# Ashok Kantha
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{{Short description|Indian diplomat}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Ashok Kantha
|office = Former Indian Ambassador to China
| order =
|predecessor = [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](/source/Subrahmanyam_Jaishankar)
|successor = [Vijay Keshav Gokhale](/source/Vijay_Keshav_Gokhale)
| term_end = January 2016
|office2 = Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia
|predecessor2 =
|office1 = Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka
|predecessor1 =
|successor1 = Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha
|term1 = 2009–13
|term2 = 2007–2009
|successor2 =
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1955|5|14|df=y}}
|birth_place =
|occupation = Career Diplomat
|term_start = 6 January 2014
}}
'''Ashok Kantha''' or '''Ashok K. Kantha''' is an Indian diplomat and was formerly the Indian Ambassador to the China.[{{cite web | url=http://indianembassy.org.cn/DynamicContent.aspx?MenuId=33&SubMenuId=0 | title=Embassy of India, Beijing | date=20 January 2014 | accessdate=30 January 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116160023/http://www.indianembassy.org.cn/DynamicContent.aspx?MenuId=33&SubMenuId=0 | archive-date=16 January 2010 | url-status=dead }}] He is a 1977 batch [Indian Foreign Service](/source/Indian_Foreign_Service) officer. He had previously served as Secretary to the [Ministry of External Affairs](/source/Ministry_of_External_Affairs_(India)) [Government of India](/source/Government_of_India) (2013–2014), High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka (2009–2013) and as India's High Commissioner to Malaysia (2007–2009).[{{cite web | url=http://mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/22193/Shri+Ashok+K+Kantha+appointed+as+the+next+Ambassador+of+India+to+the+Peoples+Republic+of+China | title=MEA India | date=12 September 2013 | accessdate=4 January 2015}}] He is currently the Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi.[{{Cite web|url=http://www.icsin.org/faculty/show/278|title=ICS- Institute of Chinese Studies : Ashok K. Kantha|website=icsin.org|access-date=2017-05-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407223125/http://www.icsin.org/faculty/show/278|archive-date=7 April 2017|url-status=dead}}]
==Early life and background==
Kantha was born on 14 May 1955.{{Citation needed|date= July 2022}} After graduating in history from [Patna University](/source/Patna_University) in 1975, he briefly worked as an executive with the State Bank of India. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in July 1977 and studied Chinese Language at [Nanyang University](/source/Nanyang_University), Singapore.