Lt Gen Kamal Davar (Retd.)

Lt. Gen. Kamal Davar is one of India's distinguished soldiers and a leading strategic analyst. A war veteran of the 1965 and 1971 operations, he was wounded in action during the 1965 operations in the Lahore sector. During his distinguished career spanning 41 years, he commanded the spearhead armored brigade and was the first armored corps officer to command the entire Ladakh sector. He has served as Chief of Staff (COS) in J&K and later commanded the 11 Corps. After a short tenure as DG Mechanised Forces, he was specially selected by the government to raise the Defence Intelligence Agency as its first DG and Deputy Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff. After retirement, he has been connected with various think tanks and has participated in Track 2 diplomacy. He is a prolific writer and a public speaker of repute. He has authored two books, Tryst with Perfidy and Securing India's Rise, and is a regular contributor of security-related articles to the national media.