Ajit Doval Sikkim mission: The country’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is not called India’s ‘James Bond’ for no reason. Throughout his career, he has carried out innumerable such daring missions that one can imagine. NSA Doval, who arrived as the chief guest at the convocation ceremony of IIT Roorkee on Saturday, while addressing the students, shared an incident from his initial phase which surprised everyone present in the auditorium. This was the story of that time, when during a mission, his entire spy team was captured by the Chinese Army (PLA) and Doval felt that now his career was over forever.
Sikkim annexation and border tensions| Ajit Doval Sikkim mission
Ajit Doval told that this incident is from his days as a young IPS officer, when he was completely new in the intelligence department. At that time Sikkim was being merged with India and Doval was deployed on the border. His main responsibility was to gather intelligence inputs by keeping a close watch on the activities and movements of the Chinese army across the border.
Meanwhile, under a highly confidential mission, an Indian intelligence team was sent to the border area. According to the plan, the team was to return within a certain time limit, but even after several days, no trace of the team was found.
There was silence for several days and then that call came from the headquarters.
Recalling that human and mental stress, Doval said that that period was very scary. He did not even know whether his companions were alive or not. At that time there was no news of any avalanche or accident in the area, which could explain the reason for their disappearance.
After several days of unbearable waiting, a message finally came from the headquarters that all the team members had been detained by Chinese security forces. The Chinese Army interrogated him rigorously and later through negotiations he was returned safely.
‘I thought I would have to find a new profession at the age of 20’
As soon as the news of the team’s capture was received, the ground slipped under the feet of Ajit Doval. He was completely sure that after this big mistake his government career would end. Doval expressed in his own words, “I was in my 20s at the time. I thought this was the end of my career and I would have to find something new to do.”
However, later when a high-level inquiry was conducted into the entire matter, Doval was found completely innocent. The investigation revealed that the sketches and maps provided to the field team from the headquarters had technical flaws and mistakes, due to which the team unknowingly strayed into the Chinese occupied area.
‘Today’s generation is the luckiest in the last 1000 years’
While instilling enthusiasm among the youth of IIT, NSA Doval termed the present generation as the luckiest generation in the last 1,000 years. He said that previous generations have seen the era of slavery, restrictions and limited resources, whereas today’s youth is living in an era where there are unlimited opportunities. He stressed that in the coming times, technology will become the biggest basis for the progress, security and sovereignty of any country.