Ashley Tellis Age, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ashley Tellis

• After finishing his postgraduation in Mumbai, India, Ashley Tellis moved to the United States to pursue a PhD in Political Science at the University of Chicago.

• In 1994, he published his PhD research titled Drive to Domination: Towards a Pure Realist Theory of Politics.

• After that, Ashley Tellis worked as a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California, United States. He also worked as a policy analysis lecturer at the RAND Graduate School.

• At RAND, he studied nuclear deterrence, South Asian security, and global power politics after the Cold War. His work combined data analysis with real-world political knowledge.

• After that, Ashley Tellis joined the US State Department during the George W. Bush administration, where he worked as the senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. He also worked as a special assistant to then US President George W. Bush.

• He then served as a senior adviser to the US Ambassador at the Embassy in New Delhi. During this period, he helped negotiate the US-India civil nuclear agreement. The deal was successful and improved relations between the two countries.

• Apart from being a diplomat, Ashley Tellis is also an author. In 2001, he published a book titled India’s Emerging Nuclear Posture. In the book, Tellis wrote that India’s development as a nuclear-weapon power was slow and gradual. He wrote,
  

  India’s emergence as a true nuclear weapon power will more likely be a slow, gradual, and distinctive process due to a number of factors, from “India’s traditional and highly publicised commitment to disarmament” to the limitations of its “adversaries’ coercive capabilities.”

  

  The cover of the book India’s Emerging Nuclear Posture

• Ashley Tellis once stated in a conference that the U.S. should reduce its strict guidelines to control nuclear weapons in South Asia.

• He claimed that the U.S. should build a strong relationship with India, as it would bring better results for the U.S. rather than just demanding nonproliferation.

• Ashley Tellis said that a close partnership with India would also benefit the interests of America in many ways.

• His views then helped in shaping the U.S. perspective towards India and supported the civil nuclear deal signed in 2008.

• Through this deal, India continued its nuclear weapons program and improved cooperation with the U.S.

• After that, the U.S. accepted India as a nuclear power and built stronger ties based on shared interests, rather than only on controlling weapon spread.

• Ashley Tellis then published a book titled Ready Arsenal and Strategic Asia: Reshaping Economic Interdependence in the Indo-Pacific.
  

  The cover of the book Ready Arsenal and Strategic Asia Reshaping Economic Interdependence in the Indo-Pacific

• After that, Ashley Tellis joined the United States Foreign Service. He also served on the staff of the US National Security Council.

• He held the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He also worked as a senior fellow at the same institution, where he focused on international security and US foreign and defence policy, paying special attention to Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

• Ashley Tellis has served as the Research Director of the Strategic Asia Program at the National Bureau of Asian Research. Since 2004, he has also co-edited the annual volume of the program.

  

  Ashley Tellis speaking during a conference at Asia Society

• He has worked as an advisor to the US State Department and as a contractor in the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment.

• In 2017, Father Frazer Mascarenhas, former Principal of St. Xavier’s College, South Mumbai, said in a media conversation that Ashley Tellis was a thoughtful student. He added that Tellis used to deliver lectures about India-US relations during his college years. Mascarenhas said,

  With a clear, sharp mind, Tellis always knew what he was doing right from the beginning. His thoughts about international relations and recommendations for strengthening India-US relations were firm from his college days.”

• In September 2022, Ashley Tellis was reportedly seen meeting Chinese officials at a restaurant in Virginia while carrying a manila envelope.

• On 11 April 2023, he met the same officials again for dinner, where they discussed Iran-China relations and new technologies.

• His writings often question traditional views in both American and Indian policy circles.

• In one of his essays, India’s Great Power Delusions, he wrote that India’s global strategy was larger than its real abilities. He warned that big ambitions without proper institutional changes could lead to strategic mistakes.

• Reportedly, the essay showed his balanced, fact-based, and straightforward writing style.

  

  The cover of the essay India’s Great Power Delusions by Ashley Tellis

• In October 2025, Ashley Tellis came into the limelight when the U.S. police arrested him for keeping national defence documents unlawfully.

• Some media reports claimed that he had more than a thousand pages of classified records stored at his home.

• During investigations, federal agents found the top-secret papers in the basement of his house in Vienna, Virginia. These papers were labelled as ‘TOP SECRET’ and ‘SECRET’ by him.

• Ashley Tellis had top-secret clearance, which gave him access to sensitive government information.

• During court proceedings, Lindsey Halligan, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, released a statement about the case. Halligan said,
  

  The charges as alleged in this case represent a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens. If convicted, Tellis can face prison time of up to 10 years, and a fine of up to $250,000.”

• Court records revealed security footage which showed Ashley Tellis leaving federal offices, including a State Department building, with a briefcase believed to contain those documents.

• He then met Chinese connections while he had some of these documents with him.

• The court mentioned that on 2 September 2025, during one of the meetings, Ashley Tellis received a gift bag from the Chinese officials.

• He has often appeared as a guest on various Indian news channels.
  

  Ashley Tellis while answering questions on an Indian news channel