In what should be viewed as a welcome move, India has sent medical and disaster relief aid for Palestine on Sunday (October 22). Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi announced on X (formerly Twitter) that an Indian Air Force C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material departed for the El-Arish airport in Egypt. “The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, and water purification tablets among other necessary items”, Bagchi’s post said.
India has sent humanitarian assistance for Palestine only two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, conveying his condolence messages on the loss of lives in the bombing at a Gaza hospital. During the conversation amid the on-going Israel-Hamas war, PM Modi said that India would continue to send humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.
“We will continue to send humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. Shared our deep concern at the terrorism, violence and deteriorating security situation in the region. Reiterated India’s long-standing principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue,” Modi posted on X after his conversation with Abbas.
This move reaffirms the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi follows the policy of being first responder to the countries hit either by a natural disaster or a conflict in any part of the world. By sending aid for Palestine where thousands of innocent people including children and women reportedly lost their lives as a result of war between Israel and Hamas, the Modi government has aptly underlined the age-old Indian aphorism of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.
It shows that India continues to support humanitarian causes. The humanitarian assistance for Palestinians is only the latest example. For the past several years, PM Modi has always ensured that India reaches out with help and aid to the needy no matter which part of the world it might be. There have been many occasions when India under the leadership of PM Modi has proved to be of great help to people in need.
Take the example of Ukraine where India had sent humanitarian aid since the beginning of the war, including drugs and medical equipment. Though India remained neutral during the conflict between Kyiv and Moscow, New Delhi never stopped humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Similarly, PM Modi ensured unhindered humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, while stressing on preventing Afghan territory from becoming the source of radicalization and terrorism.
At all international forums, Modi called for urgent humanitarian assistance to Afghani citizens and an inclusive administration. In view of PM Modi’s thrust on addressing the humanitarian crisis, India carried out relief operations ‘Operation Dost’ in earthquake-hit Turkey. India under PM Modi was one of the first nations who came forward to provide help. There are several instances where Modi led relief operations during natural disasters or conflicts helped various countries.
During the Nepal earthquake in 2015, the Indian Airforce (IAF) flew the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team there. The Indian Navy was the first to arrive in the Maldives to provide fresh drinking water to its citizens in December 2015. India has been the first to evacuate its people and also foreigners from war zones, for instance, operation ‘Rahat’ conducted in Yemen in 2015. As part of its humanitarian efforts during COVID-19 pandemic, India initiated the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ programme in order to provide poorer countries equitable access to life-saving vaccines.
After the Taliban had laid siege to the Afghan capital of Kabul post the withdrawal of US troops, the Modi government sent several flights to Kabul and evacuated around 500 Indians and over 200 Afghan nationals, including those from minority communities such as Sikh and Hindu. The ‘Vande Bharat’ campaign repatriated close to 1.8 crore Indians stuck in different countries due to Covid-19.
There was a war raging in Ukraine and thousands of Indians were stranded. ‘Operation Ganga’ was launched to rescue more than 20,000 Indian nationals by ensuring a safe passage from Ukraine and into neighbouring countries such as Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. Now, ‘Operation Ajay’ has been launched by India to evacuate Indian citizens and some foreigners from Israel. This evacuation operation is in response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.