Career seemed over: Ajit Doval recalls mission when China captured his agents

Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS

National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval was in his 20s and new to the intelligence profession when a mission near the China border went awry. Doval feared the incident would end his career. Instead, it left him with a life lesson that he said has stayed with him since then. The usually reticent NSA recalled the daring mission while speaking at the IIT Roorkee convocation on Saturday.

At that time, Doval said he was posted as in charge of intelligence in Sikkim. His responsibilities included keeping an eye on the border areas and gathering information about movements and activities of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

AJIT DOVAL RECALLS MISSION IN SIKKIM

“I was in my 20s, and I was posted as in charge of intelligence in Sikkim. That was not a part of India at that time. It was becoming part of India. I was part of that process where the merger was taking place,” Doval said.

Sikkim was once an independent kingdom ruled for over three centuries by the Namgyal dynasty’s Chogyals. After India gained Independence, Sikkim signed a treaty in 1950, making it an Indian protectorate. It basically gave India control over its defence and foreign affairs while allowing it self-rule.

Sikkim officially became part of India in 1975 – an integration that remains shrouded in secrecy. Behind the merger was a top-secret RAW campaign that ran for over two years. You can read more about it here.

It was during this merger period that Doval was sent to the Himalayan state. Doval recounted that during one such mission, he sent a team near the border for intelligence gathering. They were expected to return within eight days. However, 15 days went by without any word from the team.

“For me, it was a matter of very great concern, not only professionally but also as a human. We didn’t know whether they were dead or alive, and what had happened to them,” Doval said. Neither there were reports of any avalanche or any other natural incident.

Soon, Doval recalled, he received a call from the headquarters. “My boss asked, ‘Have you sent some people across?’ I said, ‘I do not know. They must be coming’,” Doval said. His worst fears came true when he was informed that his team was caught by the Chinese army. They were interrogated as well.

However, days later, the Indian agents were released. Doval suggested that probably “some deal must have been struck”. “They returned totally shattered, in shambles,” the NSA recalled.

‘THOUGHT IT WAS END OF MY CAREER’

For Doval, who was just in his 20s, the episode was devastating and stressful. An inquiry was launched, and Doval believed his career was finished.

“I knew that this was the end of my career. I thought I had to start a new career. I saw the incident as something very unprofessional,” he recalled.

However, Doval eventually got a clean chit. Why? Because the inquiry team found that the maps and sketches provided to his team by the headquarters contained errors. “I wasn’t found at fault. Probably, I had done everything right,” Doval said.

Even though he was not held responsible, the experience left him shaken and deeply upset. “I was very sad. It was one of those phases in life when you feel very down,” Doval recalled.

However, an unlikely piece of advice from a Tibetan Sherpa, who worked with him in the Intelligence Bureau, helped him cope with the episode.

“Ye sab map-reading ka chakkar hai (It is all about reading maps). Some people get their map reading right; others get it wrong,” Doval quoted the Sherpa as saying. While he did not reveal his name, Doval said the Sherpa spent years navigating snow-covered mountains.

The Sherpa then offered him what Doval described as three guiding principles. “First, know where you are. Second, know where you want to go. And third, know the route to get there,” Doval recalled.

For Doval, the advice became a way of looking at life itself.

Since then, Doval has risen to become one of India’s most prominent and accomplished spies. As NSA since 2014, he has been at the forefront of key national-security operations, including the 2016 surgical strikes in Pakistan, the 2019 Balakot airstrike and Operation Sindoor in 2025.

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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA