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 ...
Gagan Deep Bakshi or G. D. Bakshi (born 1950) is a retired
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...
officer. He commanded the
6 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles. He is often called on news channels across India to provide views on topics related to the military and defence.
Early life and education
Bakshi was born in
Jabalpur
Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. ...
,
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...
. His father was S. P. Bakshi.
He was educated at
St. Aloysius Senior Secondary School,
Jabalpur
Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. ...
and
University of Madras
The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...
. After his schooling, he went to the
National Defence Academy
The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...
at Khadakwasla, Pune.
Career
Bakshi was commissioned in the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...
from
IMA Dehradun in November 1971.
Bakshi was awarded the
Vishisht Seva Medal
The Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) is a decoration of the Indian Armed Forces. It is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of a high order" to all ranks of the Indian Armed Forces.
From 1980, the Yudh Seva Medal was introduced to recognize exc ...
for commanding a battalion in the
Kargil War
The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...
. Later, he was awarded the
Sena Medal
The Sena Medal is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for s ...
for distinguished service in commanding a battalion during counter-insurgency drives.
Bakshi subsequently commanded the Romeo Force (Part of Rashtriya Rifles) during intensive counter-insurgency operations in the
Rajouri
Rajouri or Rajauri (; Pahari: 𑠤𑠬𑠑𑠶𑠤𑠮, راجوری; sa, राजपुर, ) is a city in Rajouri district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu city on the ...
and
Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir and succeeded in suppressing the armed militancy in this area.
Bakshi served two tenures at the Directorate General of Military Operations and was the first BGS (IW) at the
Northern Command, where he dealt with Information Warfare and Psychological Operations. He retired in 2008.
Retirement
In retirement, Bakshi has turned his energies to the pen and authored a handful of books, the most recent appearing in 2017. His often called on news channels across India to provide views on topics related to the military and defence. For example, he stars on the ''
Republic TV
Republic TV is a free-to-air Indian right-wing English-language news channel launched in May 2017. It was co-founded by Arnab Goswami and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, before the latter relinquished his stake in May 2019, leaving Goswami as the m ...
'' series "The Grand Strategy".
Views on the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Bakshi devoted an entire episode of "The Grand Strategy" to the lessons derivable from observation of the 2022
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, which turned in April from a
Blitzkrieg war into an
artillery duel. In this regard, Bakshi congratulates the work of Colonel
Markus Reisner Markus Reisner (born March 10, 1978, in Bucklige Welt, Lower Austria) is an Austrian historian, military expert, and officer of the Austrian Armed Forces serving as commander of the Gardebataillon.
Professional life Training and first assignment ...
of the
Österreichs Bundesheer. He is puzzled at the fact that Putin has only given 150,000 men to his army, while the Ukrainians can field 250,000 men. He laments the fact that the Indian defense budget has been reduced from 2.8% to a meagre 2.1%, and observes that, due to
Covid-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
the Indian Army failed to recruit any men and therefore shrank 200,000 men from a pre-Covid mass of 1,300,000 men. He draws a parallel over the fact that the Russians face a shortage of manpower in the Ukraine, to which he ties their lacklustre performance, while demographically India is among the youngest countries in the world. He finds that reduction of manpower is a recipe for disaster, and that the Ukrainians are crying for artillery. At least 70% of Indian army equipment is of Russian design. Bakshi says that the Russians have kept their best formations in reserve (i.e. the
T-14 tank) because they fear a conflict with NATO. UAVs, Javelins, Stingers and the S400 systems are all not his favourite. He sees Russian political micro-management of the army as a dead end. As well he touches on the breach of the Russian communication system, especially with regards to the disappearance of the Russian command structure.
Bibliography
*
*Bakshi, G. D. (2016). ''Bose: The Indian Samurai - Netaji and the Ina a Military Assessment''. .
*
*
*
*
*
*
Awards and decorations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakshi, G. D.
1950 births
Living people
People from Jabalpur
Punjabi people
Indian Hindus
Indian generals
University of Madras alumni
Recipients of the Sena Medal
Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal
Indian Army officers
National Defence Academy (India) alumni