Gaurav Arya

Gaurav Arya is an alumnus of St. Stephens College Delhi,[1] where he studied History (Hons) and graduated in 1992. After retiring from the Indian army on health grounds in 1999, he finished an MBA degree and joined the private sector.

In 1993, Arya started his training at the Officers Training Academy and was commissioned into the 17th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment on 5 March 1994.[2]

In 1999, due to a medical issue he retired from the Indian Army as a Major which very conveniently coincided with completion of his short service and is often used as a ploy by some short timers to avoid time in field. After leaving the army, he joined the private sector and completed his Master of Business Administration degree. At present, Major Arya is a journalist with Republic TV specialising in defence and producing content related to the Indian security forces in various parts of the nation.[3]

During the 2016–17 Kashmir unrest following the death of Burhan Wani in 2016, Kashmiris had started sharing photographs and open letters through the social media narrating the use of excessive forces by security forces in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, resulting the deaths of civilian protesters and various crowd-control pellet gun injuries. In response to this Major Gaurav Arya shared an open letter which immediately was widely circulated through the social media as well as the mainstream media in India.[5][6] Excerpts:

[...] The army of any nation is a blunt instrument. It's not a scalpel, but a broadsword. That's just the nature of armies anywhere. I reiterate....if anyone even touches a child, a woman or an elderly person he should be put behind bars and the keys thrown away. He can be from any arm or department of the government. Not for one moment am I advocating violence for violence's sake. [...]

[...] My issue is not with the Kashmiri youth's having a complaint with India and that complaint finding its expression in protests. My issue is with Pakistan deliberately fanning strife in Kashmir. My issue is with Hurriyat getting daily wage labourers to throw stones at security forces and putting women and children in front as shields. You say that kids are killed. I ask, what's a 5 year old doing outside when stone pelting is going on? Why was he brought outside? [...]