National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said the insurgencies that followed the change of governments in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka in the last three-and-a-half years were due to “bad governance”. Delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture on governance on the occasion of National Unity Day on Friday (October 31, 2025), Mr Doval said governance plays a “fundamental role” in the “nation-building process” and securing the nation-state.

“The rise and fall of great empires, monarchies, oligarchy, aristocracy or democracy is actually the history of their governance. In the recent cases of regime change through non-constitutional means in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and others, these were indeed cases of bad governance,” Mr Doval said, speaking about the changes India’s neighborhood has seen in the last few years. His comments about the neighborhood came soon after former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged her supporters in the Awami League to boycott the February 2026 elections in Bangladesh, which is currently run by the interim government led by Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus.

Citing examples of the rise and fall of empires due to internal weaknesses and inept governance, Mr Doval said, “I believe governance plays a vital role in the nation building process as well as in helping a nation secure and achieve its goals and aspirations. “.