From the pen of Suresh Kochattil :THE SPY WHO CAME FROM THE COLD
AJIT KUMAR DOVAL UNMASKED : He is almost like a shadow of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sure enough, many of us have seen Ajit Kumar Doval present at almost all delegation level talks in the 20 countries that PM Modi has travelled since assuming office a year ago. Why is it that PM Modi always seeks Ajit Doval’s advise in matters of importance, be it domestic or international is in the realm of speculation. A lot has been written about the past exploits of Doval ever since he was appointed as the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister when Modi Sarkar was sworn in after a emphatic victory at the hustings.
As most of us would know by now, the reclusive Doval operated as a spy in China and Pakistan without the regimes there not getting even a whiff of the work he was doing there. He also worked from behind the scenes during the turbulent times at Amrtisar’s Golden Temple giving police and army details of terrorists operating from side and the weaponry they had. Ajit Doval is a man who fits into John Le Carre’s definition of a Spy – a person who silently, diligently works from behind the scenes and ensuring that we, the citizens of India can sleep peacefully at night.
Hailing from Pauri Garhwal, Doval comes with impeccable credentials having spent a decade as the head of Intelligence Bureau's operations wing and later served as the Director of IB. It was his indepth knowledge on issues that made the 1968 Kerala cadre IPS officer, a man with a mission. It is said, actor Salman Khan was so enamoured by exploits of Doval, that he made a movie modelled on him - Ek Tha Tiger. In 1988, Doval was awarded one of the country's highest gallantry awards, the Kirti Chakra, becoming the first police officer to receive a medal previously given only as a military honour.
Doval is a specialist negotiator and has handled all 15 hijackings of Indian Airlines aircraft from from 1971 onwards, including the Kandahar episode. Doval’s ability to talk his way and convince people was best appreciated when he won over six of Laldenga's seven commanders in the Mizo National Front and that was the end of MNF . He spent long periods of time with the Mizo National Army in the Arakan in Burma and inside Chinese territory.
Later, Doval moved to Sikkim and again proved that he can do the impossible. Following riots against the Chogyal, the titular head of Sikkim, Doval persuaded the Prime Minister of of Sikkim to agree to merge with India. Within hours, Indian Army moved into Gangtok and disarmed the guards at Chogyal's palace and Sikkim became India's 22nd state.
Securing actionable intelligence, sorting it out, getting it double checked and most importantly building up a network of informers is a thankless job. All it takes is a botched up operation or a terror attack for everyone, specially politicians, to point to an intelligence failure. Post retirement, Doval was Director of the Vivekananda International Foundation, a think tank that many in the opposition accuse of being part of the RSS.
Doval’s abilities were put to test when in June 2014, forty six nurses, most of them hailing from Kerala were kidnapped by ISIS from a hospital in Tikrit. Typical of him, Doval flew into Iraq on a secret mission and worked his charm around the Iraqi Government and sympathisers of ISIS – and ISIS handed over the nurses in two buses at Erbil.
But it was the recent operation in Myanmar, that Ajit Doval took the biggest gamble of his career. While the fighting ability of commandos of 21 Para were never in doubt, the intelligence had to be spot on. Even a slightest error would have cost the lives of the highly trained commandos – and with it Doval and PM Modi would have to take the blame. The network of spies on the ground did an amazing work by getting the details and precise location of the two camps that housed the Naga militants, who had a few days before killed 19 Indian Army men on a road opening operation.
Doval recently made two shuttles to Myanmar in unmarked aircraft operated by RAW, and what he was did there can be guessed. The Myanmar military junta was told by Doval in a firm manner that the time had come to shut the terror workshops along its border with India. The Mayanmar army has very little control in the border villages, and its hands off policy encouraged the militant groups to operate against India with impunity. So, the message from Delhi was clear: either you act, or we will do it.
Not all spies live the life of James Bond and most of them lead a life of relative obscurity, with no mention of medals and awards. Three decades ago, I remember a relative of mine who was with the IB and worked in the north east, by running a tea shop. A Malayali and a tea shop, no matter where, was never to be doubted, but he spoke very little of what he did during service, and it was only after retirement he told us a little bit of what he did, but it was very sketchy. Spies never talk, they take their secrets to the grave.
The role and importance of RAW and IB took a severe beating during the tenure of I K Gujral and Manmohan Singh, and both these outfits never recovered from the internal strife and politics. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and even Nepal were flexing its muscles and as a country, we were a sitting duck. Naturally, once Modi was at the helm,he knew whom to turn to and fix the rot that had destroyed our ability to develop human intelligence that could pre-empt terrorist attacks in or country. And from what we have seen so far, Ajit Doval has not let his boss or the country down.
( Suresh Kochattil is a Strategic and nationalist writer, also associated with BJP.)
Ajit Doval to Pakistan: “You can do one Mumbai; you may lose Balochistan”
Ajit Doval to Pakistan: “You can do one Mumbai; you may lose Balochistan”