 He was appointed as a member of the World Bank's Info Appeals Board in July 2010 

He studied at Welham Boys School then known as Welham prep school and later joined the Doon School at Dehradun, from where he also did his Senior Cambridge in 1961; Bachelor of Arts (Honours)History from St Stephens' College, University of Delhi in 1965; and Master of Arts (History) from University of Delhi in 1967.He was a member of Indian Administrative Service.Member, Advisory Council, Brookings Doha Center, International Advisory Council, Doha, Qatar
Member, Advisory Council, USIP Education and Training Center, Washington DC
Chairman, Board of Governors, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar(J&K)

Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence in Secularism-1994
Gold Medal for Distinguished Service; Governor of Jammu & Kashmir-1996
Lala Ram Mohan History Award; Delhi University-1967

The Problem Kashmir Today, a Symposium on a Troubled State; Seminar 392-April 1992, New Delhi

Kashmir 1947; Burdens of the Past, Options for the Future