Mr. G. K. Pilliai

Born on 30.11.1949, Shri Gopal K. Pillai joined Indian Administrative Service in year 1972 and belongs to Kerala cadre.

Shri Gopal K. Pillai studied at Bishop Cotton Boys High School, Bangalore and St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore. Done M.Sc at IIT, Madras.

In Kerala he started his career as Sub-Collector, Quilon in the year 1974. He worked in diverse fields of Revenue Administration, and was District Collector, Quilon which had a population of 2.8 million. He was Deputy Secretary, Labour, Special Officer for Cashew Industry, Special Secretary, Industries, dealing especially the traditional industries of cashew, coir and handloom. Later he became as Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, in the State during 1993-96. He later served as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Kerala during the period 2001-04.

In the Government of India, his first central deputation was in Ministry of Defence as Under Secretary/Deputy Secretary during 1978-1982. During 1988-1993 he served as Director/Joint Secretary in the Department of Surface Transport. Later served in the Ministry of Home Affairs as Joint Secretary (North East) from 1996 to 2001. In 2004, he joined Ministry Commerce and Industry as Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Special Secretary, Commerce and then elevated to the rank of Secretary, Department of Commerce in the year 2006.

He served as Secretary, Department of Commerce from 2006 to June 2009 and dealt with matters like WTO, RMTR & UNCTAD, SEZ and EOUs. He was also Chairman of the BOA for SEZ/EOU.

He has represented State and Central Government delegations to USA, EU, Argentina, Brazil, DRC, Singapore, Japan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Canada, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, U.K., Thailand and Slovenia.

He was appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Home Affairs on 11 June 2009.

Shri Gopal K. Pillai took over as Union Home Secretary on 30th June 2009. He was also concurrently Secretary of the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law & Justice. He retired on June 30, 2011 as the Union Home Secretary of India.

Mr. Gopalaswami Parthasarathy

Mr Gopalawami Parthasarathy is the Former Ambassador of India to Myanmar, Australia, Pakistan, and Cyprus. He is currently visiting Professor in the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and a Senior Fellow and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and a member of the Executive Committee of the Centre for Air Power Studies in New Delhi. He writes for a number of newspapers on foreign policy and national security. He is on the Panel of Experts from India for Track 2 Dialogue with ASEAN and a member of the Indian Delegation to the high level Indo-U.S. Strategic. Mr Parthasarathy whilst a Foreign Service Officer also served in Russia, Tanzania, USA and Pakistan. In New Delhi, he was the Deputy Secretary in the Foreign Secretary’s Office. He has served as the Spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs and to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He has been a member of Indian Delegations including summits at United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement and SAARC.

Mr. Ved Prakash Marwah

Ved Prakash Marwah is the former governor of Manipur, Mizoram and Jharkhand and a former member of the Indian Police Service, Marwah has held various positions in different Indian states during his career, including Commissioner of Police, Delhi; Director General of the National Security Guard and Adviser to the Governors in Jammu & Kashmir and Bihar. Ved Prakash Marwah headed the Marwah Commission to inquire into the role of the police during 1984 Anti-Sikh riots. He served as governor of Manipur from 1999 to 2003, governor of Mizoram from 2000 to 2001, and governor of Jharkhand from 2003 to 2004. Ved Prakash Marwah wrote the book Uncivil Wars: Pathology of Terrorism in India. He is on the governing council of the Asian Academy of Film and Television.

Mr. S R Mehra

S R Mehra joined the Indian Police Service in 1970 and was assigned to the Assam – Meghalaya cadre. He has served in senior capacities both in the State (Assam/Meghalaya) and Central Governments this includes Inspector General of Police; Joint Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat, Director General, Central Reserve Police Force, Commissioner of Security (Civil Aviation) and Secretary (Security) for the Indian Government. He retired from service in March 2008. Whilst in the National Security Council, he specialized in international relations, international terrorism and negotiations at the highest levels. As an expert on aviation security he recently presented to the World Customs Organization and East West Institute, Brussels. In recognition of his service, he was awarded the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service and President’s Medal for Distinguished Service.

Mr. Maroof Raza

Maroof is the Mentor of Security Watch India. He has appeared on almost all of India’s leading television channels as an expert on military and security matters, and on BBC’s World Service radio programmes. He is currently the Strategic Affairs Editorial Adviser to Times Now, one of India’s leading television news service. He is a former Indian Army officer, with experience in counter-insurgency operations. His articles are published regularly in leading Indian newspapers and he has authored two books. Maroof has held Visiting Fellowships at the Centre for Policy Research, Delhi, at the Henry L. Stimson Centre, Washington and at the War Studies Department of King’s College, London.

Mr. B G Verghese

BG Verghese has been with the Centre for Policy Research since 1986. He started his career in journalism with the Times of India and was later Editor of the Hindustan Times and Indian Express. He was Information Adviser to the Indian Prime Minister between 1966 and 1969, a Gandhi Peace Foundation Fellow. He received the Magsaysay Award in 1975 and Assam's Sankaradeva Award in 2005. BG Verghese works with a number of NGOs in the fields of media, education, environment and community relations. He is chairman of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Delhi, and a distinguished fellow of the Administrative Staff College of India. BG Verghese was co-author of the Kargil Review Committee Report chronicling the events leading up to the India-Pakistan confrontation. He has authored several books

Mr. Ashok K Mehta

Major General Ashok K Mehta was commissioned into the Indian Army in 1957. Since then he has taken part in all military operations except the 1962 China war when he was on a peacekeeping mission in Zaire. He has studied in the USA and UK and was a founder member of the Indian Defence Planning Staff. His last assignment was General Officer Commanding, Indian Peace Keeping Forces South, in Sri Lanka. Since retiring in 1991 he has been a regular radio and television commentator and columnist. He has been the consulting editor, Indian Defence Review, Member, Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis, and Director, Security and Political Risk Analysis. He anchors a regular Indian television panel on security issues. He was the convenor of three peace processes: India-Nepal, India-Pakistan and India-Sri Lanka. He is the author of several books.

Mr. Afsir Karim

Major General Afsir Karim was commissioned into the Indian Army in 1954. He commanded a Parachute Battalion during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 before being promoted to command an infantry brigade and then an infantry division of the Southern Command. He retired in 1989. He is a specialist on issues related to terrorism and he has authored a number of books as well as being a former editor of the premier Indian defence publication “The Indian Defense Review” and a life trustee on the Forum for Strategic & Security Studies. Major General Karim is considered to be a pre-eminent expert on the disputed states of Jammu and Kashmir. He was a member of India's National Security Advisory Board between 1999 and 2001, and was awarded the AVSM for distinguished service of an exceptional order.