Vaad

Ravi Kapoor is a former Indian Revenue Service officer. He earlier served in Customs & Indirect Taxes and has since built a large audience through talks, interviews, and practical guidance. A national-level strength athlete, he competed in powerlifting and bodybuilding before transitioning to public service, a background he often credits for his discipline and coaching style. He now hosts “The Syllabus of Life” and collaborates with learning platforms to run free or low-cost mentorship programs for aspirants across India.

Shiv Kunal Verma is an Indian military historian, author, and filmmaker renowned for his extensive work documenting India's military history and cultural landscapes. Born into an army family, he received his education at The Doon School and Madras Christian College. Verma began his career by opening trekking routes between Kashmir, Zanskar, and Ladakh. He later transitioned into journalism and filmmaking, producing acclaimed documentaries such as Salt of the Earth for the Indian Air Force and The Standard Bearers on the National Defence Academy.As an author, Verma has penned several significant works, including The Long Road to Siachen: The Question Why, 1962: The War That Wasn’t, and 1965: A Western Sunrise, Industani:Six degrees of separation. He also co-authored Courage and Conviction, the autobiography of General V.K. Singh.His most recent publications are Yodha-1 and Yodha-2, illustrated military histories of the Indian subcontinent. These works offer a comprehensive visual and narrative account of India's military evolution, with Yodha-1 covering the period from ancient epics to the 1857 uprising, and Yodha-2 detailing events from 1858 to the Kargil War in 1999.Hindi translation of Verma's books on 1962 and 1965 wars are now out. Order your copy here: https://www.sabreandquill.com/products/1962-and-1965-war-collection-bundle-hindi-versions-by-shiv-kunal-verma/5197527000002507429

Group Captain Ajay Kumar Ahlawat (Retd.) is a distinguished former fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force (IAF), with a service career spanning over two decades.During his tenure, Group Captain Ahlawat held several key positions, including serving as the Commanding Officer of the Operational Conversion Unit at Air Force Station Kalaikunda from July 2014 to March 2016. He also completed a staff course at the Air Command and Staff College in Montgomery, Alabama, in December 2011.Following his retirement, he transitioned into the technology sector and is currently the Chief Operating Officer at NuChain, a blockchain infrastructure company. In this role, he focuses on integrating Web3 technologies into enterprise and government applications.

Dr Abhinav Pandya, a Cornell University graduate in public affairs and a bachelor's from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, is a founder and CEO of Usanas Foundation, an India-based foreign policy and security think tank. He has authored books named 'Radicalization in India: An Exploration (2019)' and 'Terror Financing in Kashmir (2023)'.He had previously advised the former governor of Jammu and Kashmir on security issues during the critical times when Kashmir's special status, Article 370, was revoked.He has written extensively for several national and international newspapers, and worked with the International Labour Organization, the United Nations.His latest book is "Inside the terrifying world of Jaish-e-Mohammad'. Order your copy here: https://www.amazon.in/Inside-Terrifying-World-Jaish-Mohammed/dp/9365694809

Namit Verma is an India-based security and geopolitics analyst.

Shubham Sharma is a researcher on Indian Military History and Warfare.He was the part of the First Meeting of the Govt of India chaired by Minister of Culture Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in December 2020 to give suggestions regarding 125th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.He was the youngest member in the meeting.He was invited by Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji on 23rd January 2021 at Victoria Memorial, Kolkata and briefed him on INA.Shubham Sharma holds a deep knowledge about the military operations of Indian National Army and has delivered talks at the premier institutions of India including IIT Delhi, School of History Jiwaji University Gwalior etc.He has briefed several dignitaries on military operations of INA including Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh, Gen Anil Chauhan - Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Governor of Uttrakhand) and Shri RN Ravi IPS (ex Deputy National Security Advisor and Governor of Tamil Nadu).In March 2025,he pioneered the 100th birthday celebration of INA officer Lt R Madhvan Pillai who laid wreath at National War Memorial followed by giving Guard of Honour by the Tri Services of the Indian Armed Forces at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 's statue located in Delhi on Kartvya Path.

Dinkar P. Srivastava joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1978. He has served in Karachi in the early 90s. Also served in the Middle East, Washington, Brussels and Tehran.In 1993-94, as Director (UNP), he was part of successful Indian lobbying efforts against four Pakistani attempts to have resolutions on J&K adopted in UN General Assembly and UN Commission on Human Rights. He was involved in the drafting of National Human Rights Commission statute. As Joint Secretary (UNP), he participated in Indian lobbying efforts to contain the diplomatic fallout of the Pokhran II nuclear tests and prevent the internationalization of the J&K issue during the Kargil war (1999).He dealt with Indian candidature for permanent membership of the UN Security Council, UN Peace-keeping and Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. He was a member of the Indian delegations to the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993, and the International Court of Justice in the case of Aerial Incident of 1999 (Pakistan v. India). In 2011-15, as Indian Ambassador to Iran, he negotiated the MOU for Indian participation in Chabahar Port.His book 'Forgotten Kashmir: The Other Side of the Line of Control' examines the evolution of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) over the past seven decades. His latest book 'Pakistan: Ideologies, Strategies, Interests' examines the ideology of Pakistan

Pavneet Singh is an author and teacher at Tmentors UPSC platform. He teaches aspirants for Indian Civil Services Examination. His YouTube channel is called SpyGamesPavneet.

Brigadier (Retd.) Surinder Singh, SM, VSM, commanded the 121 (Independent) Infantry Brigade—better known as the Kargil Brigade—during the 1999 Kargil War. He has long argued that he repeatedly warned higher headquarters about Pakistani intrusions and intelligence lapses, claims he says were later suppressed or ignored.During the conflict he was removed from command, and in the war’s aftermath he was dismissed from service—becoming the only Indian Army officer sacked without a general court-martial—over allegations related to handling classified documents, a decision he has contested for years.A decorated officer (Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal), Singh has continued to seek an official reappraisal of the Kargil record; in 2025 he petitioned India’s Supreme Court for a fresh probe and corrections to the war history.

Prof. Gautam R. Desiraju (born 21 August 1952) is an Indian structural chemist and Honorary Professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. A pioneer of crystal engineering, he helped establish the importance of weak hydrogen bonds and introduced the “supramolecular synthon” concept.He served as President of the International Union of Crystallography (2011–2014). Educated at St. Xavier’s College (University of Bombay) and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (PhD, 1976), he has authored/edited several influential books: Organic Solid State Chemistry (1987), Crystal Engineering: The Design of Organic Solids (1989), The Crystal as a Supramolecular Entity (1996), The Weak Hydrogen Bond: In Structural Chemistry and Biology (1999, with T. Steiner), Crystal Design: Structure and Function (2003), Crystal Engineering: A Textbook (2011, with J. J. Vittal and A. Ramanan), and the broader-interest book Bhārat: India 2.0 (2022).He remains one of India’s most cited chemists and a leading voice on the future of chemistry and science in the country.His latest book 'Delimitation and States Reorganization: For a Better Democracy in Bharat' is now out.