| Mahendra Lal Kumawat | |
| Birth Place: | Rajasthan |
| Service: |  Indian Police Service |
| Cadre: | Andhra Pradesh |
| Batch: | 1972 |
| Rank: | Former Director General of Border Security Force |
| Awards: | President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service (1997) |
Mahendra Lal Kumawat (also known as M.L. Kumawat) is a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1972 batch of Andhra Pradesh cadre with a range of experience in the national and sub-national governments with a focus on border security, counter-terrorism and counter-Naxalism.[1] Notably, he was the former Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF), the border patrol agency of the Government of India.[2] He also served as the Special Secretary (Internal Security) at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.[3]
As Special Secretary (Internal Security) at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, he was also appointed the Chairman of the Ceasefire Monitoring Group for Nagaland.[4] In October 2012, he was appointed the Vice Chancellor of the newly created Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice in Rajasthan.[5] Previously, he was the chief of Greyhounds (police), the Anti-Naxal Commando Force of Andhra Pradesh from 1992 to 1994.[1] He also proposed the National Police University, later approved by the Union Cabinet.[1] He was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1989 and the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service on 26 January 1997.[1]
As a Distinguished Visitor and later Advisor to the Observer Research Foundation, he has authored various studies on security issues, most notably 'Building the resilience of India's internal security apparatus' [6] and 'Fifty years after Naxalbari: It's time for a new narrative'.[7]