Dipankar Banerjee is a retired

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

based in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He is the founding director of the

Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), was founded in 1996 as an independent think-tank to develop an alternative framework for Peace and Security in South Asia through independent research and analysis. It continues to be one of t ...

(based in Indian capital

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

Military career

Gen Bannerjee is an alumnus of the prestigious RIMC (Rashtriya Indian Military College). Banerjee served in the Indian Army for 36 years from 1961 until his voluntary retirement in 1997. He was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion The 1st Gorkha Rifles and later commanded 5th Battalion The 1st Gorkha Rifles. During his service he held many key command, staff and instructional appointments in India, including command of 8 Mountain Division in Kashmir. He attended the

Staff College Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For ex ...

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

, UK. His last active command in the army was as the Divisional Commander during 1992–1993. He has been an instructor at the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

, the College of Combat and the

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , presi ...

in India. In recognition of his distinguished service to the

, Banerjee received the prestigious military honour ''

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...

'' (Highly Distinguished Service Medal) from the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

Academic career

Banerjee served as the deputy director of the

Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses The Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) (formerly known as: Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA)), New Delhi, is India's foremost think tank for advanced research in international relations, espec ...

’s premier defence and security studies think tank, where he was also a senior fellow. He then founded in 1996 the

, where he still serves as the director. From May 1999 to July 2002 he was the director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He held visiting fellowships at the

United States Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American Federal government of the United States, federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individual ...

and The Henry L. Stimson Center,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He has been a consultant to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

on the Conventional Arms Register and was an international adviser to the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

during 2000–2004.

Research interests and publications

His special areas of interest are South Asian foreign policies and security issues, confidence building measures, Asia-Pacific security with a special emphasis to Chinese security issues. He has published extensively on these subjects in books, periodicals and journals. He has edited the following books: * Comprehensive and Co-operative Security in South Asia (1998) * Confidence Building Measures in South Asia (1999) * CBMs in South Asia – Potential and Possibilities (2000) * South Asia at Gunpoint: Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation (2000)

References

External links

Institute of Peace and Conflict StudiesInstitute for Defence Studies and Analyses
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banerjee, Dipankar Indian diplomats Academic staff of the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Indian generals