Dr. Abhinav Pandya, a Cornell University graduate in public affairs, and a bachelor's from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, is a policy analyst specializing in counterterrorism, Indian foreign policy, and Afghanistan-Pakistan geopolitics. He completed his Doctoral degree from the Jindal School of International Affairs (OP Jindal Global University). He has authored three books, Inside the Terrifying World of Jaish-e-Mohammed (HarperCollins India 2024), Terror Financing in Kashmir (Routledge 2023) and Radicalization in India: An Exploration (Pentagon,2019)
He is the founder, Director, and CEO of Usanas Foundation, India-based security, and foreign policy think tank. As a CEO, he has curated three international security and foreign policy conferences titled Maharana Pratap Annual Geopolitics Dialogue 2022, 2023 and 2024. He has extensively written for the National Interest (USA), Vivekananda International Foundation, Observer Research Foundation, South Asia Democratic Forum (Brussels), Haaretz (Israel), the Economic Times (India), HW News (India), Sunday Guardian, the Express Tribune (Pakistan), Huffington Post, Fair Observer (U.S.), Firstpost, Indian Defense Review, Indian Military Review, Policy Perspectives Foundation (India) and Quint. His research articles have appeared in peer-reviewed journals like Perspectives on Terrorism, (International Counter Terrorism Center, Hague), CLAWS Journal (CLAWS), and Strategic Analysis (IDSA). He has delivered lectures at numerous prestigious international events and conferences, including "Dismantling Global Jihad" in the United States, the "Russophile Movement" in Russia, and the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Additionally, he has addressed NATO officers on terrorism-related issues at the Baltic Defence College, as well as presented to US Congressional staff members, the Vivekananda International Foundation, the Central Reserve Police Force of India, the Bureau of Police Research and Development, and the Indian Army. Furthermore, he is a member of the Harvard University Project on Trans-Caucasus.
He has been interviewed by Carnegie, Sputnik, New York Times, Russia Today, Economic Times, News X (India), DD India, NBC (USA), Epoch Times, Zee News, Stratfor, Dainik Bhaskar, and many Ph.D. scholars working in terrorism studies.
In the past, he has advised the former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir on security issues during the critical times when Kashmir’s special status i.e. article 370 was revoked. He also worked with the International Labor Organization, UN as a member of the national-level specialist team on MGNREGS. He has extensive experience with the conflict situation and intelligence dynamics in Kashmir.