Colonel Ramani Hariharan, VSM (Retd), was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery in 1963 and later moved to the Intelligence Corps. He participated in the India–Pakistan wars in Kutch (1965) and East Pakistan (1971), and has extensive counter-insurgency experience in the Northeast, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal for his distinguished service during the Indian Peace Keeping Force operations in Sri Lanka (1987–90).
Post-retirement, he has been a prolific commentator on strategic and security issues across print, electronic media, and television, with over 900 published articles and 14 books. He has participated in numerous national and international conferences, served as Director of the Madras Management Association, and is a founder member of the Chennai Centre for China Studies. He has also been a visiting faculty member at institutions including the IIMs at Indore and Raipur.