INTERVIEW
AJANEESH KUMAR
DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL, INDIAN
COUNCIL OF WORLD AFFAIRS
The Indian Council of World Affairs was established in 1943 by a group of Indian intellectuals as a
think tank. The oldest think tank for Foreign Policy in India, it was declared as an “Institution of
National Importance” by an Act of Parliament in 2001. The Vice President of India is the ex-offi cio
President of ICWA. A number of renowned and prestigious Indian think tanks and organisations like
the "Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses" (IDSA), "School of International Studies" (which was
later merged with the famous Jawaharlal Nehru University), and the "Press Institute of India" were
established here.
The Deputy Director General, Ajaneesh Kumar, in an interview with the Senior Editor of The
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist, Jeethu Elza Cherian, speaks candidly about how ICWA
helps in bridging gap between practitioners and scholars in India’s foreign policy. An offi cer in the
Indian Foreign Service (IFS), he is expected to take up his role as the next High Commissioner of India
to Brunei Darussalam. Excerpts…
Q As the Deputy Director General of
Indian Council of World Aff airs, what
do you think is the most rewarding
aspect of this profi le?
As the Deputy Director General of
ICWA, I must say it is a position where
I think Offi cers from the Ministry of
External Aff airs as well as people who
are involved in International Relations
(IR) should have an attachment. The
duration of the attachment can vary
depending on the interest and the
requirements of time, but if you ask me
individually, I have benefi ted immensely
from this Council. I’m someone who has
got penchant for International Relations
and the Council is just the right place
where one can dwell on things ranging
from WTO issues to Realpolitik and
Geopolitical perspectives, emerging
scenarios, military movements, defence
relations and the entire gamut of IR, and
with a faculty behind me and reading
the output from these people who are
experts in their respective areas, I think
my view of the world today is much
better than what it was earlier.
Q Do you think there is diff erence
in how scholars and diplomats view
the whole gamut of International
Relations and diplomacy? How do
you propose that the gap be bridged?
Yes, there is a fundamental diff erence
because Diplomats are practitioners,
38 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 10 • Oct-Nov 2018, Noida
and a Diplomat not necessarily has an
IR (degree in International Relations)
behind him — he could be an engineer
or doctor or somebody like me who
has done physics and law and then
qualifi ed the Civil Services. So, while
we may not be an expert in IR in the
so called historical context of things,
but then as practitioners we have
certain takeaways which are missing
in the academic world; it comes to the
table much later. So defi nitely there is
this gap, and it is because of this gap
that institutions like Indian Council
of World Aff airs were created, where
practitioners like me are posted; the
Director General who is a retired Indian
Foreign Service offi cer. Then his vision