Jaideep Saikia is a South Asian security and terrorism expert.[2] He has served the governments of India and Assam in security advisory capacities, including a stint as an Expert on Northeast India in the National Security Council Secretariat.[3] Jaideep Saikia is also a top theorist and expert on Islamic State, al-Qaeda and Islamic terror groups of all hues and denominations. He is an authority on Islamist related violence in Bangladesh and the Indian sub-continent and has written authoritative papers on the subject - especially after his tour of Bangladesh in March 2016. He was also a Senior Fellow at the "Vivekananda International Foundation" in Delhi.

Jaideep Saikia
Born1966 (age 58–59)[1]
NationalityIndian
OccupationTerrorism and conflict analyst, author

He also lectures on the subject of his expertise in various forums, and is consulted by various government agencies, NGOs and Think Tanks.

He has been a member of different Indian delegations for "Track II Dialogue" with Bangladesh, China, Myanmar and Japan. Jaideep Saikia is also the first person to have translated the Assamese National Song, O Mur Apunar Desh into English.[3]

Education

Saikia is a graduate of the Rashtriya Indian Military College in Dehradun, St Stephen's College in Delhi, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was a Ford Fellow.[3]

Books

He is also the author of the book Terror Sans Frontiers: Islamist Militancy in North East India,[4] which in the words of South Asia observer, Stephen Philip Cohen, is "One of the most important books on the question of insurgency yet to appear..." Jaideep Saikia also is a regular commentator on the ULFA, Bangladesh and Islamist extremism in South Asia, with numerous papers and books on the subject, which he has either edited or written. His most recent edited anthology, "Frontier in Flames: North East India in Turmoil"[5] is a collection of essays by experts on the region. The anthology was released in New Delhi by the celebrated columnist B G Verghese in February 2008. In the book, Saikia had not only documented all the Islamist terror organisations that are operating in the region, but was the first to predict the entry of al-Qaeda into the Indian sub-continent.

His latest works include "Terrorism: Patterns of Internationalization", "Circle of Treason: Bangladesh Beyond the Threat of Illegal Migration, "Shadow of Daesh" and "Mind Over Matter".

Awards

  • Governor of Assam’s “Scroll of Honour” for commendable work for countering insurgency in Assam on 9 June 1999.[3]
  • Citations from the General Officers Commanding, 3 and 4 Corps for “invaluable and selfless contribution to the nation’s security” and for “stimulating work on a wide spectrum of evolving security paradigm” respectively in January 2021.[3]
  • “Scroll of Honour” from the Government of Assam for transcreating Assam’s National Song “O Mur Aapunar Dekh” for the first time into English, on 18 January 2021.[3]
  • Achiever 2020 Award on 21 April 2021 for Outstanding Contribution to National Security.[3]

References

  1. "Shri Jaideep Saikia, Security Analyst and North-Eastern Region Journalist delivered lecture at Amity". Amity University.
  2. "India explosions death toll rises". BBC News. 31 October 2008.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 ""Insurgency in North East India: Strategic Encirclement & The New Concern", Jaideep Saikia – Seminars in Peace and Conflict Studies". University of Leeds.
  4. Vision Books, New Delhi, the abridged version can be accessed at: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - 3k
  5. published by Penguin Books