New Delhi:
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval today recalled a tense episode from his early intelligence career when a team operating along the Sikkim-China border failed to return as scheduled, leaving him worried about the fate of its members and convinced that his own professional career was over.
Speaking at the convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, Doval described himself as a young Indian Police Service (IPS) officer “in his twenties” who was new to intelligence work when he was posted to Sikkim during the territory’s transition into the Indian Union. His responsibilities included overseeing intelligence operations in the border areas and monitoring the movements and activities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
“I was a young IPS officer, new to the intelligence profession. 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. But my responsibility also included looking after the border areas and collecting intelligence about the movement of the PLA, activities of the Chinese Army,” Doval said at IIT Roorkee.
Sikkim became India’s 22nd state in 1975. For centuries, Sikkim was ruled by the Namgyal dynasty, whose monarchs were known as Chogyals, a title often translated as “God-Kings”.
According to Doval, an intelligence team dispatched across the border failed to return within the expected timeframe. Days turned into weeks, and Doval said he was left struggling.
“Once, we had an intelligence mission in the border area, and about eight days later, they had to return. So, five days went by, then ten days went by, then perhaps 15 days went by. For me, it was a matter of very great concern, not only professionally but also on the human side, that so many people we don’t know whether they are dead or alive, and what has happened to them,” Doval 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.’ They were caught by the Chinese and interrogated. Anyway, the Chinese returned them, probably after some talks or negotiations, or a deal must have been struck. So, they returned totally shattered, in shambles. And an inquiry was started,” he added.
An inquiry was then initiated into the operation. Doval said that, at the time, he was convinced the incident had brought his career to an end.
“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,” he said. “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.”
After India became independent in 1947, Sikkim did not immediately become part of the Indian Union. Instead, the India-Sikkim Treaty of 1950 established a protectorate relationship. India assumed responsibility for the kingdom’s defence, external relations and communications, while Sikkim retained autonomy over its internal affairs. It was not until 1975 that the northeastern state officially became a part of India.
