In the last three years, PM Modi-led Indian government has launched three successful rescue operations to bring back Indian nationals from war-hit nations across the globe. The recent Operation Kaveri in Sudan, Operation Ganga in Ukraine, and Operation Devi Shakti in Afghanistan resulted in the evacuation of around 20,000 Indians combined.
Operation Kaveri
The government of India launched Operation Kaveri to evacuate Indians from war-hit Sudan. Under the ongoing Operation Kaveri, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan went to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to manage the evacuation. Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar regularly updated about the evacuation process on social media. Apart from Indian Nationals, foreign nationals were also evacuated by India.
#OperationKaveri
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 30, 2023
One more flight brings back 229 passengers to Bengaluru. pic.twitter.com/5OGEh7WM7D
The Indians were evacuated from Port Sudan to Jeddah after the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to extend their ceasefire amid ongoing violence in the capital Khartoum and the western Darfur region. Indians are being taken from Port Sudan to Jeddah on Navy ships and C-130J planes, from where they are being flown to India on C17 jet planes. On April 30, Dr S Jaishankar informed that 229 Indians reached Bengaluru. On April 29, 365 passengers reached India in one batch, and 231 reached home in another batch. In a tweet, Muraleedharan mentioned that around 2,100 Indians were scheduled for evacuation from battle-torn Sudan.
Operation Devi Shakti
Operation Devi Shakti was launched by the Modi government to bring back Indians stranded in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country in 2021. Apart from Indians, several foreign nationals were also rescued by India during the operation. The Indian Air Force and the Ministry of External Affairs carried out the operation Devi Shakti. They reached India on December 10. President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, facilitated Sikhs at their arrival.
Pious Swaroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj coming to India from Afghanistan on a special flight
— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) December 10, 2021
Sikhs and Hindus of Afghanistan thank PM @narendramodi Ji and @AmitShah Ji for their massive support 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/BDKZiOXmGN
Earlier, at the end of October, Afghan Sikhs trapped in Jalalabad, Ghazni, and Kabul had requested the Sikh leaders and the Government of India to help them leave Afghanistan and reunite with their families. Back in August, Afghan Sikhs had brought three hand-written Swaroop of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from Afghanistan to India. They were received at the airport by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs V Muraleedharan. The Indian Air Force rescued Afghanistan Member of Parliament Narender Singh Khalsa, including 20 other Sikhs.
Operation Ganga
Operation Ganga was one of India’s biggest rescue operations. Under the operation, around 20,000 Indian nationals were rescued from war-hit Ukraine. Operation Ganga was launched on February 26 to evacuate nearly 20,000 Indian nationals who were stuck in Ukraine amid the conflict with Russia. Several special flights from Poland, Romania, and Hungary were organised to bring the students home. Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, and SpiceJet had also joined the mission, operating multiple flights from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries to Delhi and Mumbai.
Today, 7 flights will bring approximately 1200 Indian nationals home. #OperationGanga https://t.co/yYt3ehaM7S
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 6, 2022
The Indian government had sent 4 Union Ministers, namely, Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju, and General (Retd) VK Singh to Hungary, Romania and Moldova, Slovakia, and Poland, respectively, to coordinate Operation Ganga.
It must be mentioned that the Ukrainian airspace was closed for civilian aircraft from the day the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out. As such, the Indian embassy in Ukraine had to coordinate with the embassies of neighbouring countries in Poland, Romania, and Hungary to create safe evacuation channels. Under ‘Operation Ganga’, Indians were first taken in batches from Ukraine to bordering countries via buses/commutes arranged by the embassy. They were then airlifted to Delhi or Mumbai through chartered Air India flights.
