Ajit Doval

Ajit Kumar Doval
KC, PM, PPM
Ajit Kumar Doval
5th National Security Advisor of India
Assumed office
30 May 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Deputy Arvind Gupta
Preceded by Shivshankar Menon
Director of Intelligence Bureau
In office
July 2004 – January 2005
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Preceded by K P Singh
Succeeded by E S L Narasimhan
Personal details
Born (1945-01-20) 20 January 1945
Ghiri Banelsyun, Pauri Garhwal, United Provinces, British India (now in Uttarakhand, India)
Residence New Delhi, India
Education Masters in Economics
Alma mater Rashtriya Military School Ajmer
Agra University
National Defence College
Awards Police Medal
President's Police Medal
Kirti Chakra
Website Doval's Blog

Ajit Kumar Doval, IPS (Retd), PM, PPM, KC (born 20 January 1945) is a former Indian intelligence and law enforcement officer, who, since 30 May 2014, is the 5th and current National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of India.[1][2][3] He had previously served as the Director of the Intelligence Bureau in 2004–05, after spending a decade as the head of its operations wing.

Early life and education

Doval was born in 1945 in Ghiri Banelsyun village in Pauri Garhwal in the erstwhile United Provinces, now in Uttarakhand. Doval's father was an officer in the Indian Army.[4][5][6]

He received his early education at the Ajmer Military School (formerly King George's Royal Indian Military School) in Ajmer, Rajasthan. He graduated with a master's degree in economics from the University of Agra in 1967.[7]

In recognition of his contribution in the field of strategic and security matters, his alma mater, the Agra University (now called the Doctor Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra) at its annual convention in December 2017, awarded him the Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa). He was also awarded the Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) at Kumaun University, Nainital in May 2018.[8]

Career as IPS

Police career

Doval joined the IPS in 1968 in the Kerala cadre. He was actively involved in anti-insurgency operations in Mizoram and Punjab.[9] Doval was one of three negotiators who negotiated the release of passengers from IC-814 in Kandahar in 1999.[9] Uniquely, he has the experience of being involved in the termination of all 15 hijackings of Indian Airlines aircraft from 1971–1999.[10] In the Headquarters, he headed IB's operations wing for over a decade and was founder Chairman of the Multi Agency Centre (MAC), as well as of the Joint Task Force on Intelligence (JTFI).[11]

Intelligence career

During the Mizo National Front (MNF) insurgency, Doval won over six of Laldenga's seven commanders. He spent long periods of time incognito with the Mizo National Army in the Arakan in Burma and inside Chinese territory. From Mizoram, Doval went to Sikkim where he played a role during the merger of the state with India.[12][13]

He was trained under M K Narayanan,the 3rd National Security Advisor of India for a brief period in counterterrorism operations.[14]

In Punjab he was behind the rescue of Romanian diplomat Liviu Radu.[15] He was inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1988 before Operation Black Thunder to collect critical information.[12][16]

Doval spent six years in Indian High Commission in Islamabad, Pakistan. He went to Kashmir in 1990 and persuaded militants (like Kuka Parray) to become counter-insurgents targeting hardline anti-India terrorists.[11] This set the way for state elections in Jammu and Kashmir in 1996.[17]

After retirement (2005–2014)

Doval retired in January 2005[9] as Director, Intelligence Bureau. In December 2009, he was the founder Director of the Vivekananda International Foundation, a public policy think tank set up by the Vivekananda Kendra.[18][19][20] Doval has remained actively involved in the discourse on national security in India. Besides writing editorial pieces for several leading newspapers and journals, he has delivered lectures on India's security challenges and foreign policy objectives at several renowned government and non-governmental institutions, security think-tanks in India and abroad.

In 2009 and 2011 he co-wrote two reports on Indian Black Money Abroad In Secret Banks and Tax Havens ,with others,leading in the field as a part of Task Force constituted by BJP.[21] In recent years, he has delivered guest lectures on strategic issues at IISS, London, Capitol Hill, Washington DC, Australia-India Institute, University of Melbourne, National Defence College, New Delhi and the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie.[22][23] Doval has also spoken internationally at global events, citing the ever-increasing need of co-operation between the major established and emerging powers of the world.[24]

As National Security Advisor (2014–present)

A photo taken during an October 2014 meeting of Ajit Doval, second from right and Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar,third from right with then US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, at the Pentagon.

On 30 May 2014, Doval was appointed as India's fifth National Security Advisor.

In June 2014, Doval played a crucial role in ensuring the secure return of 46 Indian nurses who were trapped in a hospital in Tikrit, Iraq. After family members lost all contact from these nurses, following the capture of Mosul by ISIS. Doval, on a top secret mission flew to Iraq on 25 June 2014 to understand the position on the ground and make high-level contacts in the Iraqi government.[25]

Although, the exact circumstances of their release are unclear, on 5 July 2014, ISIS militants handed the nurses to authorities at Erbil city and two specially arranged planes by the Indian Government brought them back home to Kochi.[26]

Along with Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Doval planned a military operation against Islamist militants operating out of Myanmar. The mission was said to be a success with 50 militant casualties.[27][28][29]

He is widely credited for the doctrinal shift in Indian national security policy in relation to Pakistan. Switching from 'Defensive' to 'Defensive Offensive' as well as the 'Double Squeeze Strategy.'[30] It is speculated that the September 2016 Indian surgical strikes in Pakistan were his brain child, which were extremely effective in neutralizing targets hostile to India.[31][32][33][34]

On left to PM Modi is Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and on right side is Ajit Doval.

Doval is widely credited along with Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and Indian Ambassador to China Vijay Keshav Gokhale, for resolving Doklam Standoff through diplomatic channels and negotiations.[35][36][37]

In October 2018, Mr Doval was appointed as the Chairman of the Strategic Policy Group (SPG). The Strategic Policy Group is the first level of the three tier structure of the National Security Council. It forms the nucleus of the decision-making apparatus of the NSC.[38]

Awards and recognitions

  • Doval was the youngest police officer ever to get the Police Medal for meritorious service.[12] He got it after six years in the police (the norm is at least 17 years' service).[12]
  • He was later awarded the President's Police Medal.
  • In 1988, Doval was awarded one of the highest gallantry awards, the Kirti Chakra, becoming the first police officer to receive a medal previously given only as a military honour.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा सलाहकार के रूप में श्री अजीत डोवाल की नियुक्ति" (in Hindi). Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 30 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "डोवाल बने राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा सलाहकार" (in Hindi). BBC. 31 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2014. ...अजित कुमार डोवाल को प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी का राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा सलाहकार...
  3. ↑ "Modi Picks Internal Security Specialist as National Security Advisor". thediplomat.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  4. ↑ 8, Rahul Katariya September; Pm, 2015 2:04 (12 June 2015). "लक्ष्य।। (by late Major Gunananda Doval & translated by Kshitij Doval)". Insight. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  5. ↑ "Doval laments Uttarakhand's poor pace of development, growth". Archived from the original on 24 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "Top positions in country's security establishments helmed by men from Uttarakhand - Times of India". 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  7. ↑ "Ajit Doval: The most powerful person in India after PM Modi". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  8. ↑ {{Cite web|url=http://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ajit-doval-colleges-universities-students-skills-global-competition-1101785-2017-12-06;https://www.hindustantimes.com/dehradun/nsa-ajit-doval-has-a-four-point-mantra-for-success/story-AhRiJl3uJtSNj2dgfvNX5L.html}
  9. 1 2 3 4 'Bangladeshi infiltration is the biggest threat' Archived 9 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine.. Rediff, 26 April 2006.
  10. ↑ IA's Terror Trail by Anil Sharma (2014)
  11. 1 2 "Ajit Doval, giant among spies, is the new National Security Advisor". Archived from the original on 31 May 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Kandahar negotiator gets IB top post". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 8 July 2004. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008.
  13. ↑ "Sikkim Day: How Sikkim Became a Part of India". The Quint. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  14. ↑ "M.K.Narayanan". 23 April 2010. Archived from the original on 23 April 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  15. ↑ "'Hero spy' Doval named Modi's security advisor". Mail Online. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  16. ↑ "Return of the Superspy". newindianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
  17. ↑ "The Doval Doctrine: Never Say Never Again | OPEN Magazine". OPEN Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  18. ↑ "The Brains Behind Modi Sarkar - Brijesh Singh - Tehelka - Investigations, Latest News, Politics, Analysis, Blogs, Culture, Photos, Videos, Podcasts". tehelka.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017.
  19. ↑ "Terrorist threat and response capability - India a year after". deccanherald.com. Archived from the original on 24 November 2009.
  20. ↑ "About Us". www.vifindia.org. 17 January 2017. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  21. ↑ "Bharatiya Janata Party". www.bjp.org. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  22. ↑ "Vivekananda International Foundation - Seeking Harmony in Diversity". vifindia.org. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014.
  23. ↑ Working in real time Archived 16 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  24. ↑ "Power Shifts and International Order". ISF. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  25. ↑ "NSA Doval went on secret mission to Iraq". The Hindu. 1 July 2014. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  26. ↑ "Indian nurses freed in Iraq given rapturous home welcome". 5 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016 – via www.bbc.com.
  27. ↑ "NSA Ajit Doval, General Dalbir Singh planned retaliatory strike against militants - The Economic Times". indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015.
  28. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  29. ↑ "Ajit Doval skipped Dhaka trip for Myanmar operations-IndiaTV News". indiatvnews.com. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015.
  30. ↑ "NSA Doval's 'double squeeze' strategy will never succeed: Pak - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  31. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  32. ↑ "Ajit Doval likely to visit China: NSA's famed 'Doval doctrine' and deconstructing India's stand on Beijing". Firstpost. 14 July 2017. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  33. ↑ George, Glenn (30 September 2016). "India's aggressive approach at border is the brainchild of NSA Ajit Doval". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  34. ↑ "Power doctrine of Ajit Doval: Why it is much better than empty Gandhi-giri". Firstpost. 5 August 2015. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  35. ↑ "Inside story of how India achieved breakthrough in Doklam border standoff with China". m.indiatoday.in. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  36. ↑ "Doka La standoff: Ajit Doval proves it doesn't take a diplomat to resolve an international crisis". www.firstpost.com. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  37. ↑ "Meet Prime Minister Modi's key men who cracked Doklam for him". m.indiatoday.in. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  38. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Council_(India)#Strategic_Policy_Group/https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india-nsa-ajit-doval-to-head-new-strategic-policy-group-established-to-assist-national-security-council-470123. Missing or empty |title= (help)
Government offices
Preceded by
Shivshankar Menon		 National Security Advisor
2014–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
K P Singh		 Director of Intelligence Bureau
2004–2005		 Succeeded by
E S L Narasimhan
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