Diplomat Correspondent
New Delhi, DD: In a significant move to deepen the understanding of India’s strategic thought and enrich military education, the Defence Services Staff College (#DSSC), Wellington, has established the Chair of Excellence on Indian Strategic Culture. Renowned academician and public intellectual, Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, Dean, School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, has been appointed as the inaugural Chair Professor.
This visionary initiative marks a major step in empowering India’s premier Armed Forces Training Institutes with academic and domain specialisation, particularly in the realm of Indian strategic thinking and civilisational wisdom. The Chair is intended to provide critical guidance, foster academic rigour, and offer nuanced perspectives on India’s strategic ethos, thereby equipping DSSC faculty and participants with deeper, contextually-rooted insights.
Prof. Mattoo brings with him a distinguished career spanning academia, diplomacy, and policy-making. He has served as Vice Chancellor of the University of Jammu, where he led transformational reforms in higher education, founding Director of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne, member of the National Knowledge Commission and the Task Force on Global Strategic Developments of the Prime Minister of India and Adviser to the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, with cabinet rank besides visiting professor at various global universities, including the University of Notre Dame, and a member of several national and international strategic forums.
His appointment reflects the growing emphasis on integrating indigenous strategic thought into the training architecture of India’s military institutions. Through lectures, seminars, and focused research, the Chair of Excellence will act as a bridge between academic scholarship and military praxis an imperative in shaping well-rounded future Strategic leaders.
The establishment of this Chair aligns closely with DSSC Wellington’s mandate to cultivate operational and strategic excellence across India’s tri-services leadership. The presence of Prof. Mattoo is expected to foster a vibrant intellectual ecosystem, promoting deeper reflection on India’s civilisational strategic heritage, contemporary geopolitical realities, and the evolving nature of warfare.DD