Dr Ashley Tellis, the foremost strategic expert based in Carnegie Endowment, Washington and senior advisor to the Bush administration, has been awarded the prestigious inaugural M L Sondhi Prize for his 'outstanding contribution, relevant to India, to the theory and practice of international politics.'

Tellis, in his capacity as senior advisor to the Bush administation, moved against the prevailing intellectual current in making his case for bolder US-India ties, and has played a significant role in the idea, structuring and implementing the July 18, 2005 nuclear deal.

M L Sondhi Memorial Trust and the M L Sondhi Institute for Asia-Pacific Affairs, a capital-based think tank, had announced the setting up of the prize, beginning 2006, in the honour of late Prof M L Sondhi.

The prize, comprising Rs one lakh, a plaque and an invitation to lecture in Delhi, will be awarded at a function to be held in April.

Some of Tellis' major works include India's Emerging Nuclear Posture, Interpreting China's Grand Strategy, Limited Conflicts under the Nuclear Umbrella, Measuring National Power in the Post-Industrial Age and India as a Great Power: An Action Agenda for the United States.