The Indian government has launched several successful missions to bring back its citizens stranded in many countries affected by natural disasters, conflicts, or other crises. The latest addition to such missions is Operation Kaveri which has been launched to evacuate Indians stranded in conflict-hit Sudan.
Operation Ajay (2023)
India has formally launched Operation Ajay to facilitate the return from Israel of those Indians who wish to come back home as a series of brazen attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas militants over the weekend triggered fresh tensions in the region. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar took to X to announce the launch of 'Operation Ajay'. Many gorry and scary videos have flooded social media after the brazen attack of Hamas militants on Israeli towns. According to estimates, around 18,000 Indians are currently residing in Israel. The multi-pronged attacks against Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza since Saturday and the subsequent Israeli retaliation have left around 2,150 people dead.
Operation Kaveri (2023)
Operation Kaveri was an operation conducted by the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Sudan during the conflict. Indian Navy through INS Sumedha evacuated, mostly from Port Sudan, by air and sea. Alarmed by the growing tensions and the conflict, India joined several other countries to make a massive evacuation of nationals and citizens from Sudan, the Indian government during Operation Kaveri evacuated nearly 2,500 Indian citizens.
Operation Dost (2023)
Operation Dost was the search and rescue operation initiated by the government to aid Syria and Turkey after the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake devastated both countries in February.
Operation Ganga (2022)
Operation Ganga was an evacuation mission carried out by the Indian government to rescue its citizens stranded in neighboring countries during the 2022 Russia-Ukraine war. The citizens were transported from Romania, Hungary, Poland, Moldova, and Slovakia to India with assistance from these countries. India had about 20,000 Indian nationals in Ukraine out of which just over 18,000 were students. About 16,000 Indians had been flown to India in 76 flights. Four union ministers namely – Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and V.K. Singh were pressed into action to oversee the evacuation operation. India, as a humanitarian signal, has sent relief to Ukraine including medicines and essentials.
ALSO READ: Russia Ukraine War: Over 15K Indians flown home under 'Operation Ganga'
Operation Devi Shakti (2021)
Operation Devi Shakti was an operation of the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Afghanistan after the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul. The Taliban and allied militant groups began a widespread offensive soon after the pulling out of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021. Amid a deteriorating security situation in Kabul, India evacuated over 800 people.
Operation Samudra Setu (2020)
In May 2020, when the world was battling the coronavirus pandemic and witnessing mass casualties, India set an example by just not helping the nations but also bring back its citizens from across the globe. With Operation Samudra Setu as many as 3,992 Indian citizens were repatriated to their homeland by sea. Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa (Landing Platform Dock), and Airavat, Shardul and Magar (Landing Ship Tanks) participated in this operation which lasted over 55 days and involved traversing more than 23,000 kms by sea.
Operation Sankat Mochan (2016)
Operation Sankat Mochan was an operation of the Indian Air Force to evacuate Indian citizens and other foreign nationals during the South Sudanese Civil War. The operation was carried out in view of the 2016 Juba clashes. There were around 600 Indians in South Sudan; around 450 in Juba and others elsewhere in the country. Two C-17 Globemasters of the Indian Air Force were deployed to evacuate.
Operation Maitri (2015)
Operation Maitri was a rescue and relief operation in Nepal by the government of India and Indian armed forces in the aftermath of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. The Indian government, like a good neighbour, responded in no time, and joined hands in rescue and restoration efforts. It also involved Nepali ex-servicemen from India's Gurkha Regiments for interface for guidance, relief and rescue.
Operation Raahat (2015)
Operation Raahat was an operation of the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Yemen during the 2015 military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies in that country during the Yemeni Crisis. The evacuation by sea that began in April 2015 from the port of Aden, witnessed rescuing of more than 4,640 Indian citizens in Yemen along with 960 foreign nationals from 41 countries.
