Operation Pawan
Defence
Context
- The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Upendra Dwivedi, has paid homage to soldiers who laid down their lives during Operation Pawan (1987 – 1990) in Sri Lanka.
Operation Pawan
- It was launched by the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1987 after the signing of the Indo–Sri Lanka Accord.
- India deployed the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka during the country’s civil war between the minority Tamil population, and the Sinhalese-majority governmen
India was deeply concerned due to:
- Ethnic and cultural ties with Tamil Nadu
- Escalating violence
- Rising refugee inflow into India
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Do you know? ● The Sri Lankan civil war ended on May 18, 2009 with the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). ● While India had not formally commemorated Operation Pawan for decades, Sri Lanka maintains an IPKF memorial in Colombo. ● Now, this has changed with the Indian Army officially recognising the sacrifices made by troops during the operation. |
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