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{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Indian Intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War
| partof = the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]]
| image =
| caption = Indian soldiers exiting an armoured personnel carrier during [[Operation Pawan]]
| date = 29 July 1987 – 24 March 1990 ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=07|day1=29|year1=1987|month2=03|day2=24|year2=1990}})
| place = [[Sri Lanka]]
| coordinates =
| map_type =
| latitude =
| longitude =
| map_size =
| map_caption =
| territory =
| result = [[LTTE]] Tactical Victory [[Indian Peace Keeping Force|IPKF]] withdrawal Beginning of [[Eelam War II]]
| status =
| combatant1 = {{flagicon|India}} [[India]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Indian Army.svg}} [[Indian Peace Keeping Force]]
{{flagdeco|Sri Lanka}} [[Sri Lanka]]
| combatant2 = {{Flagicon image|Tamil Eelam Flag.svg|15px}} [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]]
| combatant3 =
| commander1 = {{flagicon|India}} [[R. Venkataraman]] {{Flagicon|India}} [[Rajiv Gandhi]] {{Flagicon|India}} [[V P Singh]] {{flagicon image|Flag of Indian Army.svg}}[[General|Gen.]] [[Krishnaswamy Sundararajan]]
{{flagicon image|Flag of Indian Army.svg}}[[Major general|Maj.Gen.]] [[Harkirat Singh (Major General)|Harkirat Singh]] {{flagicon image|Flag of Indian Army.svg}} [[Major general|Maj.Gen.]] [[Ashok K. Mehta]]
| commander2 = {{Flagicon image|Tamil Eelam Flag.svg|15px}} [[Velupillai Prabhakaran]]
| commander3 =
| strength1 = {{Flagicon|India}} 100,000 soldiers<ref>https://idsa.in/system/files/events/30-years-of-indian-peackeeping-ipkf.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>
| strength2 = {{Flagicon image|Tamil Eelam Flag.svg|15px}} 3,450-4,500 soldiers<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iiss.org/publications/armed-conflict-database#2007|title = Armed Conflict Database}}</ref>
| strength3 =
| casualties1 = {{Flagicon|India}} 1,287 killed 6,000 wounded <ref name="burden">{{cite web|title=Economic Burden by Sending IPKF in Sri Lanka|url=http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1999-JULY-DEC-MIN-OF-DEFENCE/PDF/DEF-1999-12-15_300.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India - Archive|date=15 December 1999|access-date=16 April 2020}}</ref>
| casualties2 = {{Flagicon image|Tamil Eelam Flag.svg|15px}} Unknown killed Unknown wounded<ref name="apps.dtic.mil">[https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA294004.pdf Article title] {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Indian Peace Keeping Force}}
{{Campaignbox Sri Lankan Civil War}}
}}
The '''Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War''' was the deployment of the [[Indian Peace Keeping Force]] in Sri Lanka intended to perform a [[peacekeeping]] role. The deployment followed the [[Indo-Sri Lankan Accord]] between India and Sri Lanka of 1987 which was intended to end the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]] between [[militant]] [[Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism|Sri Lankan Tamil nationalists]], principally the [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]] (LTTE), and the [[Military of Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan military]].

The original intention was the Indian Peace Keeping Force would not be involved in large scale military operations. However, after a few months, the Indian Peace Keeping Force engaged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in a series of battles. During the two years in which it was deployed, the IPKF fought numerous battles against the LTTE. The IPKF began withdrawing in 1989, and completed the withdrawal in 1990.

==Background==

According to [[Rejaul Karim Laskar]], a scholar of [[Indian foreign policy]], [[India]]n intervention in Sri Lankan civil war became inevitable as that civil war threatened India’s "unity, national interest and territorial integrity."<ref name="auto">{{cite journal|last1=Laskar|first1=Rejaul|title=Rajiv Gandhi's Diplomacy: Historic Significance and Contemporary Relevance|journal=Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist|date=September 2014|volume=2|issue=9|page=47|url=http://www.diplomatist.com/dipom09y2014/article015.html|access-date=8 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221161446/http://www.diplomatist.com/dipom09y2014/article015.html|archive-date=21 February 2018}}</ref> According to [[Rejaul Karim Laskar|Laskar]], this threat came in two ways: On the one hand external powers could take advantage of the situation to establish their [[Military base|base]] in [[Sri Lanka]] thus posing a threat to [[India]], and on the other, the [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam|LTTE]]’s dream of a sovereign [[Tamil Eelam]] comprising all the [[Tamil People|Tamil]] inhabited areas (of Sri Lanka) posed a threat to [[India]]’s territorial integrity.<ref name="auto"/>

The LTTE and other Tamil militant groups developed strong relationships with political parties in South India, such as [[Tanittamil Iyakkam|Pure Tamil Movement]] (led by [[Perunchithiranar (Tamil nationalist)|Perunchithiranar]]), [[Dravidar Kazhagam]] (led by [[K. Veeramani]]), [[Indian National Congress (Organisation)|Kamaraj Congress]] (led by [[Nedumaran]]) during the late 1970s.<ref name="sndayt">{{cite web| url=http://sundaytimes.lk/970119/plus4.html| title=LTTE: the Indian connection| publisher=Sunday Times| year=1997| access-date=2011-07-25| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915053716/http://sundaytimes.lk/970119/plus4.html| archive-date=2014-09-15}}</ref> These Tamil parties firmly backed the militants' cause of creating a separate Tamil [[Eelam]] within Sri Lanka. Thereafter, LTTE developed relations with [[M. G. Ramachandran]] and [[M. Karunanidhi]], who served as Chief Minister of [[Tamil Nadu]], succeeding one another.

Although Sri Lanka was a key member of [[Non-Aligned Movement]] in its initial stages, the Government of Sri Lanka's policies became pro-western as [[Junius Richard Jayewardene|J. R. Jayewardene]] was elected prime minister with his landslide victory in [[1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election|1977 parliamentary election]]. Subsequently, he introduced a new constitution and [[Open economy]] to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is the first South-Asian country to adopt Liberal open economy.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fulbrightsrilanka.com/?page_id=561| title=Sri Lanka – an Overview| publisher=Fulbright commission| access-date=2011-07-25}}</ref>

Moreover, President J. R. Jayawardene did not enjoy the same warm relationship with Indian Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]] that he had enjoyed with her father, Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]].<ref name="sndayt"/> Thus, with the outbreak of [[Black July|Black July ethnic riots]], the Indian government decided to support the insurgent groups operating in Northern Sri Lanka.<ref>{{cite web |author=David Brewster|url=https://www.academia.edu/7992855|title=India's Ocean: the Story of India's Bid for Regional Leadership |access-date=13 August 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124021151/http://www.academia.edu/7992855/Extract_from_Indias_Ocean_-_the_lead_up_to_Indias_1987_intervention_in_Sri_Lanka|archive-date=24 January 2016}}</ref>

==Operation Poomalai==
{{Main|Operation Poomalai}}
India became more actively involved in the late 1980s, and on 5 June 1987, the [[Indian Air Force]] [[Operation Poomalai|airdropped food parcels]] to [[Jaffna]] while it was [[Operation Liberation|under siege]] by Sri Lankan forces. At a time when the Sri Lankan government stated they were close to defeating the LTTE, India dropped 25 tons of food and medicine by parachute into areas held by the LTTE in a direct move of support toward the rebels.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9B0DE0D8173FF936A35755C0A961948260&n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fIndia|title = India airlifts aid to tamil rebels|work = STEVEN R. WEISMAN|publisher = New York Times|date = 5 June 1987|first = Steven R.|last = Weisman|access-date = April 9, 2010|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080219034919/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9B0DE0D8173FF936A35755C0A961948260&n=Top%2FNews%2FWorld%2FCountries%20and%20Territories%2FIndia|archive-date = 19 February 2008}}</ref> Further Sri Lanka government accused, that not only food and medicine but weapons were also supplied to the LTTE.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/Invasion-by-Indian-jets-on-June-4-1987-enraged-Sri-Lankan-army-officers/2016/09/07/article3615418.ece|title=Invasion by Indian jets on June 4, 1987 enraged Sri Lankan army officers|access-date=2016-09-19|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919230704/http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/Invasion-by-Indian-jets-on-June-4-1987-enraged-Sri-Lankan-army-officers/2016/09/07/article3615418.ece|archive-date=September 19, 2016}}</ref> Negotiations were held, and the [[Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord]] was signed on 29 July 1987, by Indian Prime Minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]] and Sri Lankan President [[Junius Richard Jayewardene|Jayewardene]]. Under this accord, the Sri Lankan Government made a number of concessions to Tamil demands, including a [[devolution]] of power to the [[Provinces of Sri Lanka|provinces]], a merger—subject to later referendum—of the Northern and the Eastern provinces into the [[North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|single province]], and official status for the Tamil language (this was enacted as the [[13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka]]). India agreed to establish order in the North and East through a force dubbed the [[Indian Peace Keeping Force]] (IPKF), and to cease assisting Tamil insurgents. Militant groups including the LTTE, although initially reluctant, agreed to surrender their arms to the IPKF, which initially oversaw a cease-fire and a modest [[disarmament]] of the militant groups.

The signing of the Indo-Lanka Accord, so soon after JR Jayawardene's declaration that he would fight the Indians to the last bullet, led to unrest in south. The arrival of the IPKF to take over control of most areas in the North of the country enabled the Sri Lanka government to shift its forces to the south (in Indian aircraft) to quell the protests. This led to an [[Insurrection 1987-89|uprising]] by the [[Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna]] in the south, which was put down bloodily over the next two years.

==Conflict with the LTTE==
While most Tamil militant groups laid down their weapons and agreed to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict, the LTTE refused to disarm its fighters.<ref name="cp1">{{cite news | url =http://www.chinapost.com.tw/latestnews/20061228/43353.htm| title =Tamil rebels abduct 2 rivals, Sri Lankan military says|agency = Associated Press|date = 12 December 2006}}</ref> Keen to ensure the success of the accord, the IPKF then tried to demobilize the LTTE by force and ended up in full-scale conflict with them. The three-year-long conflict was also marked by the IPKF being accused of committing various abuses of human rights by many human rights groups as well as some within the Indian media. The IPKF also soon met stiff opposition from the Tamils.<ref>Balasingham, Adele. (2003) ''The Will to Freedom - An Inside View of Tamil Resistance''. Fairmax Publishing Ltd, 2nd ed. {{ISBN|1-903679-03-6}}.</ref><ref>NorthEast Secretariat report on Human rights 1974 - 2004 (see Further Reading section).</ref>

===Operation Pawan===
{{Main|Operation Pawan}}
Operation Pawan was the codename assigned to the operations by the [[Indian Peace Keeping Force]] to take control of [[Jaffna]] from the [[LTTE]] in late 1987 to enforce the disarmament of the LTTE as a part of the [[Indo-Sri Lankan Accord]]. In brutal fighting that took about three weeks, the IPKF wrested control of the [[Jaffna]] Peninsula from LTTE rule. Supported by Indian Army tanks, helicopter gunships and heavy artillery, the LTTE were routed; however, the IPKF lost 214 soldiers in the hostilities.<ref name=BS>[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1987/Chapter03.html Operation Pawan. The Battle for Jaffna] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330082607/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1987/Chapter03.html |date=March 30, 2009 }}</ref>

===The Jaffna University Helidrop===
{{Main|Jaffna University Helidrop}}
The Jaffna University Helidrop was the first of the operations launched by the [[Indian Peace Keeping Force|Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF)]] aimed at disarming the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) by force and securing the town of [[Jaffna]], [[Sri Lanka]], in the opening stages of [[Operation Pawan]] during the [[Sri Lankan Civil War#Indian involvement|active Indian mediation]] in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Mounted on the midnight of 12 October 1987, the operation was planned as a fast heliborne assault involving [[Mil Mi-8|Mi-8s]] of the [[No.109 Helicopter Unit|No.109 HU]], the [[Para Commandos (India)|10th Para Commandos]] and a contingent of the [[Sikh Light Infantry|13th Sikh LI]]. The aim of the operation was to capture the [[LTTE]] leadership at [[Jaffna University]] building which served as the [[Military tactics|Tactical]] [[Headquarters]] of the LTTE, which was expected to shorten Operation Pawan, the battle for Jaffna. However, the operation ended disastrously, failing to capture its objectives -owing to intelligence and planning failures. The helidropped force suffered significant casualties, with nearly the entire Sikh LI detachment of twenty nine troops falling to the heavy fortifications of the university and fighting until death, along with six Paracommandos falling in battle.

==End of Indian involvement==
Nationalist sentiment led many Sinhalese to oppose the continued Indian presence in Sri Lanka. These led to the Sri Lankan government's call for India to quit the island, and they allegedly entered into a secret deal with the LTTE that culminated in a ceasefire. But the LTTE and IPKF continued to have frequent hostilities. In April 1989, the [[Ranasinghe Premadasa]] government ordered the [[Sri Lanka Army]] to clandestinely hand over arms consignments to the LTTE to fight the IPKF and its proxy Tamil National Army (TNA).<ref name="atimesd">{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DH31Df01.html|work=Asia Times|title=Chapter 55: Assassination of Athulathmudali|access-date=28 July 2011|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110604003049/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DH31Df01.html|archive-date=4 June 2011}}</ref><ref>Dissanayaka, T.D.S.A.: "War or Peace in Sri Lanka, Volume II", p. 332. Swastika, 1998.</ref> Although casualties among the IPKF mounted, and calls for the withdrawal of the IPKF from both sides of the Sri Lankan conflict grew, Rajiv Gandhi refused to remove the IPKF from Sri Lanka. However, following his defeat in Indian parliamentary elections in December 1989, the new prime Minister [[V. P. Singh]] ordered the withdrawal of the IPKF, and their last ship left Sri Lanka on 24 March 1990. The 32-month presence of the IPKF in Sri Lanka resulted in the deaths of 1100 Indian soldiers and over 5000 Sri Lankans. The cost for the Indian government was estimated at over ₹10.3 billion.<ref name="para">{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-sIRxpjfd-EC | title = Paradise poisoned:learning about conflict, terrorism, and development from Sri Lanka's civil wars | page = 562 | year = 2005 | access-date =19 January 2012 | isbn = 955-580-094-4 | author = John Richardson}}</ref>

===Rajiv Gandhi's assassination===
{{main|Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi}}
Support for the LTTE in India dropped considerably in 1991, after the assassination of ex-Prime Minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]] by a female suicide bomber named [[Thenmozhi Rajaratnam]]. The Indian press has subsequently reported that Prabhakaran decided to eliminate Gandhi as he considered the ex-Prime Minister to be against the Tamil liberation struggle and feared that he might re-induct the IPKF, which Prabhakaran termed the "satanic force", if he won the [[1991 Indian general election]].<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jan/28rajiv3.htm| title = Prabhakaran had Rajiv killed for being 'anti-Tamil'| publisher = Rediff| date = 31 August 2006| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190244/http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jan/28rajiv3.htm| archive-date = 3 March 2016}}</ref> In 1998 a court in India presided over by Special Judge V. Navaneetham found the LTTE and its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran responsible for the assassination.<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jan/28rajiv.htm| title = 26 sentenced to death for Rajiv Gandhi's assassination| publisher = Rediff| date = 31 August 2006| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212052/http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jan/28rajiv.htm| archive-date = 3 March 2016}}</ref> In a 2006 interview, LTTE ideologue Anton Balasingham stated regret over the assassination, although he stopped short of outright acceptance of responsibility for it.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Tamil Tiger 'regret' over Gandhi |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5122032.stm |work=BBC News |date=27 June 2006 |access-date=10 May 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522043902/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5122032.stm |archive-date=22 May 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=We killed Rajiv, confesses LTTE |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1686574.cms |work=The Times of India |date=28 June 2006 |access-date=10 May 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070507031135/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1686574.cms |archive-date=7 May 2007 }}</ref> India remained an outside observer of the conflict, after the assassination.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [[Rohan Gunaratna|Gunaratna, Rohan]]. (1997). ''International & Regional Security Implications of the Sri Lankan Tamil Insurgency'', AABC for International Studies. {{ISBN|955-95060-0-5}}
* [[Rohan Gunaratna|Gunaratna, Rohan]]. (1998). ''Sri Lanka's Ethnic Crisis and National Security'', [[Colombo]]: South Asian Network on Conflict Research. {{ISBN|955-8093-00-9}}
* [[Rohan Gunaratna|Gunaratna, Rohan]]. (October 1, 1987). ''War and Peace in Sri Lanka: With a Post-Accord Report From Jaffna'', [[Sri Lanka]]: Institute of Fundamental Studies. {{ISBN|955-8093-00-9}}

{{Sri Lankan Civil War|state=expand}}
{{Military of India}}

[[Category:Indian Peace Keeping Force|Sri Lankan Civil War, Indian invervention in]]
[[Category:Foreign intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War]]
[[Category:Phases of the Sri Lankan Civil War]]
[[Category:1987 in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:1988 in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:1989 in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:1990 in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:India–Sri Lanka relations]]
[[Category:Military history of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Military history of India|Sri Lankan Civil War]]
[[Category:1980s in India|Sri Lankan Civil War, Indian invervention in]]
[[Category:1990 in India|Sri Lankan Civil War, Indian invervention in]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1987]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1988]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1989]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1990]]
[[Category:Wars involving India|Sri Lankan Civil War, Indian invervention in]]
[[Category:Wars involving Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Civil War]]
[[Category:Rajiv Gandhi administration]]

Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War - Revision history

Bot at 14:25, 12 August 2022