Bio
Aftab Seth is a former Indian diplomat, poet and author. His ambassadorial assignments in Greece, Vietnam and Japan were preceded by postings in Beirut, Indonesia, Germany, Pakistan and Egypt besides postings in New Delhi in various capacities.
His first book of poem was published in 1995, which was followed by a book in Japanese Zo wa Yasete mo Zo de Aru (roughly translated as “If an Elephant gets thin it is still an Elephant”) by his alma mater Keio University’s press. Both these books are out of print now.
His book Half a Century: My Connections with Japan by Northern Book Centre was followed by his memoir A Diplomat’s Garden, and his second poetry collection I Do Not Know Why. His latest book Indonesia: A Beautiful Archipelago was published in 2026.
He topped the Indian Foreign Services list in 1968 after his early education at The Doon School and St Stephens College, including a gap year at Keio University in Japan where he studied among other, Japanese and stood out because of his academic brilliance. He completed his higher education at Oxford University in History and Politics as a Rhodes Scholar.
He is a professor and Director at the Global Security Research Institute in Keio University and is a visiting professor at Doshisha University in Kyoto and IIT Bombay.
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