Lesson From Sudan: Standard Solution Need Of The Hour

The ongoing civil war in the African nation of Sudan has created a humanitarian crisis affecting a large part of the world. A power struggle between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Force has turned into a bloody war that has killed more than 400 people and displaced millions since the coup of a coalition government between the army and civilians two years ago. The whole of Sudan is caught in the war of supremacy between Army Chief General Abdel Fateh Al Burhan and Rapid Support Force Chief General Hamdan Dagalo and innocent citizens of various countries who have nothing to do with this conflict are trapped. Countries around the world are rightly scrambling to evacuate their citizens stranded in Sudan without food, water, and electricity.

India has also launched Operation Kaveri to rescue around 4,000 expatriate Indians living in Sudan, under which the Government of India, as always, is committed to the safe evacuation of each and every Indian from the troubled region. Friday brought good news from Sudan that the Armed Forces there have extended the ceasefire for another 72 hours. Earlier, the term of this ceasefire was going to end on Friday itself. Now this new development will further strengthen the government’s commitment to evacuate Indians from Sudan.

However, questions have also been raised regarding Operation Kaveri that Indian citizens could not be evacuated from Sudan at the same speed with which Operation Ganga was operated in Ukraine. Two days after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the Government of India started Operation Ganga and within a week 18000 Indians returned safely to India from Ukraine. On the other hand, a civil war is going on in Sudan since April 15 and even after the completion of two weeks, India has not been able to evacuate its 4,000 citizens from there. Those who raise questions may have their own arguments, but such people also have to understand the fact that there is a world of difference between the situation on these two battlefields. One, the war between Ukraine and Russia is a war between two countries. Then there was no confusion about the exit route in this war. Not only this, there are strong governments in all the neighboring countries of the war-torn region, which gave full cooperation in evacuating foreign nationals. While both sides fighting in Sudan belong to the same country.

Fierce firing is taking place from both sides and they are not sparing anyone. An Indian and an American citizen have also lost their lives in this tug-of-war. In such a situation, there is hesitation in every country to make a humanitarian corridor. India or any country does not want that when they are evacuating their people, their squad should be attacked. That’s why all the countries preferred to wait for the ceasefire. Anyway, despite the most difficult conditions, the efforts of the Government of India to save the stranded Indians on foreign soil are recognized globally. Talking about the last few years, from Operation Rahat in Yemen and Operation Devshakti in Afghanistan to ‘Operation Ganga’ in Ukraine, the government has left no stone unturned to bring back its citizens from abroad.

However, it is certain that the government has faced difficulties in running the rescue mission in Sudan; that too when India has a good reputation in Sudan due to many reasons. In the year 2005, when there was a peace agreement between the government and the rebels in Sudan, the Indian Army under the United Nations peacekeeping team also went there, after which in the year 2011, today’s Sudan was separated from South Sudan. India has also been playing a big role in supporting Sudan’s poor healthcare system. Thousands of people from every corner of Sudan come to India for treatment. Along with this, most of the Indians living there also do business of Ayurveda products, the availability of medicines manufactured from them at cheap prices sitting at home is no less than a boon for the Sudanese amidst the crumbling health infrastructure.

From the Indian side, we have significant economic interests in Sudan, particularly in fuel. Sudan is also a major supplier of crude oil to India. Obviously, the instability there can hamper India’s energy security. As in the past, India cannot depend only on West Asian countries like Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia for its energy needs. Meeting the growing demand for energy is also a major reason behind establishing relations with Sudan as well as oil-rich African states such as Nigeria and Angola. Similarly, it will be important for India to protect its investments, trade, and other interests in the Horn of Africa. Given the current structure of India-Sudan relations and Sudan’s location in the Horn of Africa, India will also have to look at its trade, investment, and other interests in the region before making any hasty move to recognize the new regime. At the same time, the Red Sea region between Asia and Africa is also very important from the point of view of India’s maritime security.

The events in Sudan also draw attention to the formidable challenges of a rapidly changing world that are now confronting us again and again. It is estimated that more than three crore Indians live in other countries and the number of Indians going abroad every year for tourism or other work is almost the same. A significant number of Indian diaspora pursue their goals in challenging circumstances – such as students in Ukraine, nurses in Iraq or Yemen, or laborers in Libya, Syria, and Lebanon. Over the years, we have seen how in the absence of proper security when these countries are in turmoil, the government has to take the lead for the safe return of these migrants.

Looking at the speed and regularity with which these incidents are now taking shape all over the world, it seems that the time has come that now we too set standards like creating a special force to face them. Last year, the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs also recommended a similar step. It is also necessary that political commentary on such crisis and unnecessary controversies for political gains on the safe evacuation of countrymen in distress be avoided. Whenever such a challenge has come to the fore in any corner of the world, the way the Government of India has established the capability of the country by making every rescue mission successful with every possible use of the resources available in the country, that reputation must be upheld at all costs.