As the Dalai Lama turns 90, the question of his reincarnation is no longer just spiritual; it has become a test of cultural survival and regional balance. Few grasp these delicate undercurrents better than Amitabh Mathur, a veteran intelligence officer who rose through the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) to become Special Secretary. In 32 years of intelligence, diplomacy, and security—specialising in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kashmir—it is Mathur’s quiet bond with the Tibetan cause that sets him apart, showing how intelligence can merge with empathy in a world defined by hard power.
Raised in Rajasthan and educated at Delhi’s St. Stephen’s College, a ‘Muk Wester’ in residence, as Stephanians say, Mathur’s journey took him from the Indian Police Service into the hidden world of espionage. Yet behind the cloak-and-dagger image is a soft-spoken man, quick to laugh and precise in thought.