National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has recalled a tense episode from his early years as an IPS officer, when a surveillance team he had dispatched along the India-China border in Sikkim was captured by Chinese troops. Speaking at the convocation ceremony of IIT Roorkee on Saturday, Doval said the incident left him fearing that his career was over.
The NSA recalled that in his 20s, he was posted in Sikkim and monitoring activities along the border were part of his responsibilities. Doval said that ahead of Sikkim’s merger with India, he sent a team on a five-day mission for border surveillance. The team, however, did not return even after 10 days.
He then received a call from the Intelligence Bureau headquarters informing him that the team was in the custody of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). In that moment, Doval said, he thought that it was the end of his career.
Sharing the incident, he said, “We got no reports of any avalanche or anything. It was a matter of deep worry and concern. But I got a telephone call from the headquarters, and my boss told me, “Have you sent some people across?” I said, “I do not know. They must be coming. They should have come in five or six days, but now it is about ten or eleven days.” He said, “They are in Chinese custody now.””
Later, the team was released unharmed from Chinese custody. An inquiry into the incident found errors in the sketches and maps that were provided to the team by the headquarters, which caused confusion about the border’s location, he revealed.
“So, they returned totally shattered, in shambles. And an inquiry was started. I knew that this was the end of my career. I was still in my twenties, and I had to start a new career. I saw the incident as something very unprofessional. Anyway, the inquiry was over. I wasn’t found at fault. Probably, I had done everything right. The sketches and the maps that were given to us by the headquarters had some defects and mistakes in them. That is how it happened,” he recalled.
Despite this, he said, the incident left him deeply disappointed and distressed.
“I was very sad. It was that phase of life when you feel extremely dejected,” he said.
During this difficult time, advice from a Tibetan Sherpa colleague left him with a valuable life lesson.
“It is all a matter of map-reading. Some people read maps correctly, while others get it wrong,” Doval said, sharing the advice from the Sherpa, who he said had scaled Mount Everest eight times and spent years amidst snowy peaks.
The NSA said the Sherpa also shared three mantras that have influenced his life significantly: first, where are you; second, where do you want to go; and third, what is the route to get there and come back.
Over time, this advice evolved from merely a way to navigate mountainous paths into a perspective on life, Doval said.
The NSA was the chief guest at the institute’s two-day convocation ceremony, where 2,701 students were awarded degrees alongside Chief of Defence Staff General N.S. Raja Subramani as the guest of honour.
(With agency inputs)