Born on 15 Oct 1963 in Jaunpur District of UP, Maj Gen (Dr) Ashok Kumar, VSM (R) was commissioned on 09 June 1984 in an Army Air Defence Unit. He shifted to General Cadre later to undertake more challenging assignments. He superannuated on 31 October 2021 after completing more than 37 years of the distinguished service.

The officer has done most of the Army courses as applicable to his service profile some of them being LGSC (DG Arty Trophy for standing first), DSSC (Competitive vacancy) and Higher Command besides Courses like JC& SC courses with Instructional Grading. The officer has also held the instructional tenures at Army AD College, Gopalpur on Sea and IMA Dehradun.

Major Academic Qualifications include:

  • PhD from Defence & Strategic Studies Department of Punjabi University Patiala.
  • MPhil in Defence Studies and Management, Devi Ahilya Devi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Indore.
  • MSc in Defence and Strategic Studies, Madras University.
  • BSc, University of Allahabad.
  • MBA in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations from Symbiosis, Pune.
  • Post Graduation in Human Rights from IIHR.
  • Diploma in Geo-Informatics.
  • Advance Diploma in Systems Analysis.
  • Graduate Certificate in Public Policy.

The officer is a Kargil war veteran and has tenated the Operations branch appointments from the Brigade HQ to Command HQ level, probably the lone officer with this distinction.  He commanded an Infantry formation in Arunachal Pradesh with the responsibility of the area where 1962 war battles were fought. The officer was MD ECHS from mid-2017 to mid-2019 and PSO at HQ Eastern Command prior to superannuation.

The officer has written over 300 articles, Issue Briefs, Podcasts, Webinars, Seminars and Reports on a wide range of topics including China, India’s Neighbours, Veteran healthcare, Border management, Theaterisation and capability development within the Indian Armed Forces in more than 30 publications. The publications include all leading newspapers (The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Tribune, The Daily Guardian, The Print, Hindustan Times, First Post amongst others) besides prominent think tanks including USI, CLAWS, CENJOWS, ORF and VIF. He has also featured as subject matter expert in Newsweek, an international reputed publication.

The officer has already authored two books to include ‘China Betrays Again’ and ‘Indian Churnings on the Global Stage’ with more books in the pipeline.

The officer has been  a Senior Fellow at CLAWS where he is also guiding Army Officers doing PhD at CLAWS with MAHE. He mentors Red Lantern Analytica, a China focused international think tank besides nurturing other organisations.  His Awards include Vishisht Seva Medal, Chief of the Army Staff Commendation Card and three Army Commander Commendation Cards.

The officer has extensive experience in youth motivation and social service. He is a motivational as well as a public speaker both in English and Hindi. He tweets at @ChanakyaOracle.

The Officer has joined CENJOWS on 10th February 2024 and has been tenanting the position of Director General.