Quick Facts

Name

Amitabh Mattoo

Occupation

Academic, Public intellectual, Strategic thinker, Author, Columnist

Birth Date

26 June 1962

Place of Birth

Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India

Amitabh Mattoo Biography

Professor Amitabh Mattoo is Advisor to Chief Minister (with the status of a Cabinet Minister) and Chair, Jammu and Kashmir Knowledge Initiative.
He is Professor of Disarmament Studies at the Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is also honorary Director of AII@Delhi and honorary Professor in the Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne.

Other Positions held Concurrently

      • Member, Eminent Panel of the India Consensus – a prestigious new partnership between the Tata Trusts and the Copenhagen Consensus Center, co-funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
      • Chairman, Committee to Improve Learning Outcomes in Government School, Jammu and Kashmir (since February 2018)
      • Member of Governing Council, Delhi School of Transnational Affairs (since January 2018)
      • Chairman, Kirorimal College, Governing Body (since 2016)
      • Member, The Lancet Commission on the Health and Well Being of Young People (since 2013).
      • Member of the Executive Committee (since 2013) and Governing Council (since 2008), Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995).
      • Co-Chair (with Ambassador Sherry Rehman) of the Chaophraya Track II Dialogue between India and Pakistan (since 2009). Funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
      • Visiting Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi (since 2013).
      • Member, Institute of Public Administration Australia’s High Level Advisory Committee on Broadening Public Sector Engagement with Asia (since 2013).
      • President, Indian Association for International Studies (IAIS) (since 2010).
      • Member, Governing Council, Indian Council for Social Science Research (since 2010).
      • Member, Academic Council, Vishwabharti University (founded by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore), Shantiniketan (since 2011).

 

    • Member, Editorial Board: International Studies (since 2009); Strategic Analyses (since 2008); India Quarterly (since 2009).
    • Member, International Editorial Board, Journal of the Indian Ocean Region (since 2013).
    • Chairman, Kirorimal College, Governing Body
    • Chairman, Committee to Improve Learning Outcomes in Government School
    • Member of Governing Council, Delhi School of Transnational Affairs

Past Positions Held

    • Mal Smith Asian Fellow, Ormund College, University of Melbourne (2013).
    • Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu (2002-2008).
    • Vice Chancellor, Shri Mata Vaishnov Devi University of Science and Technology (2004, as an additional charge).
    • Member, National Knowledge Commission to the Prime Minister of India (2008-2009).
    • Member of the Indian Prime Minister’s High Level Group on Nuclear Disarmament (2010-2011).
    • Chair, Programme Committee (and Member of the Governing Body and Council), Indian Council for World Affairs, New Delhi (2010-2011).
    • Member, Research Committee, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi (2009-2011).
    • Member, Executive Council, Central University of Karnataka (2009-2012).
    • Director, India-Afghanistan Foundation (2007-2010).
    • Member, Prime Minister’s Task Force on Global Strategic Developments (2005-2006).
    • Member, Governing Council, Nuclear Science Centre, New Delhi (2003-2005).
    • Member, Standing Committee, Association of Indian Universities (2004-2006).
    • Member National Security Council’s Advisory Board, Government of India ( 2001-2003).
    • Member, Executive Council, University of Kashmir (2002-2008).
    • Visiting Professor, Foundation Maison des sciences de l’homme, Paris (May-June 2001).
    • Chairperson, Centre for the Study of International Politics, Organization and Disarmament, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (1999-2001).
    • Member, Committee for Advanced Studies and Research, SIS, JNU (1999-2001).
    • Visiting Professor, Centre for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, 1999.
    • Visiting Professor, Programme in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1996.
    • Associate Professor of International Studies , Jawaharlal Nehru University, 1995-2001.
    • Visiting Professor, Joan. B. Kroc International Institute of Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, 1994.
    • Assistant Editor, The Telegraph, 1994-1995.
    • Assistant Editor, The Independent, 1992-1995.

 

  • Brockhues Scholar, St. Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, 1991-1992.
  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office Scholar, St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, 1988-1991.

Academic Qualifications

    • 1988-1992: Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations, St. Edmund Hall, University of Oxford. Title of thesis: The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament: A Study of its re-emergence, Growth and Decline in the 1980s.
    • 1987: International Course in Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Uppsala, Sweden.
    • 1984-1986: M.Phil. in Disarmament Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

 

  • 1982-1984: M.A. in International Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
  • 1979-1982: B.A. in Politics, Economics and Geography, University of Kashmir.

Awards, Scholarships, Grants and Prizes

    • Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Hindustan University, 1, Rajiv Gandhi Salai, Old Mahabalipuram Road, Padur, Kelambakam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 603103, 2016.
    • Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian awards, by the President of India for excellence in education and public life, 2008.
    • Qimpro Platinum Standard Award for Excellence in Education, 2008.
    • Shehjar Person of the Year Award, 2009.
    • British Peace Building Fund Grant to promote India-Pakistan Relations, 2008-2014.
    • Brockhues Scholarship, St Edmund Hall Oxford, 1991-1992.
    • Foreign and Commonwealth Office Scholarship to study at Oxford, 1988-1991.

 

  • Junior Research Fellowship, University Grants Commission, 1985-1987.
  • National Merit Scholarship, Government of India, 1982-1984.

Books

  • India’s Foreign Policy in the Asian Century (working title; manuscript in preparation).
  • Deconstructing the Argumentative Indian, Amitabh Mattoo (ed.), Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, (forthcoming).
  • Rise of China and India: Implications for the Asia-Pacific, Amitabh Mattoo, Mallika Joseph (eds.), Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2014.
  • India-Australia Relations in the Asian Century: Perspectives from India and Australia, Amitabh Mattoo, Souresh Roy (eds.), Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2014.
  • The Reluctant Superpower: Understanding India and its aspirations, Amitabh Mattoo (ed.), Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2012.
  • Shaping India’s Foreign Policy: People, Politics and Places, Amitabh Mattoo, Happymon Jacob (eds.), Har-Anand Publications, New Delhi, 2010.
  • India and Pakistan: Pathways Ahead, Amitabh Mattoo, Kapil Kak, Happymon Jacob (eds.), Knowledge World Publications, New Delhi, 2007.
  • Beyond the Rhetoric: The Economics of India’s Look East Policy, Amitabh Mattoo, Frederic Grare (eds.), Manohar Publications, New Delhi, 2003.
  • India and ASEAN: The Politics of India’s Look East Policy, Amitabh Mattoo, Frederic Grare (eds.), Manohar Publications, New Delhi, 2001.
  • Engaged Democracies: India-U.S. Relations in the 21st Century, Amitabh Mattoo, Kanti Bajpai (eds.), Har-Anand Publications, New Delhi, 2000.
  • The Peacock and the Dragon: India- China Relations in the 21st Century, Amitabh Mattoo, Kanti Bajpai (eds.), Har-Anand Publications, New Delhi, 2000.
  • India’s Nuclear Deterrent: Pokhran II and Beyond, Amitabh Mattoo (ed.), Har-Anand Publications, New Delhi, 1999.
  • India and the Bomb: Public Opinion and Nuclear Options, Amitabh Mattoo & David Cortright (eds.), University of Notre Dame Press, 1999.
  • Securing India: Thoughts and Practices, Kanti Bajpai & Amitabh Mattoo (eds.), Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 1996.

Task Force Reports

  • G-20: The Way Forward.
  • The Indian Ocean Region: Security, Stability and Sustainability in the 21st Centurywith Dennis Rumley et al., Australia India Institute, Melbourne, 2013.
  • Jammu and Kashmir: An Agenda for the Future, with Salman Khurshid et al, Delhi Policy Group, New Delhi, 2007.