Vappala Balachandran is a columnist and author who was Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India. He is also a security & intelligence expert. After retirement he was chosen as a member of the two-man “High Level Committee” by Maharashtra government to inquire into the police response during the Mumbai November 26, 2008, terror attacks.
He has authored 3 books, two on security and one on the life of a forgotten Europe based freedom fighter who was a close friend of Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose. He has also published nearly 600 columns on security and strategic subjects in Indian and foreign journals.