School of Conflict and Security Studies

AVM Pawan Kumar graduated from National Defence Academy in 1988 and was commissioned as a Fighter Pilot in Indian Air Force in June 1989. The Air Officer has more than 3000 hours of accident-free flying and has flown Hunters, Jaguars and MIG-27s. He has had an illustrious career with various important assignments in service and been part of all the important courses and exercises in India and abroad. He was also Defence Attache to Czech Republic with concurrent accreditation to Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece. He played a major role in various bilateral / Multilateral engagements including various exercises with friendly foreign countries.
Air Vice Marshal Pawan Kumar served as Director General, Defence Space Agency before superannuating on 31 Aug 25. As DG Defence Space Agency, he was instrumental in formulation of Military Space Doctrine and handled all aspects related to space surveillance, communication, PNT, SSA and space weather amongst others.

Manikranth Chakravarthula is a doctoral student at the Conflict Resolution and Peace Research Programme, School of Conflict and Security Studies, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru. He holds a Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Peacebuilding from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History from Hindu College, University of Delhi. His research interests centre on political violence and peacebuilding in South Asia, with a focus on Indian approaches, state responses, and the role of civil society in negotiating state-society relations in conflict and post-conflict contexts