Shri Vijay Gokhale is an esteemed diplomat and accomplished scholar. He has served as India's High Commissioner to Malaysia and Ambassador to Germany and China. He assumed the role of India’s Foreign Secretary thereafter. Currently, Mr. Gokhale is a Distinguished Professor at Symbiosis International University in Pune, where he imparts his knowledge and expertise to the next generation of diplomats, and as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Carnegie India, further solidifying his influence in the field of foreign policy.
As an accomplished author, Mr. Gokhale has enriched the literature on international relations with several notable publications. His books, including "Tiananmen Square – The Making of A Protest, A Diplomat Looks Back" (HarperCollins, May 2021), "The Long Game: How China Negotiates with India"
(Penguin Random House, July 2021), and "After Tiananmen: The Rise of China" (HarperCollins, September 2022), have received critical acclaim and serve as essential resources for those interested in diplomatic history and India-China relations.
His scholarly contributions extend beyond books, with a series of working papers published by Carnegie India, covering significant topics like "The Road from Galwan: The Future of India-China Relations," "India’s Fog of Misunderstanding surrounding Nepal-China Relations," "A Historical Evaluation of China’s India Policy: Lessons for India-China Relations," and "What India Should Do Before the Next Taiwan Strait Crisis," published in April 2023.
Mr. Gokhale's expertise and insights have also been featured in prominent international publications, including the New York Times, The Berlin Pulse, Foreign Policy, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, American Purpose, Tagesspiegel, as well as leading Indian newspapers such as The Hindu, The Indian Express, and the Times of India. His extensive body of work continues to enrich the understanding of international diplomacy and foreign affairs. He holds an MA in History from Delhi University.
He is the recipient of the 2024 Ram Nath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism in the "Non-Fiction" category for his book, "The Long Game: How The Chinese Negotiate With India."
His latest book titled "Crosswinds: Nehru, Zhou, and the Anglo-American Competition over China," was published in January 2024 (Penguin)