It is now a known fact that the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval stayed in Pakistan for over six years, however, it is a lesser-known fact that his son Shaurya Doval, the founder-director of Indian Foundation, had studied in Pakistani schools between 1981 to 1987. It was when his father Ajit Doval was posted in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
Shaurya Doval talked about his schooling in Pakistan during an interview with The Lallantop. Shaurya Doval stated that he attended school across the country starting from Mizoram. Following that, he spent some time studying in Sikkim and then in Pakistan. Shaurya stated that he lived for roughly 6-7 years in Islamabad, Pakistan.
When asked about the security situation at the time, he said, “The crisis in Afghanistan was ongoing. Pakistan was distracted by what was happening in Afghanistan and the Punjab crisis was about to start. Due to this, Indian diplomats and their families in Pakistan faced no major security threat.”
When questioned about what was it like studying in Pakistani schools, Shaurya said, “It was just like growing up in any other part of India. The only difference is that you are the sole Indian among fifty other children who are against you.”
Shaurya Doval added that in such a case, a person learns two things in life, the first is to love their country and the second is to fight alone. “Like if a cricket match is going on and 49 boys are on one side and you are alone, nationalism and the ability to fight alone are naturally evoked within,” Shaurya said.
Shaurya Doval was also questioned about what was taught about History in Pakistani schools, to which he said that they are presented with a distorted sense of the reality of who they are and where they are coming from in the school textbooks. For example, Pakistanis are taught that their history begins from 1947, they ignore the history prior to 1947.
“Even if they do teach, they do it in the light of Muslim superiority over Hindus. So the Pakistanis get the wrong notion that before 1947, they were the rulers of India, and after 1947 they carved out Pakistan and are ruling it. So you know, they have a distorted perception of history,” Shaurya detailed.
He further added that the history in Pakistani textbooks starts with the arrival of Mohammad Bin Qasim, they believe that it is Pakistan’s history. “In the Indus Valley Civilisation, they teach Harrappa and Mohejodaro only and skip the history of Mauryan and Gupta dynasties to come straight to Bin Qasim. They have no interest at all in the Cholas”, he added.
Shaurya Doval said that although he made some friends in Pakistan, however, he lost touch with them as there was no access to the internet or any such medium back then.
