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Blue berets keep calm: Indian peacekeepers take a hit but help stabilise the newest entrant to the comity of nations
Blue berets keep calm: Indian peacekeepers take a hit but help stabilise the newest entrant to the comity of nations - The Times of India
The killing of five Indian Army soldiers serving under a UN peacekeeping banner in the recently-created nation state of South Sudan is a poignant reminder of the sacrifices our troops have been rendering for decades to make the world a better place.
After being outnumbered and ambushed by armed assailants in a remote and seasonally inaccessible part of the Jonglei state of South Sudan, the Indian military men escorting a UN mission, which was digging boreholes for potable water, fought back valiantly. In the true legend of the Indian army, the senior-most figure, Lieutenant Colonel Mahipal Singh, was first in the line of fire and gave his life ahead of the rest of the contingent (including Kenyan citizens).
Why do Indian soldiers die fighting for distant causes like this? One of India's biggest contributions to global governance is its constant supply of able, highly skilled and professional military forces to peacekeeping operations. Many developing countries are eager to depute their soldiers as blue berets, but India's military has the quality that few can match. With 2,200 peacekeepers in South Sudan alone, India's peacekeeping units are famed in global hotspots for their sensitivity in understanding local contexts, respecting human rights and remaining free of scandals. In 2001, the then UN secretary-general Kofi Annan singled out our peacekeepers for special praise and told them, "You have much to teach the peacekeepers of other countries, who may share your enthusiasm and determination, but lack your experience and training."
India's claim to a permanent seat on the UN Security Council is buttressed by claims about our extraordinarily talented peacekeepers who have been huge assets for promoting safety and normalcy in war-devastated countries. The goodwill they earn for our country is invaluable and every drop of blood they shed is worth its weight in gold.
We often salute the indomitable spirit of our armed forces as sentinels of our borders and upholders of India's territorial integrity. But in some of the most desolate and war-torn parts of the world, at any given point in time, there are thousands of Indian peacekeepers keeping our flag flying as providers of global public goods like security and emergency assistance.
In South Sudan, our battalions are aiding the central government based in Juba and the UN mission to spread hope and protect civilians trapped in spirals of localised armed conflicts related to ethnic discrimination, cattle rustling and sharing of political power. If not for commitments from countries like India to nation-building, the government of South Sudan would have struggled to enforce its writ and extend its sovereignty over its entire land mass.
New nations that become independent after breaking away from larger states, confront problematic former mother countries which nurse deep grudges about their truncated size and shrunken influence. The UN mission in South Sudan, ably backed by international peacekeepers, is an obstacle to the nefarious designs of the government of Sudan to try and weaken the nascent state structures and social fabric of South Sudan. The developmental and civilian protection agenda of the peacekeepers, who are fully endorsed by the African Union, was too constructive for the liking of enemies of South Sudan, who are plotting to make the new nation state perish in a miasma of ethnic and inter-tribal conflicts.
India is thus helping to stabilise the newest entrant to the comity of nations, whose very existence depends on allies with the capacity to create safe spaces in which armed thugs and their foreign patrons can be marginalised. Ambassador Deepak Vohra, who is adviser to the South Sudan government, informed this writer that the tragic attack on Indian peacekeepers will further strengthen the resolve of the governments in Juba and New Delhi to consolidate and mainstream security there.
Be it Somalia, the Congo, or Afghanistan, India has not fled after absorbing grave and dastardly attacks on our peacekeepers and reconstruction specialists. Despite losing five comrades-in-arms, the UN has described the present morale of the Indian contingent in South Sudan as "very high". India does not quit when the cause is a worthy one, and all Indians must appreciate the rationale behind this determination by learning in-depth about distant conflict zones and their internal and regional dynamics. When our soldiers are laying down their lives in far-flung war zones, Indians cannot remain unaware of or indifferent to the fate of these countries.
Oil-rich but war-battered South Sudan underwent extreme hardships to win freedom. Its resilient people have the survival skills to cope with crises in Jonglei and other states, where the central government is being undermined by vested interest groups. India will be there beside South Sudan, shoulder to shoulder, sharing the burden of steering a newborn into a truly sovereign and independent adult.
We must mourn for Mahipal Singh and his men and pay tribute to them for positioning India as a global problem-solver.
Blue berets keep calm: Indian peacekeepers take a hit but help stabilise the newest entrant to the comity of nations - The Times of India
The killing of five Indian Army soldiers serving under a UN peacekeeping banner in the recently-created nation state of South Sudan is a poignant reminder of the sacrifices our troops have been rendering for decades to make the world a better place.
After being outnumbered and ambushed by armed assailants in a remote and seasonally inaccessible part of the Jonglei state of South Sudan, the Indian military men escorting a UN mission, which was digging boreholes for potable water, fought back valiantly. In the true legend of the Indian army, the senior-most figure, Lieutenant Colonel Mahipal Singh, was first in the line of fire and gave his life ahead of the rest of the contingent (including Kenyan citizens).
Why do Indian soldiers die fighting for distant causes like this? One of India's biggest contributions to global governance is its constant supply of able, highly skilled and professional military forces to peacekeeping operations. Many developing countries are eager to depute their soldiers as blue berets, but India's military has the quality that few can match. With 2,200 peacekeepers in South Sudan alone, India's peacekeeping units are famed in global hotspots for their sensitivity in understanding local contexts, respecting human rights and remaining free of scandals. In 2001, the then UN secretary-general Kofi Annan singled out our peacekeepers for special praise and told them, "You have much to teach the peacekeepers of other countries, who may share your enthusiasm and determination, but lack your experience and training."
India's claim to a permanent seat on the UN Security Council is buttressed by claims about our extraordinarily talented peacekeepers who have been huge assets for promoting safety and normalcy in war-devastated countries. The goodwill they earn for our country is invaluable and every drop of blood they shed is worth its weight in gold.
We often salute the indomitable spirit of our armed forces as sentinels of our borders and upholders of India's territorial integrity. But in some of the most desolate and war-torn parts of the world, at any given point in time, there are thousands of Indian peacekeepers keeping our flag flying as providers of global public goods like security and emergency assistance.
In South Sudan, our battalions are aiding the central government based in Juba and the UN mission to spread hope and protect civilians trapped in spirals of localised armed conflicts related to ethnic discrimination, cattle rustling and sharing of political power. If not for commitments from countries like India to nation-building, the government of South Sudan would have struggled to enforce its writ and extend its sovereignty over its entire land mass.
New nations that become independent after breaking away from larger states, confront problematic former mother countries which nurse deep grudges about their truncated size and shrunken influence. The UN mission in South Sudan, ably backed by international peacekeepers, is an obstacle to the nefarious designs of the government of Sudan to try and weaken the nascent state structures and social fabric of South Sudan. The developmental and civilian protection agenda of the peacekeepers, who are fully endorsed by the African Union, was too constructive for the liking of enemies of South Sudan, who are plotting to make the new nation state perish in a miasma of ethnic and inter-tribal conflicts.
India is thus helping to stabilise the newest entrant to the comity of nations, whose very existence depends on allies with the capacity to create safe spaces in which armed thugs and their foreign patrons can be marginalised. Ambassador Deepak Vohra, who is adviser to the South Sudan government, informed this writer that the tragic attack on Indian peacekeepers will further strengthen the resolve of the governments in Juba and New Delhi to consolidate and mainstream security there.
Be it Somalia, the Congo, or Afghanistan, India has not fled after absorbing grave and dastardly attacks on our peacekeepers and reconstruction specialists. Despite losing five comrades-in-arms, the UN has described the present morale of the Indian contingent in South Sudan as "very high". India does not quit when the cause is a worthy one, and all Indians must appreciate the rationale behind this determination by learning in-depth about distant conflict zones and their internal and regional dynamics. When our soldiers are laying down their lives in far-flung war zones, Indians cannot remain unaware of or indifferent to the fate of these countries.
Oil-rich but war-battered South Sudan underwent extreme hardships to win freedom. Its resilient people have the survival skills to cope with crises in Jonglei and other states, where the central government is being undermined by vested interest groups. India will be there beside South Sudan, shoulder to shoulder, sharing the burden of steering a newborn into a truly sovereign and independent adult.
We must mourn for Mahipal Singh and his men and pay tribute to them for positioning India as a global problem-solver.
