Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Vasantha R. Raghavan is a former Indian military general and now a security consultant. He retired as the director general of military operations in 1994, having served in 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- ...
for 37 years. After retiring from the army, he has written several books and is currently the director of the Delhi Policy Group and president of the Centre for Security Analysis in Chennai.
Military career
Raghavan was commissioned in the
Punjab Regiment Punjab Regiment may refer to the following existing units:
*Punjab Regiment (India)
*Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)
From 1922 to 1947, the British Indian Army included 6 numbered Punjab Regiments:
*1st Punjab Regiment
* 2nd Punjab Regiment
*8th Punj ...
in 1957. He graduated in 1968 from the
Royal Military College of Science
The Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) was a British postgraduate school, research institution and training provider with origins dating back to 1772. It became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in 2009, and ceased to exist ...
and the
Army 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 exa ...
in the UK. He was the commanding general in the
Siachen
The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier
A glac ...
and
Kargil
Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in Jam ...
sectors during some of the intense combat actions in the area. He was closely involved in the formulation of the
Sino-Indian accord on maintaining peace on the borders and in the series of negotiations with
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
on the
Siachen dispute. As director general of military operations, he was closely involved in strategic planning and field force management of the army. He was awarded the
PVSM
Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...
,
UYSM
Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM; ''Great War Service Medal'') is one of India's military decorations for Wartime Distinguished Service. It is awarded for a high degree of distinguished services in an operational context. "Operational context" includes ...
, and
AVSM
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 ...
honours by the Government of India.
Publications
Raghavan has written four books since retiring from military service:
*''By the Land and Sea: A History of the Punjab Regiment''
*''India’s Need for Strategic Balance''
*''Infantry in India''
*''Siachen: Conflict Without End''
He has also edited several books:
*''Internal Conflicts in Myanmar''
*''Nuclear Disarmament - India-EU Perspective''
*''Internal Conflicts in Nepal- Transnational Consequences''
*''The Naxal Threat: Causes, State Responses and Consequence''
*''Conflict in Sri Lanka: Internal and External Consequences''
*''Conflicts in the Northeast: Internal and External Effects'' (jointly edited with Sanjoy Hazarika)
*''Jammu and Kashmir - Impact on Polity, Society and Economy''
*''Post Conflict Sri Lanka - Rebuilding of Society''
He has also edited more than a dozen other books and written numerous articles on strategic issues relating to India's security.
Later activities and security advocacy
In his book on the
Siachen conflict
The Siachen conflict, sometimes referred to as the Siachen Glacier conflict or the Siachen War, was a military conflict between India and Pakistan over the disputed Siachen Glacier region in Kashmir. The conflict was started in 1984 by India' ...
, he argues that neither India nor Pakistan gain a strategic advantage from the occupation of the
Saltoro
The Saltoro Mountains are a subrange of the Karakoram Range. They are located in the southeast Karakoram on the southwest side of the Siachen Glacier, one of the two longest glaciers outside the polar regions. The name given to this range is sha ...
range and proposes a road map for conflict resolution. His piece on "Limited War and Nuclear Escalation in South Asia" in the ''Nonproliferation Review'' in 2001 concluded that there was a high probability of a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan in the event of a direct military conflict between the two countries. Raghavan was a member of the independent Commission on
Weapons of Mass Destruction
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...
set up at the initiative of the
Swedish Government
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority.
The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the R ...
and headed by Dr.
Hans Blix
Hans Martin Blix (; born 28 June 1928) is a Sweden, Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party (Sweden), Liberal People's Party. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden), Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs (1978–1979 ...
. The Commission released a report, entitled "Weapons of Terror: Freeing the World of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Arms in 2006", which proposed that nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons be outlawed and discussed the options for achieving this goal.
[Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, final report, ''Weapons of Terror: Freeing the World of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Arms'', Stockholm, Sweden, 1 June 2006]
He was also a member of the Indian Government's Review Committee of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which had been opposed in
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
and other parts of
North-East India
, native_name_lang = mni
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, motto =
, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
. Although the government has not published the committee's 2005 report, it was reported that the panel recommended that the act be repealed. Raghavan has argued that security should be viewed in terms of
human security Human security is a paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities whose proponents challenges the traditional notion of national security through military security by arguing that the proper referent for security should be at the human rather t ...
in societal, environmental, economic, and political terms, instead of the narrow military perspective.
See also
*
1987 Sino-Indian skirmish
In 1986–87, a military standoff took place between India and China in the Sumdorong Chu Valley bordering the Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh and Cona County, Tibet. It was initiated by China moving a company of troops to Wangdung, a pastur ...
*
Events leading to the Sino-Indian War
A long series of events triggered the Sino-Indian War in 1962. According to John W. Garver, Chinese perceptions about the Indian designs for Tibet, and the failure to demarcate a common border between China and India (including the Indian Forward ...
*
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 ...
*
Origins of the Sino-Indian border dispute
*
Sino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tib ...
*
Sino-Indian relations
Notes
External links
The HinduWebsite of Publisher of His booksCentre for Security Analysis, Chennai Publication
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raghavan, V. R.
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Indian generals
Indian military writers