Operation Indravati: Showcasing India’s Commitment to Humanitarian Aid
At a time when Haiti was facing escalating violence, India swiftly swung into action to ensure the safety of its citizens and launched Operation Indravati. This was led by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
This is a notable move, moving people of Indian origin from the troubled Caribbean nation to safety in the Dominican Republic. See, after an earthquake in 2010 left devastating impacts, armed groups gained much power and carried out several attacks on the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. This led to police stations being set on fire, the main airport closing, and plenty of prisoners escaping from the biggest jails.
This has prompted the country to declare a state of emergency and a curfew during the night so as to try and rein in the confusion. Among all this disorder, the acting prime minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, announced that he would resign under pressure from a gang leader. He is already at the head, only from Puerto Rico.
To deal with this tough situation, India, with Minister Jaishankar leading, started Operation Indravati.
This operation is named after a river and is all about getting the Indian people out of Haiti for safety.
As there is no Indian embassy in Haiti, whatever is needed to be done is planned from the mission in Santo Domingo, which is the capital of the Dominican Republic.
There are about 90 Indians in Haiti, and a large majority are in bad conditions with all the trouble. India has moved the first group of 12 Indians very fast, indicating how they care for the safety of their citizens wherever they stay.
This operation has shown not only how bad the situation is in Haiti but also how similar things have been done by other countries. The US State Department has managed to evacuate more than 15 Americans from Haiti, showing just how much this country is worried about putting its people in dangerous situations.
Working on this together with the Dominican Republic, through Operation Indravati, is an example of India’s prompt global actions to ensure their citizens are not left in danger during crises. On one hand, this will take forward India’s reach in the Caribbean region, and at the same time, it also reiterates the fact that countries need to support each other at this crucial hour. For those watching, this is an unending look at how really, really dicey global diplomacy can get, and how important rapid actions are to protect lives when there’s political and social unrest. As things in Haiti change, the world is watching and hoping for peace and stability to return to the Caribbean country.
