Academic Programmes to be introduced in the Department of Strategic and Security Studies.

Professional development programmes attended

Published works

Dwivedi has written on military history, geostrategy, international relations and leadership in professional journals and national dailies. Additionally, he has contributed over fifty shorts pieces in the leading natural dailies, based on his personal experience.

Books

Articles

Many of his articles have been published in various news papers.

He presented a keynote conference address on Utilizing Military Veterans to add value to developmental initiatives in Rural and Semi-Urban Areas on 6 May 2014 at Observer Research Foundation.

He has delivered lectures at Boston University and presented a paper at International Journal of Arts & Sciences (IJAS) held at Harvard Medical School in May 2015.