National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval was in his 20s and still relatively new to the intelligence profession when a mission near the China border took an unexpected turn. Doval feared the episode could bring his career to an end. Instead, it taught him a lesson that he says has remained with him ever since. The usually reserved NSA spoke about the high-risk mission while addressing the IIT Roorkee convocation on Saturday.
At the time, Doval said he was serving as the intelligence chief in Sikkim. His duties involved monitoring the border and collecting intelligence on the 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 had previously been an independent kingdom governed for more than 300 years by the Chogyals of the Namgyal dynasty. Following India’s Independence, Sikkim signed a treaty with India in 1950, becoming an Indian protectorate. Under the arrangement, India took responsibility for its defence and foreign affairs, while Sikkim retained internal self-government.
Sikkim formally became a part of India in 1975, in a process that has remained largely secretive. A highly classified RAW operation reportedly worked behind the scenes for more than two years during the period leading up to the merger.
Doval was posted to the Himalayan state during this period. He recalled sending a team close to the border on an intelligence-gathering mission. The team was supposed to return within eight days, but 15 days passed without any communication.
“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. He added that there had been no reports of an avalanche or any other natural disaster.
Doval soon received a call from headquarters. “My boss asked, ‘Have you sent some people across?’ I said, ‘I do not know. They must be coming’,” he recalled.
His biggest fears were confirmed when he was told that the team had been detained by the Chinese army and subjected to interrogation.
The Indian agents were eventually released several days later. Doval said he believed that “some deal must have been struck”. When they returned, he recalled, they were “totally shattered, in shambles”.
'THOUGHT IT WAS END OF MY CAREER'
For Doval, who was still in his 20s, the incident proved extremely stressful and upsetting. An inquiry was ordered, and he became convinced that his career was over.
“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.
Doval was eventually cleared of wrongdoing after the inquiry found that the maps and sketches supplied to his team by headquarters contained inaccuracies.
“I wasn't found at fault. Probably, I had done everything right,” he said.
Although the inquiry cleared him, the experience left Doval deeply disturbed. “I was very sad. It was one of those phases in life when you feel very down,” he recalled.
An unexpected piece of advice from a Tibetan Sherpa who worked with him in the Intelligence Bureau helped him deal with the experience.
“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 telling him. While he did not disclose the man’s identity, Doval said the Sherpa had spent years navigating snow-covered mountains.
The Sherpa then gave him three principles that Doval came to regard as important guides: “First, know where you are. Second, know where you want to go. And third, know the route to get there.”
For Doval, those words eventually became more than advice about navigating mountains and evolved into a broader philosophy for life.
Doval has since gone on to become one of India’s most prominent intelligence officials. He has served as NSA since 2014 and has played a key role in several major national-security operations, including the 2016 surgical strikes in Pakistan, the 2019 Balakot airstrike and Operation Sindoor in 2025.
