| Indian Peace Keeping Force | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | July 1987 – March 1990 |
| Country |  Sri Lanka |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Branch | |
| Role | |
| Size | 100,000 (peak) |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations |
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Lieutenant General Depinder Singh Major General Harkirat Singh (General Officer Commanding) Lieutenant General S.C. Sardeshpande Lieutenant General A.S. Kalkat Cap.Shivkaran Alok Dubey(M.VrC) Gp.Capt. M.P Premi VrC, VM, IAF |
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lankan Civil War between Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan military.[1]
The main task of the IPKF was to disarm the different militant groups, not just the LTTE. It was to be quickly followed by the formation of an Interim Administrative Council. These were the tasks as per the terms of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord, signed at the behest of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Given the escalation of the conflict in Sri Lanka, and with the pouring of refugees into India, Rajiv Gandhi took the decisive step to push this accord through. The IPKF was inducted into Sri Lanka on the request of Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene under the terms of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord.[1]
The force was initially not expected to be involved in any significant combat by the Indian High Command.[2] However, within a few months, the IPKF became embroiled in battle with the LTTE to enforce peace. The war erupted following the death of 17 LTTE prisoners, including two areas commanders in the custody of the Sri Lankan Army, which the LTTE blamed the IPKF for allowing to happen.[3] Soon, these differences led to the LTTE attacking the Sinhalese, at which point the IPKF decided to disarm the LTTE militants, by force if required. In the two years it was in northern Sri Lanka, the IPKF launched a number of combat operations aimed at destroying the LTTE-led insurgency. It soon escalated into repeated skirmishes between the IPKF and LTTE. Numerous civilian massacres and rapes were committed by the IPKF during the conflict.[4][5][6] Numerous soldiers of IPKF were killed by LTTE.[7]
The IPKF began withdrawing from Sri Lanka in 1989, on the orders of the newly elected Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa and following the election of the V. P. Singh government in India.[2] The last IPKF contingents left Sri Lanka in March 1990.
India's battle in Sri Lanka is often called 'India's Vietnam' by international media, by way of comparison to American military involvement in the Vietnam War.[8][9]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Hennayakewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
dixitrediffwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Welcome to UTHR, Sri Lanka". uthr.org. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ University Teachers of Human Rights (Jaffna), The Broken Palmyra, chapter 5 – "NO MORE TEARS SISTER" THE EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN, War of October 1987 http://www.uthr.org/BP/volume2/Chapter5.htm
- ^ McDowell, Chris (1996). A Tamil Asylum Diaspora: Sri Lankan Migration, Settlement and Politics in Switzerland (Studies in Forced Migration). Berghahn Books. ISBN 1-57181-917-7. p.181
- ^ Hoole, Ranjan; Thiranagama, Ranjani (1992). "The Broken Palmyra, the Tamil Crisis in Sri Lanka, An Inside Account" (Document). The Sri Lanka Studies Institute. pp. 265–71. ASIN: B000OGS3MW.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
burdenwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Charu Sudan Kasturi (15 December 2017). "INDIA'S 'VIETNAM MOMENT': THE ILL-ADVISED WAR THAT ENDED IN HUMILIATION". ozy.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ Sushant Singh (13 October 2017). "On Indian military decisions of today, shadow of a pyrrhic victory yesterday". Indian Express. Retrieved 2 August 2020.