It is the crisis situations that make you value your main assets. Take Dr S. Jaishankar for instance. We always knew that India’s External Affairs Minister is a career diplomat and is the best in the business of diplomacy. But amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, he has managed something which possibly no other top diplomat could have managed.
When the ongoing Russian military invasion into Ukraine started, it was being seen as a tricky situation for India. And indeed, it was a tricky situation. Managing good ties with both Russia and the West is no easy task, especially during a war situation.
And then, 20,000-odd Indian citizens stranded in war-torn Ukraine also had to be evacuated. But India has managed to overcome both the challenges, courtesy of the diplomatic skill of its top diplomat Dr S. Jaishankar.
Abstaining from UN resolutions
The main test for India was managing the UN resolutions condemning Russia that naturally followed the invasion of Ukraine. While the entire Western world including the US and the EU was imploring India to speak tough and condemn the Russian invasion, India abstained from voting on UN resolutions condemning Russia, not once but two times.
For any other External Affairs Minister, it would have been a difficult task. But Jaishankar understands realpolitik. Under the leadership of Dr S Jaishankar, the Indian diplomatic establishment maintained that diplomacy is the way forward amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Therefore, India avoided picking sides. This also sets the tone and the template for the near future because the West is likely to keep bringing such resolutions.
However, India made it a point not to get unnerved and join the US-led chorus against Russia.
Execution of Operation Ganga
The Russian invasion of Ukraine started on February 24 and the Indian State moved quickly. After three days, that is, on February 27, Operation Ganga was launched to bring back 20,000 Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine. As of Wednesday, India had already brought 6,000 of its citizens stranded in Ukraine and further arrangements are being made to ensure the safe return of the remaining citizens.
Both civilian and defence aircraft have been pressed into service to bring back Indian citizens with help from Ukraine’s neighbours- Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. Within Ukraine, the Indian Embassy has been continuously coordinating with Indian citizens and has been delivering timely updates to ensure their expeditious evacuation from the war-torn country.
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Deploying four cabinet Ministers on the ground
When the evacuation process started, there were several media reports and accounts by evacuated students alleging harassment by the Ukrainian military and police forces.
It was being alleged that Ukrainian personnel were beating up Indian students and even driving vehicles towards the students who tried to cross over to Poland. In fact, there were also allegations of forces firing in the air.
One of the students said, “Even I was beaten up by the military personnel and pushed to the road. One of my friends who reacted was also beaten and pushed to the road.”
It was at this moment that India’s decision of flying in four Union Ministers to Ukraine’s neighbouring countries as special envoys helped. When Ukraine had four Union Ministers asking about the evacuation of Indian students, things naturally got smooth and media reports of harassment vanished. This was a big, daring move that helped India speed up the evacuation of its students.
Russia gives Indian students a safe passage
Ultimately, India’s nuanced diplomatic stand over the Ukraine invasion helped it secure a safe exit passage for its students. Following a conversation between PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Russia agreed to provide a safe passage for Indian students.
A senior government official was quoted as saying, “The Russians have avoided the areas we had asked them not to target… We are tying up with the Russians for safe passage of our students.”
The Russian ambassador-designate to India, Denis Alipov too said, “We are working intensely on creating corridors for securing safe passage for Indian nationals stuck in Kharkiv, Sumy and areas in the northeast of Ukraine so that they can travel and be taken safely to Russian territories. We are in touch with Indian authorities too.”
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Alipov added, “The corridor will be in place as soon as possible; hopefully, in the very near future and Indian nationals will be safe in Russian territory.”
India is one of the few countries that has managed to quickly and safely evacuate its citizens from Ukraine. As such, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is a diplomat’s nightmare from India’s perspective. But thank God for Jaishankar, India has managed to avoid any setback.
