Rescue service – The Sudan evacuation highlights challenges India faces in conflict

Source: The post is based on the article “Rescue service – The Sudan evacuation highlights challenges India faces in conflict” published in The Hindu on 26th April 2023.

Syllabus: GS – 2: Indian diaspora.

Relevance: About Sudan evacuation.

News: India has begun ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacuate around 4,000 nationals currently stranded in Khartoum and other parts of Sudan.

About the present issue in Sudan

About Operation Kaveri and Sudan evacuation

How India is coordinating with various countries in the Sudan evacuation?

India has been coordinating efforts with other countries that have the most civilians and resources in Sudan. This includes the U.S., the U.K., the UAE and Saudi Arabia.  These countries are coordinating on logistics, timing the evacuation operations, and even using Saudi and French planes.

The past experience of similar operations over the decades, beginning with the largest single civilian evacuation during the Gulf War in 1991 is helping in a quick evacuation.

What India should learn from the Sudan evacuation?

The Sudan evacuation once more highlights the particular challenges India faces in any conflict.

-India has about 14 million non-resident Indians and more than seven million Indian tourists and travellers each year. So, there is practically no conflict today that does not affect an Indian citizen.

-Many NRIs are working in the most vulnerable jobs. For instance, nurses in Iraq or Yemen, students in Ukraine, labourers in Libya, Syria and Lebanon, etc.

What should be done?

Parliamentary Standing Committee for External Affairs, in 2022 recommended the government to form a standard operating procedure, and a special force to deal with such crises. This must be considered by the government. Further, the procedure must be devoid of political grand-standing or finger-pointing.

India is admired for its reputation and ability to harness its resources in rescuing every single citizen in crisis times. That reputation must be maintained.