Indian Army will officially honour the martyrs of ‘Operation Pawan’

The Indian Army will officially honour the martyrs of Operation Pawan 1987. Operation Pawan began in 1987 when India deployed the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka under the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement.

• For the first time in 38 years, the Indian Army will officially remember the soldiers who lost their lives during Operation Pawan, one of India’s most difficult external military missions.
• General Upendra Dwivedi and Vice Chief Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh will lay wreaths at the NWM to honour 1,171 Indian soldiers who were martyred – and 3,500 injured – during Operation Pawan.
• Operation Pawan was launched in 1987 by the Rajiv Gandhi government, under which the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was sent to Sri Lanka to help calm the civil war between Tamil and Sinhalese communities.
• Its objective was to disarm Tamil militant groups, including the LTTE, and restore peace. However, the LTTE broke the agreement and engaged in fierce combat with the Indian Army, often hiding in dense forests and bushes. The fighting was so intense that many soldiers could not even retrieve the bodies of their martyred comrades.
• This long-awaited tribute gives national recognition to the thousands of soldiers who served under extremely difficult circumstances during the Tamil-Sinhalese conflict.

After Operation Pawan

• Despite the apparent success of Operation Pawan, nationalist sentiment grew against the Indian Army’s presence in Sri Lanka.
• The Sri Lankan Army demanded the withdrawal of the Indian Army, but despite rising IPKF casualties, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi refused. After he lost the Indian parliamentary elections in December 1989, IPKF was withdrawn on 24 March 1990 on the orders of the new Prime Minister, V.P. Singh.
• On 21 May 1991, after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a female suicide bomber, support for the LTTE declined sharply in India. Even after the assassination, India remained an external observer in the conflict.
• The Sri Lankan Civil War ended on 18 May 2009 with the surrender of the Tamil Tigers to government forces.

Background of Operation Pawan

• Operation Pawan started in 1987 when India deployed the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka under the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement. Its purpose was to stabilise the conflict-affected Northern and Eastern provinces and eliminate militant groups including the LTTE.
• Although the peace agreement aimed to bring peace, the LTTE rejected it, leading to sudden and fierce fighting. IPKF soldiers found themselves working in dense forests, unfamiliar terrain, and harsh conditions. What began as a peacekeeping initiative soon turned into full-scale combat.
• One of the most remarkable stories of bravery from the operation is that of Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran, who was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra.
• Operation Pawan was conducted by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) from 1987 to 1990. During the operation, 1,171 Indian soldiers were martyred.