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#ThrowbackThursday: Ajit Doval, a man with the plan

Sneak Peek into the life of Ajit Doval: The genius behind Surgical Strike and Airstrike


Life of Ajit Doval has been nothing less than of James Bond.  The current National Security Advisor of the Indian Government has seen everything in his life. From spending several years in disguise in Pakistan to planning the master plan of retaliation of Pulwama attack,  he has served India with a great passion and patriotism.

Sneak Peek into the life  of Ajit Doval 

He was born in Ghiri Baneisyun village in Pauri Garhwal in Uttrakhand in 1945. His father Major G. N. Doval was an officer in the Indian Army who set the tone for Doval to serve his country. After completing his schooling from Ajmer Military School, Ajmer, he graduated with a master degree in economics from the Agra University in the year 1967. He then started to prepare for IPS and joined the IPS in 1968 in the Kerala Cadre.

The current NSA was bestowed with the Police Medal for his service as an IPS officer from the Indian Government in his first 6 years itself. He became the youngest Police Officer to get this medal as it usually takes almost 15 years of service.

Ajit Doval was involved in anti-insurgency operations in two states Mizoram and Punjab.   He was also one of the three negotiators who negotiated the release of the passengers from IC- 814 in Kandahar in 1999 to secure the release of several Islamist figures held in Indian prisons.  He has also experienced the termination of all 15 hijackings between 1971-1999 of Indian Airlines Aircraft.

 How his Intelligence career rose to fame? 

During the ‘Mizo National Front insurgency’ Doval won six of Laldenga’s seven commanders which were aimed to establish a sovereign state for Mizos.  He was with Mizo National Army for a long time in Burma, Arakan and inside Chinese territory. After Mizoram, he headed to Sikkim where he played an integral role in the merger of Sikkim with India.

During the Operation Black Thunder, he was inside the Golden Temple to gather important information which could help the Indian Army.  Ajit is also credited for the rescue of Romanian diplomat Liviu Radu who was captured by ‘Khalistan Liberation Force.’

He nearly spent 7 years in disguise in Pakistan as a Muslim to gather information without Pakistan getting a hint about it. But he was recognized by a person with a long white beard in a blink of an eye because his ears were pierced. However, Doval initially didn’t agree with the man and kept saying that he was earlier a Hindu who converted into Muslim. The person with a long beard later revealed that he himself was a Hindu, but he had to live as a Muslim to save himself. His family were killed in religious thing because they were Hindu. The unknown guy also showed the Shiv Ji’s Murty (Statue of Lord Shiva) that he used to worship at his home.

In 1990, Ajit Doval was sent to Kashmir to convince the militants like Kuka Parray to become the counter-insurgents.  This paved way for Vidhan Sabha election in Jammu and Kashmir in 1996.  He was then designated as the minister in London’s Indian High Commission.

Doval retired as the Director of Intelligence Bureau in January 2005. He remained active in the verbal exchange for the security of India.  He kept writing editorials for renowned newspapers and journals and delivered various lectures on national security at different government and non-government institution. He also co-wrote two reports on “Indian Black Money Abroad in Secret Banks and Tax- Havens”  in 2009 and 2011.

National Security Advisor

Ajit Doval was appointed as the National Security Advisor on 30 May 2014 in the first term of Modi Government. In June same year, he was responsible for bringing back 46 trapped Indian nurses from a hospital in Tikrit. Ajit flew for a top-secret mission to Iraq on 25 Jun 2014 to understand the ground reality and make high-level contacts in the Iraqi government. Although the exact circumstances of their release are not clear, ISIS released the nurses to authorities at Erbil city, who were then brought in two planes to Kochi.  He is credited to resolve the Doklam Standoff through diplomatic channels and negotiations along with present External Affairs minister S Jaishankar and then Indian ambassador to China, Vijay Keshav Gokhale.

Former Army Chief General Dalbir Singh and Ajit planned a military operation in Myanmar against militants.  The mission was successful as there were about 50 militant casualties.

Ajit has played an important role in the doctoral shift in the policy of Indian national security of India against Pakistan. India changed its stance from ‘Defensive’ to ‘Defensive Offensive’ and ‘Double Squeeze Strategy’ under his guidance.

 It is speculated that Ajit Doval played an important role in the Surgical Strike against terrorists of Pakistan on September 2016. He was also involved in the latest retaliatory action by Indian Air Force against Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakot earlier this year.  We also saw him very active during the lockdown in Kashmir when the special status was revoked from J&K. He played a crucial role in maintaining order and peace in the valley.

Read More – #WednesdayWisodom The rise of UrbanClap: An inspiring tale of success

Awards & Achievements  that he received 

  1. He is the youngest police officer to receive the Police Medal for meritorious service.
  2. He was awarded President’s police medal
  3.    He was given one of the highest gallantry awards, Kirti Chakra in 1998.

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