India - A new leader emerges in Global Humanitarian Aid

India - A new leader emerges in Global Humanitarian Aid 

We are exposed to a media, that focuses on identifying countries that has supported or not supported the NATO or US led forces. Has the media ever focused enough on countries that also come to the rescue of other nations when in crisis, both man made or natural ? Very rarely do we come across news,  that highlights the humanitarian effort carried on by nations protecting human lives, in foreign terrain.

Till a few years ago, India had possibly the worst possible infrastructure available to tackle disasters within the country. A cyclone or earthquake in any part of India meant loss of thousands of human lives.  Moreover the rescue effort took its own sweet time with absolutely no strategy in place to tackle emergency requirement. 

Cut to October 2013, when India was staring at cyclone Phailin, equivalent to a category 1 hurricane, the state of Odisha expected around 12 million people to be affected. Never in the history of India such a massive operation had been conducted, wherein more than half a million people were evacuated in no time. The loss of life was minimal as a result.

Today India has taken a lead in providing humanitarian aid coming to the rescue of its stranded citizens in distant land or helping its neighbours in distress. The National Disaster Response Force or NDRF established by the Indian Government in 2009 has already earned kudos for their swift response to humanitarian crises including natural and man made disasters. In September 2014, the NDRF team played a stellar role in providing relief to the stranded Kashmiris, when the Valley was inundated in the worst-ever floods in the history of the state. As I write this article, the NDRF personnel have been pressed into service at Nepal, where they are currently engaged in a massive rescue operation post the major earthquake that hit the Indian neighbour on 25th April 

Air India, the National air carrier has always been in the news for wrong reasons. Never known to keep its schedule, poor inflight service, always at the mercy of Indian politicians, airline staff going on strike at will or pilots not willing to fly etc. But when it comes to evacuating the citizens of India stranded in crisis hit countries like Kuwait, Libya or recently at Yemen, nothing can beat Air India. In fact the airline already finds mention in the record books, by evacuating close to 0.2 million Indians from war torn Kuwait in 1990.  During the recent war at Yemen, the national carrier was also approached by other countries to evacuate their citizens from Sanaa and Aden. 

India is already recognised as the go to country when it comes to providing relief and rescue operations in neighbouring countries. In December 2014, when the sole desalination plant at the Maldivian capital broke down, the Indian Air force and the Indian Navy together transported more than 1,000 tonnes of potable water for the parched citizens of Male. This has earned the country, tremendous goodwill from the small Island nation.

It is time India expands its footprint to other parts of the planet and earn the recognition of being a global leader in providing humanitarian aid leveraging on the large workforce,  a robust disaster management mechanism like the NDRF and the defence force that is second to none when it comes to saving human lives. This will earn the country lot of respect from the global community since saving a life is more valued than taking a life.