Operation Kaveri, Dost, Sankat Mochan: Names of Modi Govt’s Rescue Missions Are Hard to Beat

India has been rescuing its citizens from war-torn Sudan where the deadly fighting between the country’s army and a paramilitary group has reportedly left around 400 people dead. But what has caught people’s attention is the name of the mission – Operation Kaveri.

Whether it is war, natural disasters or calamities, India has never abandoned its citizens abroad and launched successful evacuation operations. In the spirit of its age-old tradition of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (World is one family), India has also helped other countries in times of need from providing COVID-19 vaccines amid the pandemic to sending medicines, search and rescue teams to Turkiye and Syria after deadly earthquakes.

In the last nine years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has given a name for every initiative and all of them, in some sense, are related to the nation and its culture.

Here’s a list of missions launched by India:

Operation Kaveri

Under Operation Kaveri, India has been taking its citizens in buses from conflict zones of Khartoum and other troubled areas in Sudan to Port Sudan from where they are being taken to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah in Indian Air Force’s heavy-lift transport aircraft and Indian Navy’s ships.

The total number of Indians who were brought back home now stands at 998, according to official data till April 28, 2023.

The choice of the rescue name has a lot of significance. Kaveri, one of major Indian rivers, flows through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The river is worshipped as the Goddess Kaveriamma (mother Kaveri).

“Rivers reach their destination irrespective of barriers. It’s like a mother who will ensure she will bring her children back to safety,” ANI reported citing a top official on why ‘Kaveri’ name has been picked up for the mission.

Vande Bharat Mission

At a time when the world was under lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Government of India launched Vande Bharat Mission in May 2020 to bring back its citizens abroad. The exercise was one of the largest civilian repatriation exercises by any country in recent history.

Vaccine Maitri

India, in 2021, supplied Covid vaccines to many countries across globe under “Vaccine Maitri” initiative.

Operation Sankat Mochan

In 2016, hundreds of Indians got stuck amid heavy fighting between former rebels and government soldiers in Sudan. So, the Government of India launched “Operation Sankat Mochan” for their repatriation.

Operation Dost

After a 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit Türkiye and Syria, India sent search and rescue teams to help affected countries under “Operation Dost” as thousands were stuck under the rubble. The emergency relief material comprised of life-saving medicines, protective items and critical care equipment.

Operation Ganga

Over 20,000 Indians were stranded in Ukraine when Russia started a full-scale war in February 2022. On March 8, PM Modi held a discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to ensure safe exit of Indians via the humanitarian corridor.

The government launched “Operation Ganga” to rescue its citizens stranded in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries during the war.

According to a report by ANI citing an official, PM Modi had just come back from his constituency Varanasi and while the discussion was taking place, amongst several other names zeroed in on Ganga name for the operation.

Operation Devi Shakti

When Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, India started rescuing its people under ‘Operation Devi Shakti’.

Explaining why the mission was named Devi Shakti, ANI’s sources said, Goddess Durga is a protector and comes to the help of people in distress. “They said the name of the divine helps boost morale of people in stressful situation. PM Modi is a devotee of Goddess Durga,” they added.

Operation Samudra Maitri

In 2018, India launched ‘Operation Samudra Maitri’ to assist victims of earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia. The country sent medical personnel and relief material to the affected country.

Operation Raahat

In one of most difficult and challenging operations, India evacuated its citizens from war-torn Yemen in 2015. Indian Navy ships were deployed to bring back Indian nationals.

India launched ‘Operation Raahat’ to evacuate its citizens from war-torn Yemen in 2015. As the country was torn in conflict, the Indian government found itself in a tight spot, but India decided to carry out the initial evacuation by sea.

Under this operation, India evacuated 6,710 persons from Yemen, including 4,748 Indians and 1,962 foreign nationals.

The operation involved the deployment of several Indian Navy and Air Force vessels and aircraft to evacuate over 5,000 Indians and over 1,000 foreign nationals from Yemen.

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