Ranjit ‘Ricky’ Gill, is the senior director for South and Central Asia and Special Assistant to the US President. He received the award from US State Secretary Marco Rubio
Trump Advisor Ricky Gill awarded for 'India-Pakistan Ceasefire' role
Washington DC: An Indian-origin advisor to the US President Donald Trump, Ricky Gill has been awarded the National Security Council’s Distinguished Action Award for his role in “India-Pakistan ceasefire negotiations”.
Gill is the senior director for South and Central Asia and Special Assistant to the US President. He received the award from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this week. Gill was appointed to the position in January, when Trump came to power.
Gill has shot into the limelight after he was awarded for his role in 'negotiating' the ceasefire between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor this year.
"Maybe this kid is some kind of wunderkind," Thomas Holyoke, an associate professor of political science, said about then 24-year-old Ranjit 'Ricky' Singh Gill when he stood as a candidate for the House of Representatives from California in 2012. However, Gill lost to Democrat Jerry McNerney in a tightly fought contest, failing to leave a mark.
However, Gill, an Indian-origin adviser to US President Donald Trump, has now shot into the limelight after he was awarded for his role in "negotiating" the ceasefire between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor this year.
The National Security Council's Distinguished Action Award for Gill is being viewed by many in India as a soft push by Trump to peddle his favourite assertion that he mediated the May 10 truce between the two nuclear-powered countries - a claim that has been vociferously rejected by India on several occasions.
Gill, who serves as senior director for South and Central Asia at the NSC and special assistant to Trump, received the award from Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this week.
However, the Trump administration has not revealed how Gill helped negotiate the ceasefire or the exact nature of his role. Nevertheless, the development has brought into focus the 37-year-old lawyer, who was born to Punjabi Sikh immigrant physicians Jasbir and Param Gill in Lodi, New Jersey.
WHO IS RICKY GILL?
Ricky Gill was among the three Indian-Americans that Trump brought on board for key advisory roles in his second term. Known to be close to Trump, Gill also served as the director for Russia and European Energy Security at the NSC during the Republicans' first term.
The NSC is a powerful body that coordinates military, diplomatic and economic functions across several US departments and agencies. In his second stint, Gill has been tasked with overseeing the sensitive India-Pakistan, Afghanistan and broader South and Central Asia portfolio.
