IPKF decision open to debate, but sacrifices must be respected: Defence minister Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: The decision to send Indian soldiers as part of a peacekeeping force to Sri Lanka nearly four decades ago is open to debate but the sacrifices made by the troops who participated in Operation Pawan need to be respected, defence minister Rajnath Singh said.

Speaking at an event to mark the 10th Defence Forces Veterans' Day at Manekshaw Centre, he said the soldiers from the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) displayed remarkable courage and valour. IPKF was deployed in Sri Lanka in 1987 during the civil war there by the Rajiv Gandhi government.

"The decision taken by the then government to send Indian forces to Sri Lanka is open to debate. I don't want to get involved in that debate. But I believe the sacrifices made by our IPKF soldiers who participated in Operation Pawan, and everything they did during that conflict, should be respected," Singh said.


Singh recalled that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka in 2015, he also paid tribute to Indian soldiers at the IPKF memorial. "We are also recognising the contribution of the IPKF peacekeepers at the National War Memorial in New Delhi and we are also giving them full respect," he said.