Overview
- Speaking in New Delhi on January 10 at the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval urged youth to "take revenge for our history" and cited looted temples and historical humiliation.
- Doval acknowledged the word "revenge" was "not ideal" but described revenge as a powerful motivating force for young people.
- On January 11, PDP leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti called the phrasing "merely a dog whistle" that could incite poor and uneducated youth to target a minority community.
- Mufti said it was "deeply unfortunate" for the NSA to "normalise violence against Muslims" and accused him of aligning with a communal ideology of hate.
- No official retraction or government censure has been reported, and the exchange has renewed scrutiny of rhetoric from security leadership and its potential impact on communal tensions.