G. D. Bakshi

Major General Gagan Deep Bakshi (born 1950) is a retired Indian Army officer.

Early life and education

Bakshi was born in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. His father was S. P. Bakshi.

He was educated at Christ Church Boys School, Jabalpur. After his schooling, he went to the National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla, Pune.

Career

Bakshi was commissioned in the Indian Army from IMA Dehradun in November 1971. He commanded the 6 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles.

Bakshi was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal for commanding a battalion in the Kargil War. Later, he was awarded the Sena Medal for distinguished service in commanding a battalion during counter-insurgency drives.

Bakshi subsequently commanded the Romeo Force (Part of Rashtriya Rifles) during intensive counter-insurgency operations in the Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir and succeeded in suppressing the armed militancy in this area.

Bakshi served two tenures at the Directorate General of Military Operations and was the first BGS (IW) at the Northern Command, where he dealt with Information Warfare and Psychological Operations. He retired in 2008.

Controversies

Bakshi has promoted fake news and misinformation on multiple occasions. In 2019, he wrongly claimed that a soldier was jailed in Tihar following a 2014 incident involving the death of a civilian in Budgam, and Mehbooba Mufti as CM had ordered no checking of vehicles. Fact checkers found these claims to be false because Mufti was not a CM at that time and there is no evidence of such an order that prevented checking of vehicles. Lt Gen Deependra Singh Hooda rejected the claim that a soldier was jailed after the Budgam incident.

Bakshi has claimed that more than Quit India Movement, it was Indian National Army (INA) who was responsible in bringing independence to India. Bakshi depends on flawed arguments not supported by academic literature while making these claims. The Print cites his position as a trustee in Netaji Bose INA Trust as one of the reason to downplay Quit India Movement.

In 2021, Bakshi shared images to claim that Pakistani soldiers were killed in Panjshir conflict. This claim was debunked by fact checkers who found the images falsely claimed Pakistani actors working in a military-themed film to be actual soldiers.

He is sometimes called on news channels for his views on politics and he often appears on Republic TV, where he frequently defends narrative of Arnab Goswami. His analysis is often criticized by other journalists for having a strong bias favouring the ruling government's agenda. In one debate at Republic TV he was criticized for using profane language.

Bibliography

Awards and decorations

References