By Rajeev Singh: “Sheer audacity and flawless execution” is how the Indian Air Force referred to it.
The airstrip in Sudan had a degraded surface and no landing lights, critical for nigh-time landing and take-off. But the IAF pilots put on night vision goggles, landed the huge Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 ‘Super Hercules’, and kept the engines running as eight IAF Garud Commandos secured the passengers and flew out to safety in Jeddah.
This is how 121 Indians were evacuated in a dramatic rescue mission from Sudan, where gunbattle are taking place between the army and a key paramilitary force. Hundreds have already been killed.
The dramatic rescue by the IAF took place on April 28, 2023.
But this wasn’t the first time that Sudan and African countries around it were witnessing the bravery of Indian soldiers.
The saga dates back to World War II if not earlier. East African countries like Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea saw Indian soldiers display rare courage and play a significant role in beating back Italian troops, which were part of the Axis powers.
India was part of the British empire then.
SUDAN BLOCK AT THE NATIONAL DEFENCE ACADEMY
“The Indian Army was involved in the fighting in and around Sudan in the second world war. The 4th and 5th Indian Divisions were deployed in East Africa and saw severe fighting against Fascist Italy in Eritrea and Somalia,” Squadron Leader Rana Chhina (retd), Secretary, USI Centre for Military History and Conflict Research, told IndiaToday.in.
And the Sudan Block, with its imposing dome, at the National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla in Pune is a reminder of the courage and valour displayed by Indian soldiers in the Sudan Campaign during World War II.
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The government of Sudan in 1941 gifted a hundred thousand pounds to Lord Linlithgow, the Viceroy of India, to build a war memorial in commemoration of the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers in the Sudan Campaign.
It was this core corpus that was later utilised to build the Sudan Block, the grand edifice of the National Defence Academy, according to the NDA website. The majestic Sudan Block resembles a field gun of the Army.
INDIAN TROOPS AND THE SUDAN CAMPAIGN
The Sudan Campaign saw intense military battles between the Allied Forces and the Fascist Italian forces of Benito Mussolini in East Africa during World War II.
The campaign took place between June 1940 and November 1941 and aimed to protect British interests in the region, including the Suez Canal, and to prevent Italian expansion into East Africa.
Indian soldiers played a crucial role in the Sudan Campaign and fought against the Italian forces in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia.
“The battle of Keren in Eritrea was one of the hardest fought battles of this campaign and Subedar Richpal Ram of the Rajputana Rifles won the Victoria Cross for supreme valour when he, with only a handful of his company still remaining, fought to death to defend the position they had captured,” eminent military historian Rana Chhina told IndiaToday.in.
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The Victoria Cross was the highest military decoration awarded for valour “in the face of the enemy” to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces.
“Before that, the first successful offensive of WWII was launched at Gallabat on the Sudan frontier and the Italians were driven back in an attack launched by the 3rd Battalion the Garhwal Rifles,” Chhina said.
The Indian Army’s 4th and 5th Indian Divisions, along with other Allied Forces, were involved in various battles and campaigns, including the liberation of Ethiopia in 1941.
Not only as part of the British empire, Indian soldiers have contributed to peace in Sudan even after India’s Independence.
“After Independence Indian soldiers have served in Sudan as UN peacekeepers (including an IAF contingent) in United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) from 2006 onwards, said Chhina.
INDIA’S OPERATION KAVERI
Sudan has been mired in political instability for years. However, the situation turned into a nightmare after clashes started between the country’s army and the Rapid Support Force (RSF), a key paramilitary force, on April 15.
Over 500 people have already been killed in the gunfights.
Governments from across Asia, Europe, and the Americas are evacuating their nationals, including embassy staff, from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.
India on April 24 launched Operation Kaveri to evacuate its citizens who were left stranded in the crisis-hit African country.
There are around 2,800 Indian nationals stranded in Sudan, as per the website of the Indian Embassy in Khartoum.
Under Operation Kaveri, India is taking the evacuees to the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, from where they are returning home.
The dramatic Indian Air Force mission of April 28 in which 121 Indians were evacuated from a small airstrip at Wadi Sayyidna, about 40 km North of Khartoum, was part of Operation Kaveri.
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