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P. K. Gautam

pkgautam

Consultant
Email: 
pkgautam2003[a]yahoo[dot]co[dot]in
Phone: 
+91 11 2671 7983
Archive data: Person was Consultant at IDSA

A veteran of 1971 Indo-Pakistan War in Bangladesh and Operation Meghdoot (Siachen glacier) and a MSc in Defence Studies and Instructor- in- Gunnery. Last served in Faculty of Studies at the School of Artillery, Devlali. Post premature retirement in 2000, he has engaged in research and on giving lectures and presentation on his research themes. He was a Research Fellow at the IDSA from August 2005 till April 2018. With effect from September 2018 he is a Consultant for the Indigenous Historical Knowledge (IHK) Project at https://idsa.in/history. Has an abiding interest in Non Traditional Security(NTS) including environmental security, water and climate change, military affairs, and Tibet. He was convener of the IDSA working group Security Implications of Climate Change for India (2009) and a member of IDSA Task Force Report: Water Security for India(2010). He is the lead author of IDSA Task Force Report Tibet and India’s Security (2012).

Some select published books are: Environmental Security: Internal and External Dimensions and Response ,New Delhi, Knowledge World, 2003 ; National Security; A Primer , New Delhi, Knowledge World, 2004 ; Operation Bangladesh, New Delhi, Manas, 2007; Composition and Regimental System of the Indian Army: Continuity and Change, New Delhi, IDSA/Shipra, 2008; Environmental Security: New Challenges and Role of Military, New Delhi, IDSA/Shipra, 2010.

From 2012/13 he has steered the IDSA project ‘Indigenous Historical Knowledge’ and has a number of articles, three monographs ,and five chapters on or related to Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra in four edited volumes of which he is also the co-editor of the trilogy Indigenous Historical Knowledge; Kautilya and His Vocabulary, Volumes I, II and III (20015/2016). His present research interest is Kamandaka’s Nitishastra and the Kural .

Publications at IDSA

Composition of the Army- Then and Now

One Year of Arthasastra : Response , Pedagogy and Research – Col. P.K. Gautam

Publication

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Indigenous Historical Knowledge: Kautilya and His Vocabulary (Volume I)

  • Publisher: Pentagon Press
    2015

This book is the first in a series of three volumes on “Kautilya and His Vocabulary” as a part of the “Indigenous Historical Knowledge” project undertaken by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. The edited volumes contain select papers presented in a series of workshop, national and international seminars organised by the institute. The project is an attempt to trace, look into, analyse and relate with the indigenous strategic thinking in India. These volumes aim at initiating the study, internalisation, spread and consolidation of Kautilya’s Arthashastra in the strategic domain. The four focus themes in the three volumes are foreign policy, intelligence, war and internal security as they relate to contemporary times.

  • ISBN 978-81-8274-849-1,
  • Price: ₹. 695.00
  • E-copy available

  • Published: 2015
  • Book

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Current Issues in Climate Change

The problems caused by climate change have been recognised as one of the greatest concern of this century. The subject is futuristic, relevant and multi-disciplinary with many stakeholders. The matter encompasses not only the health of the planet itself, but also that of nations and individuals.

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Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Chanakya Niti

Traditionally, Kautilya or Vishnugupta, is considered the author of Arthashastra. He is also known as Chanakya, the scholar and chief minister who ‘destroyed the power of the Nandas and placed Chandragupta Maurya on the throne of Magadha’ in the 4th century bc. By the name of Chanakya, he had also authored a text known as Chanakya Niti. However, there is no proper understanding in the general public about the seminal work authored by Kautilya such as the Arthashastra and Chanakya Niti.

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A Comparison of Kamandaka’s Nitisara and Kautilya’s Arthashastra: Statecraft, Diplomacy and Warfare

Kamandaka’s Nitisara was composed after the classic and the only surviving root text of Kautilya’s Arthashastra. Both the texts are important milestones in Indic heritage and tradition of political science. They share many fundamental and enduring similarities in concepts and vocabulary. There are also dissimilarities and some unique features such as Kamandaka’s strategy of Upeksha (neglect, diplomatic indifference) reused and revived during the Indian freedom struggle.

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Science and India

Consultant to Indigenous Historical Knowledge Project at IDSA, Colonel P. K. Gautam’s article titled ‘Science and India’ has been published in Liberal Studies, Vol.3, Issue 2, July-December, 2018.

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  • Published: 4 June, 2019

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Military-Ecological Interface

Consultant to Indigenous Historical Knowledge Project at IDSA, Col PK Gautam’s article ‘Military-Ecology Interface’ has been published in the Journal of the United Service Institution of India (USI), Vol. CXLIX, No. 615, January-March 2019.

The threats to national security have both, widened and broadened. Threats are no longer just militaries invading and conquering a country as in the past. Today threats such as ecological degradation and adverse impact of climate change are to be catered for by adaptation with resilience. Joint military doctrine recognises emerging non-traditional challenges. This article traces contribution and interface by the military to ecological security. To understand contribution by the Indian military, a brief history of environmental stewardship with empirical examples of activities has been covered. The second part is about the way the United States (US) Indo-Pacific Command has institutionalised Environmental Security Forum. It achieves both, military to military cooperation and is a tool of military diplomacy. The article also recommends mechanism for addressing the present and future challenges.

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  • Published: 25 April, 2019

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Broadening the Education for Synergetic Civil–Military Relations

Statecraft, diplomacy and warfare are not only a matter of brute force, but also a function of scholarship to understand the past, present and future of the art, science and literature of national and international security. At higher levels in their professional career, besides the armed forces, a number of civil servants too have to deal with the state’s use or threat of the use of legitimate force. This article suggests broadening the education for synergetic civil–military relations (CMR).

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Thucydides: Quoting and Misquoting

The Peloponnesian war was fought from 431 to 401 BC between the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta and the Athenian Empire, known as the Delian League led by Pericles, the ruler of Athens. In the initial phase of the war, Thucydides (460–395 BC) was removed from command by the Athenian government after he failed as the commanding general to prevent a Spartan occupation of Amphipolis. He was exiled for 20 years. This came as a blessing in disguise for the scholar in him. The exiled general now had the scholarly atmosphere of solitude to write his book as the war was fought.

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