1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait

The 1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait was carried out from August 13, 1990 to October 20, 1990 after the Invasion of Kuwait. Air India helped evacuate 175,000 people by civil airliners and 500 people were sent through a ship. The operation was carried out during the Persian Gulf War in 1990 to evacuate Indian expatriates from Kuwait.^[1][2][3][4] The Indians based in Kuwait also helped in the evacuation efforts.^[5]

Background

The invasion of Kuwait started on August 2, 1990, and within two days of combat, most of the Kuwaiti armed forces were either overrun by the Iraqi Republican Guard or fell back to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The Emirate of Kuwait was annexed, and Saddam Hussein announced a few days later that it was the 19th province of Iraq. More than 171,000 Indians were stranded on Kuwaiti soil.

Response

Initial efforts were made by the government of India to evacuate nationals by military aircraft. However, due to difficulties in air-space clearances the switch was made to civilian aircraft. India had initially requested permission to evacuate its citizens by Air India but the request was not approved by the UN and the government of Kuwait in exile. India was required to use planes supplied to them under the UN banner. Complications arose due to the significantly higher number of nationals requiring evacuation, a lack of travel documents and poor communications. The airlift was completed before the start of Operation Desert Storm. About 111,711 people were evacuated (airlifted) from Amman, Jordan, to Mumbai – a distance of 4,117 km (2558 mi) – by Air India, operating 488 flights in association with Indian Airlines, from August 18, 1990 to October 20, 1990 – lasting 63 days.^[6]

Popular culture

The event was the basis for the 2016 film Airlift starring Akshay Kumar, who played a character inspired by the works of Harbajan Singh Vedi, Mathunny Mathews, Abey Varicad, V.K Warrier, Ali Hussain, and few others. Some historical facts were changed in the film. Leading daily Times of India reported that Harbajan Singh Vedi, played a stellar role in coordinating the evacuation operation by meeting Indian ambassador in Baghdad and overseeing the transport of thousands of Indians to Amman via Baghdad by bus after striking a deal with Iraqi transporters, Indian authorities and UN.^[7]

References