1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait

Emergency evacuation after the Iraqi invasion June 2018 Airlift of Indians from Kuwait Invasion of Kuwait and the Gulf War File:Kuwait_pol_06.jpg Map of Kuwait Emergency evacuation Kuwait Ministry of External Affairs Humanitarian relief 1990 08 13 y - 1990 10 20 y Air India, Indian Airlines, Indian Air Force More than 170,000 Indian citizens evacuated. The 1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait was carried out from August 13, 1990, to October 20, 1990, after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Air India helped evacuate 170,000 people by civil airline. The operation was carried out before the Persian Gulf War in 1990 to evacuate Indian migrant workers from Kuwait. Foreign Minister I.K. Gujral was instrumental in getting Iraq to co-operate on these efforts.Venkataramakrishnan Rohan July 2, 2014 The Berlin airlift was remarkable, but the largest civilian evacuation in history is by India http://scroll.in/article/668866/the-berlin-airlift-during-ww-ii-was-remarkable-but-the-largest-civilian-airlift-was-by-india 2015-04-11 Scroll.in Following this operation, Air India, the flag carrier of India, entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people evacuated by a civil airliner.1995 Guinness Book or World Records, pg. 585Pareek Shreya February 18, 2015 Did You Know That The Largest Air Evacuation In History Was Done By India? http://www.thebetterindia.com/15179/heres-need-know-largest-air-evacuation-history-india/ 2015-12-19 The Better IndiaGupta Priya 19 August 2014 Airlift: Akshay Kumar's next a thriller of the biggest human evacuation http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Airlift-Akshay-Kumars-next-a-thriller-of-the-biggest-human-evacuation/articleshow/40364005.cms 2015-12-19 The Times of India Mathunny Mathews, Harbajan Singh Vedi, Abey Varicad, N.V.K. Warrier, Ali Hussain, Narinder Singh Sethi, and few others based in Kuwait helped immensely in the evacuation efforts of fellow Indians.http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=02_02_2016_013_058_002&type=P&artUrl=REAL-STORY-KUWAIT-AIRLIFT-1990-02022016013058&eid=31806 Real Story: Kuwait Airlift, 1990 The Times of India 2017-02-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20170629023939/http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=02_02_2016_013_058_002&type=P&artUrl=REAL-STORY-KUWAIT-AIRLIFT-1990-02022016013058&eid=31806 2017-06-29 dead Background Invasion of Kuwait 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 170,000 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 170,000 people were evacuated (airlifted) from Amman, Jordan, to Bombay – 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. Buses were also used after winning Baghdad's approval to ferry Indians through Basra and Baghdad to Amman in Jordan. Popular culture The event was the basis for the 2016 film Airlift starring Akshay Kumar, who played a character inspired by the works of Mathunny Mathews, Harbajan Singh Vedi, Abey Varicad, NVK Warrier, Ali Hussain and many others. References 30em Category:1990 in India Category:Evacuations of Indians Category:Airlifts Category:Iraqi invasion of Kuwait Category:India–Kuwait relations Category:Air India Category:1990 in aviation Category:Non-combatant evacuation operations Category:1990 in international relations Category:August 1990 in Asia Category:September 1990 in Asia Category:October 1990 in Asia