New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit this weekend, the visit brought back memories of one of India’s boldest diplomatic moments: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s dramatic walkout from an SCO meeting five years ago over Pakistan’s controversial political map.
In September 2020, at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, SCO National Security Advisors were meeting virtually under Russia’s chairmanship. The session took a provocative turn when Pakistan’s NSA Dr. Moeed Yusuf displayed a newly released map claiming Jammu and Kashmir and Junagadh as part of Pakistan.
The move was not only inflammatory but also in violation of SCO norms, which explicitly bar member states from raising bilateral disputes at multilateral forums. Despite repeated calls by Russia to remove the map, Pakistan refused to relent. In response, Ajit Doval stood his ground and exited the meeting, signaling that India would not compromise on sovereignty or allow its territorial integrity to be undermined.
A senior Indian official at the time called the map display “a blatant violation of the SCO Charter.” Russia later distanced itself from Pakistan’s act, with its NSA Nikolai Patrushev backing India’s position and praising Doval for his firm response.
The walkout was not an isolated act of defiance but a reflection of Doval’s career-long resolve. Known as India’s “Super Spy,” Doval spent years undercover in Pakistan between 1971 and 1978, posing as a Muslim cleric to extract intelligence that proved vital during the 1971 war.
His exploits back home were equally significant. Doval played a central role in talks with Mizo rebel leaders that culminated in the 1986 Mizo Peace Accord. He was also instrumental during Operation Black Thunder in 1988, infiltrating the Golden Temple complex to outwit militants.
In 1999, during the Kandahar hijacking, Doval was on the frontline of negotiations that led to the safe return of Indian hostages. More recently, he was credited with coordinating the safe evacuation of Indian nurses from ISIS captivity in Iraq in 2014, and in 2016, he helped plan surgical strikes across the Line of Control in response to cross-border terrorism.
Ajit Doval’s exit from the 2020 SCO meeting has since become symbolic of India’s uncompromising stance on national sovereignty. The incident remains etched in diplomatic memory as an example of how a seasoned intelligence officer used a simple yet powerful gesture to send a message across the world stage.
As Modi and Xi Jinping now meet to reaffirm economic cooperation and people-to-people ties, the echoes of Doval’s walkout serve as a reminder that India’s participation in multilateral forums is guided not just by dialogue but by the unwavering defense of its territorial integrity.