India: A beacon of light for rescue operations

New Delhi, March 7 Amidst the global tumult being experienced due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in eastern Europe in the wake of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, one of the shining beacons of light is how India has been conducting a smooth and effective operation in the last few days to rescue more than 15,000 stranded Ind from the conflict zone.

Codenamed "Operation Ganga", the ongoing programme is aimed at providing humanitarian assistance to Indian citizens amidst the Russian invaded war zone. This involves transportation and other logistic assistance from Ukraine to the neighbouring countries of Romania, Hungary, Poland, Moldova and Slovakia.

Accommodation and food for the Indian citizens has been arranged by the concerned Indian embassies in close cooperation with the host countries, which have suddenly faced a large influx of refugees and are deserving accolades for their hospitality as well.

Upon ensuring their safety, these Ind (most of whom are medical students) are then flown back to the national capital. In fact, the safe evacuation of Indian nationals was first discussed within few hours at the beginning of the invasion when Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought it up with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In addition, this was also discussed during the telephonic conversation with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. In order to aid the same, four Union Ministers of Government of India Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Singh Puri, Gen V.K. Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia were sent to these countries so as to assist with coordination and facilitate a smooth rescue operation for affected people.

As part of the operation, 3 Indian Air Force C-17 aircrafts apart from numerous commercial flights of Air India, Go Air, SpiceJet and Indigo have also been engaged there with concerted efforts for the mission. In toto, 7 flights from Bucharest, 5 from Budapest, 3 from Warsaw and 1 from Slovakia were scheduled by the government of India.

An additional location at the Romanian border has also been identified and a couple of flights from the area would also start operating shortly. The Ministry of External Affairs has announced that an increased number of flights would thereby provide for an accelerated rescue operation bringing back almost all Ind in the next 2-3 days.

In a strategic manoeuvre, the Indian government also decided to deploy Russian-origin Ilyushin-76 heavy-lift transport aircrafts to bring back stranded persons.

Though the Indian government had issued advisories right before the conflict through various communication channels, it had mixed impact partly owing to the lax and casual attitude of the authorities about the possibility of an invasion. The Ministry of External Affairs set up multiple information dissemination and communication channels in the form of regular e-mail blasts, website tickers, text messages over phone numbers, round-the-clock helpline and an active Twitter handle as well.

In a tragic loss to the nation, one Indian student was unfortunately caught in the crossfire despite the proactive effort of the government on the ground. However, timely announcements, advisories and prompt responses helped avoid a large number of fatalities that would have occurred otherwise.

This smooth and efficient effort is no longer a surprise given that the government of India, over the past decade, has embarked on multiple similar missions to rescue and evacuate a large number of Indian citizens ongoing military conflict zones like Libya, Yemen, etc.

The growing stature of India is also due to the fact that India has come to the aid of persons in need, irrespective of their nationality, race or gender. In fact, during the recent turmoil as well, India stepped up to provide humanitarian assistance and relief material at the earliest. Four tranches of humanitarian aid have already flown in to Poland and Romania for the people in need at the borders.

In fact, India is also the only country to have been able to successfully negotiate a ceasefire in order to evacuate stranded people in the war zone. This was seen during the Yemen Civil War as well as the recent Ukrainian conflict and is a testament to India's growing soft power and cordial relations with different countries.

Needless to say, this is part of a successful de-hyphenated foreign policy that India has embarked upon over the past few years wherein the relationships with so many countries are maintained in terms of individual interests, mutual respect, cooperation and understanding.

With the Operation Ganga at full swing, it is hoped that all Ind would be able to return safely in the next few days as the Government steps up its extensive rescue efforts.

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