Internationally renowned conflict theorist and bestselling author, Jaideep Saikia has been awarded the Director General Assam Rifles Commendation Card for 2024.
The Director General of the Assam Rifles, Lt Gen P.C. Nair pinned the decoration on Saikia in the Assam Rifles HQs in Laitkor, Shillong on February 1.
Saikia is the second civilian to receive the prestigious award. The award has been presented to him for his selfless and dedicated service to the nation.
Saikia had earlier, in 2022, been decorated with the Indian army’s Eastern Army Commander’s Commendation Card for invaluable and exemplary service to India’s national security.
Saikia has held several important assignments including that of Expert, North East in the National Security Council, Government of India and has also advised the Government of Assam on counter insurgency.
He was also a Senior Fellow with the Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi, where he directly worked under the present Indian National Security Adviser, Ajit K Doval.
Saikia has also been a member of the Indian delegation for Track-II Dialogue with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Japan. His novel theory for boundary resolution with China (Line of Amity) has attracted great attention worldwide.
Prof. Bruce Hoffman of Georgetown University, Washington DC had called Saikia a “conflict theorist & analyst without peer”.
The late Prof. Stephen Philip Cohen of the Brookings Institution, Washington DC, had termed his bestselling book Terror Sans Frontiers, as one of the most important books yet to appear.
Saikia was also the sole Asian Fellow of the prestigious military academy, West Point, USA in 2022.
An alumnus of the Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun, St.Stephen’s College and the University of Illinois at Urbana -Champaign, USA, Saikia was a distinguished visitor to the USA on the invitation of the US Department of State.
Saikia has published several books on security and strategy and over a hundred academic papers and articles on security and strategy.
A popular strategic columnist, Saikia is a frequent invitee to prestigious institutions such the National Defence College, New Delhi, Army War College, Mhow and has lectured in fora such as Wilton Park, United Kingdom, Rand Corruption, Washington DC and Beijing University.
He also has six anthologies of poetry and over fifty of his poems have been translated into Assamese in a compilation titled, Susupti.
Jaideep Saikia is also the first person to transcreate Assam’s National Song O Mur Aapunar Dex into English.
