USE OF MILITARY AND STRATEGIC CAPABILITY IN EXPATRIATION OF INDIAN DIASPORA FROM CRISIS ZONES: A PARADIGM SHIFT

India has conducted over 30 rescue operations or expatriate evacuations across Asia and Africa, since 1947. However, our initial experience in evacuating Indian citizens from trans-border crisis situations was ad-hoc, sometimes with procedural & execution deficiencies. While considerable efforts have been made by successive governments in the past, this subject has largely remained understudied, with very limited studies & research available in the public domain. This paper intends to highlight the paradigm shift being witnessed in the evacuation of the Indian Diaspora from varied crisis situations since 2014, amidst the rising geopolitical status of India as well as capabilities in a largely dynamic international order.