G. D. Bakshi

Major General Gagandeep Bakshi (SM, VSM), or G. D. Bakshi, is a retired Indian army officer. He is from the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles. A veteran of many skirmishes on the Line of Control and of counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal for commanding a battalion in operations in Kargil. Later, Bakshi commanded a brigade in counter-terror operations in the rugged mountains of Kishtwar, for which he was awarded the Sena Medal for distinguished service. He subsequently commanded the Romeo Force during intensive counter-terrorist operations in the Rajouri-Punch Districts of Jammu and Kashmir and succeeded in pacifying the area. He has served two tenures at the Directorate General of Military Operations and was the first BGS (IW) at HQ Northern Command (India), where he dealt with Information Warfare and Psychological Operations.

He is a prolific writer on military as well as non-military matters and has published 35 books and authored over 200 papers in many research journals. His articles have also been published in various national newspapers. Bakshi taught at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and the prestigious Defence Services Staff College at Wellington, for three years each. He holds a master's degree in defence science and an M Phil in strategic studies from the University of Madras. He is an associate member of the IDSA. He taught at the National Defence College at New Delhi for two years and retired from this prestigious assignment in June 2008. He is a strategic analyst and has been contracted by the Indian Army HQ and Integrated Defense Staff to carry out net assessments of key security issues. Concurrently, he is working towards a Ph.D. (Limited Wars in South Asia) from the University of Madras.

Early life and education
Bakshi was born in a Punjabi family and educated at St. Aloysius Hr. Secondary School in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. His elder brother, Raman Bakshi, an Indian Army officer, was killed in action during his service to the country in the 1965 India-Pakistan 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 killed in action). Quite soon after graduating from the Indian Military Academy on 14 November 1971, Bakshi was called into action at the outbreak of hostilities in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

General Bakshi completed his MSc at the Defence Services Staff College. Later he would also teach there as a Colonel for three years, after which he earned an M. Phil in Strategic studies. Before retirement, he taught for two and a half years at the National Defence College, New Delhi from where he was awarded a Phd for his work on limited war in the Indian subcontinent.