New Delhi. India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval attended the convocation ceremony of IIT Roorkee today. During this, Doval told the students an anecdote from his early career when he was posted as a young IPS officer in Sikkim. During that time, the Chinese Army had captured some people of Indian Intelligence. After this incident, Doval started feeling that his career was over. However, after this, a fellow elderly Sherpa said something to Doval which taught him a big lesson in life.
NSA Doval said, I was a young IPS officer and was new to intelligence work. I was 20-25 years old and was in-charge of Intelligence in Sikkim. At that time Sikkim was not a part of India, but the process of joining India was going on. I was part of that process. But my responsibility also included monitoring the border areas and gathering information about the activities of the PLA and the movements of the Chinese army. Once we sent an intelligence mission to the border area for an operation. He was to return in about eight days. Five days passed, then ten days passed, and then 15 days passed, he did not come. This was a matter of great concern for me, not only professionally but also from a humanitarian point of view. We didn't know whether those people were alive or not, what happened to them.
#WATCH | Uttarakhand: A two-day convocation ceremony began at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee today, during which degrees will be awarded to 2,701 students.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is attending the convocation as the chief guest, while… pic.twitter.com/JDaTj1AbtI
— ANI (@ANI) September 19, 2026
Doval said, then I got a call from the headquarters and my boss told me that they were in the custody of the Chinese army. He was captured by the Chinese and interrogated. Well, later perhaps there might have been some conversation, or negotiation, or some deal and that is why they came back. His condition was very bad. Then investigation into this matter started, I knew this was the end of my career. Investigation completed. I was found not guilty. Perhaps, I did everything right. The sketches and maps given to us from the headquarters had some shortcomings and mistakes. This is why this happened. But still I was very sad.
VIDEO | Addressing at the IIT Roorkee convocation ceremony, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval says, “You are graduating from one of the most prestigious institutions in the country. An institution which was established long back, and which over the years has contributed… pic.twitter.com/3xXih2Oh3Z
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 19, 2026
After this, an elderly Tibetan Sherpa who was my companion and worked with me in the Intelligence Bureau asked me, Sir, why are you so sad? I told her that I had started this career with high hopes, but now everything seemed to have gone wrong. He said, Sir, it is nothing like that. It's all a game of map-reading. Life is really just a question. Some people are able to read maps correctly, and some people read them incorrectly. That Sherpa, who had lived in the snowy mountains for many years, told me three things. First- know where you are now. Second – knowing where you want to go and third – knowing the right way to reach there.