Read on Twitter
32 years ago, on this day: Indian Para Commandos launched Operation Cactus in the Maldives, and wrote a glorious chapter in the history of India’s expeditionary military prowess
Here’s all you need to know :
(Read & Appreciate)
Here’s all you need to know :
(Read & Appreciate)
On November 3rd, 1988, the defence establishment in India in the early hours went into frantic hustle. PM Rajiv Gandhi was woken up and informed that India has received a distress call from the President of Maldieves that his country was under seige from Sri Lanka.
A well-armed and trained force of some 80-200 mercenaries, largely drawn from a Sri Lankan Tamil insurgent group, the People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), infiltrated the Maldivian capital of Malé and took control of key points in the city.
The rebels failed to capture the Maldivian President, Abdul Gayoom, who took refuge in the Maldives National Security Service HQs. Gayoom personally or though the Maldivian ambassador to the United Nations, requested military assistance from several countries...
...including India, the United States, Britain, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and ‘other’ Asian states.
Reacting to the distress call the Sri Lankan military placed 85 commandos on standby at its Ratmalana Air Base at Colombo, and Malaysia reportedly alerted its navy.
Reacting to the distress call the Sri Lankan military placed 85 commandos on standby at its Ratmalana Air Base at Colombo, and Malaysia reportedly alerted its navy.
The US Marine detachment at Diego Garcia was also placed on alert but the US State Department ruled out direct intervention, and worked with Britain to help coordinate a response from India.
New Delhi responded to the crisis with uncharacteristic speed and decision, seeing it as India’s prerogative and its responsibility. At 9 a.m. the prime minister presided over a high-level meeting attended, among others, by the three service chiefs.
At noon, the Cabinet Committee for Political Affairs okayed military help for Gayoom and a message was flashed to the Para Brigade in Agra.It was one of the first such operations to be led by India in a foreign land after independence and without UN’s involvement.
It was the most ambitious airborne operation since the 1971 Bangladesh War.On the same day as Gayoom’s request for assistance, the Indian Air Force airlifted some 300 paratroops from Agra to Malé, landing on the nearby island of Hulhule which was still under the control..
.... Of Maldivian security services.
Additional Indian troops were transported by air and by sea from Cochin and Indian Air Force Mirages were deployed over Malé as a show of force. The Indian Army took control of Malé within several hours and rescued President Gayoom.
Additional Indian troops were transported by air and by sea from Cochin and Indian Air Force Mirages were deployed over Malé as a show of force. The Indian Army took control of Malé within several hours and rescued President Gayoom.
A group of insurgents with 27 hostages managed to escape on board a merchant ship. The following day, with US assistance, Indian maritime patrol aircraft were vectored onto the ship, which then tracked it until two Indian naval vessels reached the area and captured it.
The operation successfully was led by Brigadier FC Bulsra, who just had tourist maps to navigate through Malé. Indian High Commissioner to Maldives, AK Banerjee, was the first to notice during an operational planning session that Indians were going to land at the wrong airport.
His intervention ensured that soldiers landed at the correct one.Despite the handicaps, the army very well manage to take control of the situation. The mercenaries were well trained and were not going to surrender easily.
Keeping that under consideration, the paras rigorously pursued them and captured all major points captured by them. 19 people reportedly died in the fighting, most of them mercenaries. The dead included two hostages killed by the mercenaries.Indian paras with captured fighter
India’s intervention in the Maldives was a model for the important security role that India could play in the Indian Ocean. It was undertaken at the express invitation of a nominally democratic Maldivian govt and India was careful to avoid the appearance of military occupation.
India also undertook the intervention alone, demonstrating its ability to airlift troops over long distances and successfully intercept the plotters at sea. India showed that it could execute a combined services operation in an efficient and timely manner.
While for much of the world Maldives may be merely a lost, exotic tourist land, for the subcontinent it is of vital importance. The islets straddle the most important trade routes leading to the subcontinent, also providing the only stopping point between India & Diego Garcia.
Moreover, Pakistan has constantly wooed the Maldives. Making it important for India to maintain excellent relations.
India received international praise for the operation. President Reagan expressed his appreciation for India’s action, calling it ‘a valuable contribution to regional stability’. Margaret Thatcher reportedly commented: ‘Thank God for India: Prez Gayoom’s govt has been saved’.
But it was not seen in positive light by some of India’s neighbours in South Asia (Lankan & Porks).Ironically, before India, President Gayoom first requested military intervention from Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but both denied any help, citing a lack of military capabilities.
