Ajit Doval: India’s super spy and man behind Operation Sindoor

After over 100 hours of intense hostilities between India and Pakistan, the two nations announced a ceasefire, which came into effect on May 10 at 5 pm. This development came after multiple strikes, counterattacks, and escalating military action, including the destruction of critical air defence systems, which led many to believe that both the nuclear-armed nations were heading towards a full-blown conflict.

Following the shaky ceasefire — Pakistan violated the terms of the deal with explosions being reported in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla and along the Line of Control (LoC) — India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a telephonic conversation with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in which he said that “war is not India’s choice and serves no party’s interests.”

NSA Doval in conversation with Wang Yi stated that the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22 had caused significant casualties among Indian personnel, and that India needed to take counter-terrorism actions. He emphasised that India does not intend to choose war, and it does not serve the interests of any party. “Both India and Pakistan are committed to maintaining the ceasefire and hope for the early restoration of regional peace and stability,” a statement said.

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Now, as the dust settles, it has emerged that it was Doval, Prime Minister Modi’s go-to security man, who commanded the military strikes, Codenamed operation Sindoor. He appointed a focused team to gather vital intelligence on the locations and activities of terror groups in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and within the neighbouring country.

This has once again put the focus back on Ajit Doval, also known as India’s ‘James Bond’. But who exactly is Doval and how has he emerged as one of the country’s most important officials in the Indian security apparatus.

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Rise of a cop and super spy

Born in Uttarakhand in 1945, Doval received his early education in Delhi and Ajmer, and graduated with a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Agra in 1967. A year later, he joined the Indian Police Service in the Kerala cadre, gaining experience in anti-insurgency operations in Mizoram and Punjab, including undercover missions.

In 1972, Doval was one of the three IPS officers chosen for induction into the Intelligence Bureau with his first assignment being Mizoram. In those days, Mizo rebels led by Laldenga had pulled down the Indian flag and declared freedom for the Mizo people. He then spent five years in Aizawl, mostly as an undercover agent.

Lt Gen JFR Jacob, recounts his encounter with young Doval. “We had actually taken him [Doval] as one of the MNA (Mizo National Army) guys and were about to eliminate him. We, in the army, thought of him as a deadly and fearless militant of the MNA till, one day, I was told that he is one of us.”

Doval is credited with breaking the back of the North-East insurgency in 1986. However, his best was yet to come. BAfter his stint in the northeast, he was tasked to take on Punjab insurgency. It is said that Doval played a most crucial role in Operation Black Thunder to flush out Khalistanis from the Golden Temple.

As journalist Yatish Yadav wrote, “Sometime in 1988, residents of Amritsar around the Golden Temple… and Khalistanis spotted a rickshawpuller plying his trade… The rickshaw puller convinced the militants that he was an ISI operative, who had been sent by his Pakistani masters to help the Khalistan cause. Two days before Operation Black Thunder, the rickshaw-puller entered the Golden Temple and returned with crucial information, including the actual strength and positions of the terrorists inside the shrine. He was none other than Ajit Doval undercover. When the final assault came, the young police officer was inside Harminder Sahib, streaming much needed information to security forces to carry out search-and-flush operations.”

Thereafter, Doval became the first policeman to be decorated with the Kirti Chakra, the second-highest peacetime gallantry award behind Ashok Chakra.

Doval also went undercover in Pakistan — he speaks of two incidents about his time there. Once, an old man with a flowing white beard approached him in a mosque in Lahore. He asked him if he was a Hindu. Doval denied it but as the old man, who looked every inch a devout Muslim, insisted, he had to admit the truth. The old man told him that his pierced ears had given away his identity.
The second instance that Doval has spoken about is his visit to the ‘mujras’ in Lahore. On one such evening, a fellow visitor alerted him about his artificial moustache peeling off from his skin.

Doval and the IC-814 hijacking

In 1999, an Indian Airlines plane from Kathmandu, IC-814 , was hijacked by five terrorists, who took it to Kandahar in Afghanistan, where they engaged in a nearly week-long standoff with the Indian authorities.

Eventually, the hostages were released in exchange of three dreaded terrorists in negotiations that were spearheaded by none other than Ajit Doval. Former Research and Analysis Wing chief AS Dulat has previously revealed how Doval felt about the negotiation process. According to Dulat, Doval, who shared similar views as then Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani, was unhappy about releasing the terrorists, particularly Masood Azhar. However, left with few options, he was left with no choice.

“He (Doval) would regret it, because he was Advani ji’s protege. Their thinking was alike. Like Advani ji felt, Ajit would also have felt that,” Doval is quoted as saying, adding that despite it all, Doval remained a profession through the very end of this ordeal.

Doval’s life as NSA

After a successful career, Doval retired as IB director in 2005 and started the Vivekananda International Foundation, a think-tank known to take up nationalist causes.

However, in May 2014, PM Modi appointed him as his National Security Advisor, with many noting that he and the PM thought alike on matters of national security. In fact, people who know Doval closely say that they can see his imprint on Modi’s key foreign policy. For instance, some believe that Modi’s invite to the SAARC leaders for his swearing-in 2014 was the brainchild of Doval.

In 2016 after terrorists attacked an army base in Kashmir’s Uri, killing Indian Army soldiers, it was Doval, who decided that India needed to take retaliatory action. He helmed the idea of conducting surgical strikes inside Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) opposite the Line of Control (LoC). Eleven days after the attack, Indian Army commandos crossed the LoC and destroyed seven launchpads used by terrorist in PoK, eliminating 35-40 terrorists.

Doval also helmed the Balakot air strikes — India’s response to the terror bombing in Pulwama.

Many note that the killings of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Khalistani terrorists in Pakistan are linked to Doval.

Doval has also been the point man in the discussion between India and China, after Chinese People Liberation Army (PLA) and Indian Army soldiers clashed in Galwan Valley in June 2020 and the subsequent four-year-long standoff.

With inputs from agencies