1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait

The 1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait was carried out from 13 August to 20 October 1990 after the Invasion of Kuwait. Air India helped evacuate 111,000 people by a civil airliner and 500 people were sent through a ship. The operation was carried out during the Persian Gulf War in 1990 to evacuate Indian expatriates from Kuwait.^[1][2][3][4] The Indians based in Kuwait also helped in the evacuation efforts.^[5]

Background

The invasion of Kuwait started on 1 August 1990, and within two days of intense combat, most of the Kuwaiti armed forces were either overrun by the Iraqi Republican Guard or fell back to neighboring 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. Air 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. Air India's efforts were coordinated by Mathunny Mathews (popularly known as Toyota Sunny),^[6] Harbajan Singh Vedi and others who were based in Kuwait. Complications arose due to the significantly higher number of nationals requiring evacuation, a lack of travel documents and poor communications. The evacuation was completed before the start of Operation Desert Storm. About 111,711 people were evacuated (airlifted) from Amman, Jordan, to Mumbai – a distance of 4,117 km – by Air India, operating 488 flights in association with Indian Airlines, from 18 August to 20 October 1990 – lasting 63 days.^[7]

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, and many other people of that time. Some historical facts were changed in the film. Leading daily Times of India reported that Kuwait based Malayali enterpreneur Mathunny Mathews (also known as Toyota Sunny) duly supported by Harbajan Singh Vedi, played a stellar role in co-ordinating the evaculation operation by meeting Indian ambassador in Baghdad and overseeing the transport of thousands of Indians to Amman via Baghdad by bus after striking a deal with Iraqi transporters, Indian authorities and UN.^[8]

References