Happymon Jacob is a New Delhi-based academic, columnist, and commentator. He is an Associate Professor of Diplomacy and Disarmament at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Prior to joining JNU in 2008, he held teaching positions at the University of Jammu in J&K and Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi; and research positions at the Centre for Air Power Studies, Delhi Policy Group, and Observer Research Foundation. Happymon is an elected member of the Pugwash Council since 2013. He is the author of Line on Fire: Ceasefire Violations and India-Pakistan Escalation Dynamics (Oxford University Press, 2019), and Line of Control: Traveling with the Indian and Pakistani Armies (Penguin Viking 2018). His concurrent engagements with the Indian media include a column with The Hindu and hosting of a weekly video show on national security on The Wire India. He is passionate about breaking down the walls between policy and scholarship and bringing together academia and practice.

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He is a proud native of the high ranges of central Kerala, although he now lives in Delhi. He speaks Malayalam, Hindi, and English. In his spare time, Happymon can be found in the countryside in the outskirts of Delhi, or at home with friends and family. He has one son, Siddhartha.

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If you would like to reach out to Happymon in regard to a speaking engagement, consultancy, or media quote, please email happymon@gmail.com. Happymon is currently working on his third major book, entitled “The Kashmir Backchannel: How India and Pakistan Secretly negotiated a Kashmir deal” discussing India-Pakistan negotiations on Kashmir from 2004 to 2007. The book will be published by the Oxford university press in 2022.