PM’s brainchild Op Kaveri rescues thousands from Sudan

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brainchild “Operation Kaveri” ended on Friday (5 May), after bringing back as many as 3,862 Indians from the strife-torn Sudan. Planned, guided, monitored and supervised by PM Modi himself, India’s “Operation Kaveri”, which was quite a complex exercise amid precarious and volatile security circumstances in Sudan, passed with flying colours. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s tweet reaffirmed the sentiment “Modi hai to mumkin hai”—a slogan raised by the evacuees after returning from Sudan.
“Prime Minister @narendramodi’s commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all Indians abroad was our inspiration,” tweeted External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Highly-placed diplomatic sources told The Sunday Guardian that “PM Modi personally monitored the entire operation and database about the Indians stranded in the war-torn Sudan from day one. Despite being busy in the hectic election campaigning in Karnataka, the Prime Minister kept communicating with S. Jaishankar, taking regular updates on the progress of “Operation Kaveri”. “His instruction was very clear that not a single Indian citizen should be left behind. He also told Jaishankar to help the nationals of other countries,” a source said. No doubt, “Operation Kaveri” was a hope not only for Indians but for citizens of neighbouring countries and other countries stuck in the conflict zone. The citizens of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal were helped during the evacuation mission. Sri Lanka’s foreign minister thanked India for helping his countrymen in Sudan. “It was a herculean task indeed to evacuate our nationals from the war-hit zone under the operation which was carried out non-stop 24 hours every day,” said an official at the Ministry of External Affairs.
PM Modi, during an election rally in Karnataka on Friday, himself explained how difficult the entire task was. Highlighting “Operation Kaveri” to evacuate stranded Indians in conflict-ridden Sudan, the PM said that even big countries refused to evacuate their citizens, but India carried out the operation for the safety of its citizens.
“The situation of civil war in Sudan is such that even big countries refused to evacuate their citizens from there, but Government of India was engaged in its efforts. We conducted Operation Kaveri and brought back our people from such places where it was difficult to reach by plane and the Congress did not support the country in such difficult times,” said PM Narendra Modi in Ballari, Karnataka, while addressing a meeting in the poll-bound state.
“While all other countries failed to muster up courage to start the evacuation of their nationals from Sudan, PM Modi convened the meeting of top officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy and planned Operation Kaveri, giving all necessary instructions,” people aware of the matter told this newspaper.
The situation in Sudan was quite challenging. Food and water were running out, making the task more difficult, a source said, adding, “As fighting broke out suddenly, the internet went down. Tracking down all citizens was a big challenge as they were in different parts of the country.” “MEA officials and envoys compiled a database of our citizens stranded in Sudan. PM Modi personally analysed and monitored the database and kept a tab on the evacuation exercise,” a source said.
Guided by PM Modi, a team of diplomats led by Jaishankar worked behind the scenes to ensure that Operation Kaveri carried out the evacuation of Indians from Sudan successfully. Jaishankar spoke to counterparts in the US, France, UK, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt and discussed with them the ground situation in Sudan with a focus on ensuring the safety of the Indians. France also extended help to Indians. Jaishankar also discussed the situation in Sudan with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. “PM Modi kept monitoring and supervising the operation round the clock. The PM and NSA Ajit Doval sat together for hours discussing every single update on the exercise,” a source said, adding, “PM Modi was personally in touch with Indian embassy in Sudan’s capital Khartoum when a risky operation was carried out at night on an airstrip with a degraded surface.” “It was one of the biggest evacuation operations carried out by India in recent times,” a diplomat said.
Diplomats see the success of “Operation Kaveri” as another feather in the Modi government’s cap, especially in terms of evacuation missions. From ensuring the safe evacuation of Indians stranded in various countries due to Covid-19 to bringing back the students stuck in war-hit Ukraine under “Operation Ganga”, the government has been successfully managing the rescue missions. “I can’t see my countrymen in pain and to save them I can go up to any extent. Our government ensured nurses were rescued from Iraq, Group Captain Abhinandan was brought back to India,” said PM Modi. According to officials, the Indian government has followed the policy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family), following the idea that the spirit of co-existence is strong enough to overcome any barriers of distance. With this in mind, India has also helped bring out citizens of friendly nations from danger zones. Operation Kaveri, which lasted for 10 days, was carried out using five Indian Navy ships and 16 Indian Air Force aircraft, including one from Wadi Sayyidna military airbase.
Meanwhile, EAM Jaishankar appreciated the support received from Chad, Egypt, France, South Sudan, UAE, UK, US and UN and recognised the contribution of Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan, whose presence on the ground was a source of strength and reassurance. “Applaud the spirit, perseverance and courage of all those involved in #OperationKaveri. Our Embassy in Khartoum showed exceptional dedication in this difficult time. Efforts by #TeamIndia stationed in Saudi Arabia and MEA Rapid Response Cell coordinating in India were commendable,” tweeted EAM Jaishankar.