NSA Doval Recounts 1970s Sikkim Intelligence Operation Gone Wrong

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval revealed at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee's convocation ceremony on Friday that an intelligence operation he oversaw in Sikkim during the 1970s resulted in his team being captured by Chinese forces. Doval, who was serving as the intelligence chief in the border region at the time, dispatched a covert team near the international boundary on a routine mission. The team failed to return for several days, prompting mounting concern at headquarters. Subsequent inquiries revealed the operatives were being held in Chinese custody. The team was eventually released, though Doval noted that the personnel returned in a severely traumatized condition. The incident triggered a formal investigation into the operation's execution. Doval said he feared the probe would end his intelligence career, but he was ultimately exonerated when the investigation determined that critical errors in the headquarters' maps—not faulty operational planning—had contributed to the mission's complications. The NSA's account offered rare insight into the challenges faced by intelligence officials during India's early decades of border management, and underscored how bureaucratic failures at higher levels could jeopardize field operations.