With India launching Operation Ajay to evacuate Indians stranded in Israel, the first batch of registered Indians is expected to be brought back from the country in a special flight on Thursday. There are reportedly over 18,000 Indians in Israel and 17 in Palestine, of which 14 are in West Bank and four in Gaza.
This is not the first time that India has carried out mass evacuations from conflict-hit countries. One of the most famous evacuations was in 1990 from Kuwait which found its place in the Guinness record and the most recent was the Operation Kaveri to rescue Indians stranded in Sudan in April 2023. Here's a look at all major Indian evacuations from war-torn nations.
1990 Kuwait airlift
When Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded Kuwait with a one-lakh strong army in 1990, the Indian government airlifted over 1,70,000 Indians between August and October of that year. The operation resulted in Air India's entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest evacuation effort by a civil airline.
2006 Operation Sukoon aka Beirut Sealift
During the 2006 conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, India launched Operation Sukoon aka Beirut Sealift to evacuate stranded Indians. During the operation, India managed to rescue 1,764 citizens along with nationals of Sri Lanka, Nepal and other countries in July and August 2006.
2011 Operation Safe Homecoming
When the Libyan Civil War broke out in 2011 against Muammar Gaddafi's regime, India launched Operation Safe Homecoming on February 26 of that year to evacuate Indians stranded in the country. Over 15,000 Indians were brought home safely via air and sea with the help the Indian Navy and Air India.
2014-15 Iraq evacuation
In July 2014, Indian government rescued 46 Indian nurses, who were working at Tikrit Teaching Hospital in Tikrit, from the ISIS. Another batch of 58 nurses were also evacuated from the region the same month. In February 2015, 11 nurses trapped in hospitals in Kirkuk were rescued and handed over to Indian officials in Irbil.
2015 Operation Raahat
After Houthi fighters seized the presidential compound in Yemen's Sanaʽa in January 2011, a Saudi Arabia-led coalition of nine countries from the Middle East and North Africa intervened in support of ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. In response to the worsening crisis, India launched Operation Raahat to rescue stranded Indians in April 2015. The country's defence forces managed to evacuate 4,748 Indian citizens and 1,962 foreigners via sea and air.
2016 Operation Sankat Mochan
In July 2016, during the South Sudanese Civil War, India launched Operation Sankat Mochan aimed to evacuate Indian and other foreign nationals from South Sudan. The government brought home 156 people, including two Nepalese citizens. Around 300 Indians chose to remain in South Sudan.
2021 Operation Devi Shakti
In 2021, when Taliban seized power in Afghanistan after US troops withdrew from Kabul, India launched Operation Devi Shakti to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from the country. The operation brought home 800 people including Afghan citizens belonging to Hindu and Sikh minority.
2022 Operation Ganga
On February 26, 2022, India launched Operation Ganga to evacuate its citizens stranded in Ukraine during Russian invasion. More than 23,000 Indians were brought home from Romania, Hungary, Poland, Moldova and Slovakia when the operation concluded on March 11. “IndiGo operated 35 flights, Air India operated 14, Go First operated six flights, Air Asia operated three, Air India Express nine, SpiceJet nine and four C-17 Globemasters of IAF did sorties and evacuated 23,000 students safely,” Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said during a Parliament session.
2023 Operation Kaveri
On April 24 this year, when a deadly conflict broke out between Sudan's army and a paramilitary group, India launched ‘Operation Kaveri’ to rescue stranded Indians. A total of 3,584 Indian citizens were evacuated from the war-torn country in nine days.
