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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Climate Change and Environmental Degradation in Tibet: Implications for Environmental Security in South Asia

Both the Chinese government and the Tibetans are in agreement over the impending issues relating to the adverse impact of climate change on Tibet while the India-specific data on glacier melt is as yet inconclusive. There is, however, a difference of perception in Sino-Tibetan discourse over the capitalist model of economic development being undertaken by China which is at variance with the cultural practices of Tibetans, informed and regulated as they are with the Buddhist values of oneness with nature. Nomadism is also fundamental to the preservation of the ecology of Tibet.

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Some Issues of Civil Military Relations

The current discourse which is mostly about the role or the absence of such a role for the military in decision making misses out on key currents and issues like overcoming the massive import syndrome and sustaining the positive image of the soldier in society.

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Research and Think Tanks

Zina O'Leary, The Essential Guide to Doing Research, Vistas Publications, New Delhi, 2005, pp. 226, Rs 350

Nicholas Walliman, Your Research Project: A Step-by-step Guide for First-time Researchers, 2nd ed., Vistaar Publications, New Delhi, 2005, pp. 450, Rs 560

Clive Opie (ed.), Doing Educational Research: A Guide for First Time Researchers, Vistaar Publishers, New Delhi, 2004 (originally published Sage, London, 2004), pp. 244, Rs 340

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Trends in Thinking about Warfare

Militaries the world over need to study and understand lessons from the ongoing military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon, and the new knowledge needs to be placed in context. Neglected military history itself provides enduring lessons. This article attempts to capture the trends and debates in the understanding of current warfare and outlines how lessons of war are interpreted with a focus on future trends in war-fighting. The article concludes with some policy suggestions and areas for further inquiry.

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Climate Change and the Military

India is a responsible regional and global power. The military is a highly energy and material intensive part of a nation. It is also destructive in its primary mission. It is incumbent that the Indian military also must be part of the adaptation and mitigation process of climate change and related matters such as arresting environmental degradation and restoration of natural capital. This article shows some indirect linkages of climate change and war in the past.