He previously served as the
director of the IB in 2004–05, after working for a decade as the head of its operation wing.[8] He worked as an undercover spy of IB for one year in Pakistan then 6 years as an officer in
Indian high commission in Islamabad.[9] He spent most part of his career as a spy of IB.[9]
He is the founder director of the right of centre leaning think tank
Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), before appointment as NSA. It was founded in December 2009.[11][12]
He was actively involved in anti-insurgency operations in
Punjab.[19][when?]
Doval worked in
Thalassery, Kerala, for a few months in 1972, before joining the central service.[20] He has the experience of being involved in the termination of all 15 hijackings of
Indian Airlines aircraft from 1971 to 1999.[21] 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).[22]
He played a role in intelligence for Sikkim's merger with India.[25][26] He was trained under
M. K. Narayanan, the third National Security Advisor of India for a brief period in counterterrorism operations.[27] He was part of the team which sent to
Kandahar, Afghanistan for negotiations to release passengers of
hijacked aeroplane IC-814.[25][28][29]
The alleged
2016 Surgical strike on Pakistan was part of Ajit Doval's 'offensive defence strategy'.[30] Though,
Pakistan rejected India's claim, and said that Indian troops did not cross the Line of Control and had only skirmished with Pakistani troops at the border.
Doval was one of the seven persons who knew about India's classified 2019
Balakot airstrike, including Indian Navy, army, airforce chiefs and prime minister
Narendra Modi. After Pakistan based terrorist
attacked convoy of CRPF by car bomb in
Pulwama and martyred 40,
India airforce conducted an airstrike on alleged terrorist bases in Pakistan. Doval was awake that whole night with dignitaries in the war room.[31]
Post-retirement (2005–2014)
Doval retired in January 2005 as Director,
Intelligence Bureau.[32] In December 2009, he became the founding Director of the
Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), a public policy think tank set up by the
Vivekananda Kendra.[33][34] Doval has remained actively involved in the discourse on national security in India.[35][36] 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.[37][38]
In 2009 and 2011 he co-wrote two reports on "Indian Black Money Abroad in Secret Banks and Tax Havens",[39] with others, leading in the field as a part of the task force constituted by
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[40]
In 2012, IB eyed on him due to then ruling party Congress's suspicions on Doval and his think tank VIF with the doubts that he and VIF were the brains behind
Ramdev and
Anna Hazare led anti-corruption movement, which generated anger against government.[41] Many members of VIF got appointed to top government positions after BJP came into power.[12]
On 30 May 2014, Doval was appointed as India's fifth National Security Advisor. In June 2014, Doval facilitated the return of 46 Indian nurses who were trapped in a hospital in
Tikrit, Iraq, following the
capture of Mosul by
ISIL. Doval, flew to Iraq on 25 June 2014 to understand the position on the ground and make high-level contacts in the
Iraqi government.[44] Although the exact circumstances of their release are unclear, on 5 July 2014, ISIL militants handed the nurses to
Kurdish authorities at
Erbil city and an
Air India plane specially-arranged by the Indian government brought them back home to
Kochi.[45]
In October 2018, he was appointed as the Chairman of the Strategic Policy Group (SPG), which is the first tier of a three tier structure at the
National Security Council and forms the nucleus of its decision-making apparatus.[60]
On 3 June 2019, he was reappointed as NSA for 5 years and granted the personal rank of a
Cabinet Minister.[62] Doval is the first NSA to hold such a rank. He is widely considered to be one of Modi's most powerful and trusted advisors, with major influence over India's national security and foreign affairs.
On 26 February 2020, Ajit Doval walked the streets of riot-hit northeast Delhi to assess the situation and reassure the local residents.[64]
On 15 May 2020, the
military forces of Myanmar handed over a group of 22 militant leaders, active in
Assam and other
northeast states, to the Indian government. This was made possible through negotiations headed by Doval.[65][66]
On 15 September 2020, Doval walked out of a virtual
SCO meeting after Pakistan projected a fictitious map omitting parts of India.[67]
Doval was the youngest police officer to receive the
Police Medal for meritorious service.[25] He was given the award after six years in the police force.[25][when?]
In 1988, Doval was granted 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.[73]
^"डोवाल बने राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा सलाहकार" [Doval becomes National Security Advisor] (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...
^
abYadav, Yatish (17 August 2016).
"Return of the Superspy". The New Indian Express. Archived from
the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.