Remembering disowned IPKF

Col J P Singh, Retd
An event has been added in the annals of military history by Prime Minister Modi’s recognition of disowned IPKF by paying homage to its martyrs at the IPKF Memorial in Colombo on 13th March 2015 during his two days state visit to Sri Lanka. He is the first Indian Head of Govt to visit this memorial to glorify those who laid down their lives 25 years ago but remained forgotten in the din of Tamil politics. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had visited Colombo for the SAARC Summit in 2008, but did not visit the memorial. Ironically politics prevailed upon expediency. Glorification of IPKF and elevation of deposed Sri Lankan army chief Gen Sarath Fonseka, who successfully ended LTTE led civil war in 2009, to Field Marshal, is the way the armies are treated world over. IPKF and Lankan army had jointly fought the LTTE. Even though a coincidence, both are great morale boosters for both armies. It is also a signal that both armies can work together in future.
There is always a curiosity for the peace mission undertaken by thousands of Indian soldiers resulting into death of over 1,200. Earlier in May 1987, when Lankan forces laid siege of Jaffna, Rajiv Gandhi ordered to send essential supplies by sea. Sri Lankan Navy did not allow Indian flotilla to enter Sri Lankan waters after which he decided to drop the supplies by air. It was done on 4th June by a cargo aircraft escorted by fighters. India had violated an independent nation’s air space. Our display of military might was fully resented; the reflection of which was seen when a sailor struck Rajiv Gandhi with the butt of his rifle while Rajiv Gandhi was inspecting ‘guard of honour’ on 30th July; a day after signing India-Sri Lanka Accord. Invited by Sri Lanka to implement the peace accord, the IPKF had to fight Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas to prevent the break up of Sri Lanka along ethnic lines as also to ensure the territorial integrity of the Island Nation. IPKF was deployed post haste without adequate preparation. Rajiv Gandhi was in a great hurry to sell a solution for the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It was perhaps his successful handling of Punjab and Assam crises which had given him such confidence. That the IPKF fought with its hands tied is no secret. The peace keeping mission in Sri Lanka was a botched up operation at several levels. Lack of coordination and weak political will jeopardized the mission. As the months rolled by, the agreement began falling apart. Jayewardene retired in 1988. IPKF was accused of committing human rights violations. Premadasa became President who gradually dismantled Jayewardene’s policies. Rajiv himself lost election in 1989. VP Singh became prime minister. He decided to withdraw IPKF post haste. From the very beginning Sri Lankan ethnic issue was mishandled and so was the IPKF. Final outcome was a disaster. Nobody quite knew what went wrong and is unlikely ever to be known.
The strategic as well as sensitive role of IPKF was never acknowledged by India for several reasons, firstly, because LTTE Supremo V Prabhakaran, a Rajiv sympathiser took up arms against IPKF; Rajiv Gandhi lost power and became victim of LTTE, new govt hurriedly withdrawing IPKF and finally domestic politics overshadowing diplomacy. The Congress Party also never really knew how to handle ethnic strife, IPKF (mis)adventure, subsequent relations with Sri Lanka and Tamil political parties.  The peace mission was an act of faith for the military despite being a bloody legacy for the Congress. To a keen observer of regional security paradigm, keeping the peace mission under carpet, neglecting the Indian Ocean and concentrating only on land borders cost India dearly. China fully exploited the dichotomy. The wounds of the civil war are still open despite Indian sacrifices. Sri Lanka still bleeds. The civil war may be over, but hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans and Tamils of Indian origin have been badly hurt.
PM’s visit to IPKF memorial was a proud moment for IPKF veterans like me and reminded us of our beloved comrades who went with us to restore peace in the strife torn foreign nation but did not come back. Poignancy of their separation is ever lasting.  It was such a pleasant feeling to see an Indian Premier finally reaching to the memorial to honour the soldiers even though 25 years had gone past after the operation had ended and IPKF had come back. The sight must be equally inspiring for the men in uniform and near and dear ones of martyrs.
China is speedily and seriously constructing huge infrastructure projects in the Indian Ocean region. She plans to encircle India by its ‘string of pearls’ and ‘maritime silk route’ strategy. It has been a long-standing Indian desire to stamp its strategic foot prints in India’s ocean but the policy paralysis failed to turn intention into action.
India is the fourth largest economy in the world which is almost 70 % dependent on the oil import. Major portion of this oil comes from Gulf region through the sea routes. 80 % of other trade also takes place through sea. Hence security of trade demands that all the sea lanes in the Indian Ocean, from Suez Canal & Strait of Malacca, be kept open all the times. 50 % of world’s oil and 40 % gas reserves are estimated to be in the Indian Ocean. It is the only fishing ground for our coastal fishermen. 80 % of China’s oil imports also pass through ‘Malacca Strait’. For the similar reasons China will also like to dominate Indian Ocean. It is therefore important that we have good relations with Indian Ocean rim states and develop a strong Blue Water Navy which can safeguard nation’s interests beyond territorial waters.
To any security analyst, PM’s visit to Sri Lanka and other littoral neighbors is articulation of New Delhi’s quest for dominance in Indian Ocean and his intention to re-structure maritime security with the littoral states which remained diplomatically neglected for decades. It is for the first time that 10,000 Kms Indian Ocean, stretching from Australia to Mozambique, is being seen as Indian entity; being the only ocean in the world named after a single country.
China has fully exploited Indian Ocean region economically and militarily at the cost of Indian interests. China has developed Colombo Port City as a huge naval base. China has also taken over operational control of the Gwadar Port near Karachi. If India is to grow economically and militarily, focus has to shift to Indian Ocean because its trade and energy supply through Indian Ocean maritime links has enormously grown. Piracy is a great danger to trade and transit in the Indian Ocean. As per Raksha Mantri, Somali pirates are shifting their area of operation towards India. In 2011, 237 piracy incidents and 28 Merchant Vessel hijacking took place in Indian Ocean. But what damages New Delhi’s oceanic interest the most is a widespread belief that India has no maritime strategy. If India were to become a regional power and have an emphatic say in global affairs, it will have to maximise strategic gains of its vast maritime front.
Being keen observer of regional security, I sense more in prime minister’s homage to IPKF Memorial in Sri Lanka. He wants to make India a great maritime power. He wants armed forces to be strengthened and moderanised. He wants Indian Navy to secure our trade routes beyond our territorial waters. He wants ordinance factories to manufacture state of the art military hardware and compete internationally. He wants to make India an important global player and strong regional power and that is the message from the Lankan event.

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