Operation Sindhu: India Begins Student Evacuation from Iran

Category: International

To check the on-going Israel-Iran conflict India has already started Operation Sindhu to evacuate its nationals in Iran. 110 students have been brought out of Iran, mainly through Armenia and flown to New Delhi. The operation will be an evacuation by land-to-air, which will be organized by the Indian Embassy in Tehran. There are still uninformed Indian pilgrims in Iran who are stranded and did not know about the evacuation plan already. Their scenario is tight with Indians reporting of their students injured after Israeli attacks.

Why in the news?

• With rising tensions between Israel and Iran, a conflicting country, India launched its operation under the name of Operation Sindhu ( June 2025) to evacuate Indian citizens.
• Most of which are students and pilgrims, in the affected regions in northern Iran. The action is one of the mechanisms of proactive management of the crisis that India has come up with to secure nationals out of its borders.

Key Points 

Operation Overview:

• Inaugurated: June 2025 Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
• Mission: An evacuation exercise to remove Indian citizens in Iran as regional tensions intensify in the region.
• Name: Operation Sindhu- a symbol of civilizational attachment and quick rescue operations to India.

Evacuation Route:

• A total of 110 Indian students who were studying at Qom (Iran) were transferred by bus to Yerevan (Armenia).
• They flew to New Delhi in a special flight moving through Doha which took off on Thursday morning, starting in Yerevan.

Student Demographics:

• Among the students 90 (110) were from Jammu & Kashmir.
• The remaining were Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
• The lion share of the students was undertaking MBBS programs in the Iranian universities.

On-ground Situation:

• After Israeli airstrikes in Tehran, university bed rooms were damaged and Indian students were hurt.
• Such pilgrims as those in Qom (Uttar Pradesh) complained of absence of contact with the Embassy or medicine and childcare supplies.

Diplomatic Coordination:

• Indian officials agreed to evacuate Iranian nationals back to their homeland with cooperation with the Iranian government including their Deputy Ambassador in India.
• The Indian Embassy in Tehran has been organizing evacuations in batches and as per location and risk levels.

About Iran-Israel issue

• In June 2025, tension between Iran and Israel became open conflict. Israel also did precision attacks to Iranian nuclear facilities and Iran struck back with missiles. 
• This eruption in West Asia has become a cause of worry in the international arena particularly to countries with significant strategic and economic concerns to the region, such as India.

Causes of the Iran-Israel war:

• Historical enmity: The relations became hostile since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 when Iran took an anti-Israel position.
• Deeply conflicting worldviews: Shia Iran and Jewish Israel Shia and Jewish views distrust each other deeply; their religious- ideological differences.
• Support of Proxy Groups: Iran supports Hamas and Hezbollah which are recognized by Israel as terrorist groups.
• Geopolitical Rivalry: The competing Iran and Israel roles in Syria, Iraq and Yemen; Iran backs Assad and Houthis, Israel opposes Iranian interest.
• Nuclear Programme of Iran: Israel is worried about a nuclear Iran; has been engaging in regional pre-emptive attacks of nuclear establishments.

What are the impacts on India?

• Security Risks of Energy:
  • India relies on imports containing more than 85 percent of crude oil from the Strait of Hormuz.
  • War poses a danger to supply chains, increases oil prices and poses a danger of inflation, fiscal stress and economic retardation.
• The Safety of Indian Diaspora:
  • More than 66% of 1.34 crore NRIs live in the Middle East.
  • On-going trouble in the region threatens their security; may precipitate en masse evacuations, as it occurred in 1990 in the Gulf War and in the Ukraine crisis.
• Strategic Connectivity Interruption:
  • Such major initiatives as Chabahar Port and India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor ( IMEC ) are at risk.
  • India trade routes may be affected by a possible bottlenecked shipping in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
• Diplomatic Tightrope:
  • India is well connected with Israel and Iran.
  • Any growing tensions may pose a threat to the neutral position of India and hurt its connections with the region.

Prescribed De-escalation Interventions:

• Two-State Solution:
  • The peace in Gaza, the humanitarian assistance, and the consideration of the international resolutions over Palestine.
  • The long-term welfare of peace through the Palestinian state together with Israel.
• Diplomatic Dialogue:
  • EU, UN or one-sided mediation to start direct negotiations between Iran and Israeli.
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation:
  • Iran rejoins the JCPOA; verification of harmony by international organizations.
  • Israel guarantees that it does not attack the nuclear installations when compliance is guaranteed.
• Regional Cooperation:
  • Such platforms as GCC or the Arab League may be used to solve common security and economic problems.
• Normalisation Steps:
  • Sending diplomats, reopening embassies, and people-to-people contacts.
  • Adopt the patterns of Israel-UAE/Bahrain peace agreements.

Conclusion

Operation Sindhu is a good example of how India handled the geopolitical crisis with speed and strategy to keep the citizens safe in other states. The evacuation efforts which were made initially were effective, the situation demonstrated that better communication channels, real-time coordination, and preparation among vulnerable groups such as the pilgrim and the minor populations were needed once there was an international emergency.