For many years, Ukraine has promoted itself as a study destination for Indians and despite the long-standing situation between Russia and Ukraine which has been going on for several years thousands of Indians still decided to trust Ukraine and went there to study. Along with their hopes and dreams, these Indians brought revenue and business for Ukrainians. And what are many of these Indian students get in the end? ‘Thrashing’ and ‘misbehavior’ from Ukrainians or Ukrainian soldiers. Is this the Ukrainian Hospitality? Are these the European values that we brag about? Is this what studying in Europe means for foreign students? And guess what, on the other hand, India is showing its kindness and generosity by deciding to send medicines and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Yes, medicines and humanitarian assistance for country whose soldiers or citizens ‘thrashed’ or ‘misbehaved’ with Indian students.

That’s India for you, Arindam Bagchi, Ministry of external affairs, said in press conference “that with the request of the ambassador of Ukraine India will be sending money to the people of Ukraine including medicines”. Besides that, it was also confirmed that “the first consignment of relief supplies to Ukraine to deal with the humanitarian situation on Ukraine’s borders” would soon be dispatched. Not only that, but India is also willing to assist citizens of other countries. It was further stated that “India will help people from neighboring countries and developing countries who are stranded in Ukraine and may seek assistance”.

Of course, whether it is NETO or Russia. India doesn’t want to take anybody’s side. India wants to act responsibly and wants to stay neutral, and nobody should raise their voice against India because it is India’s right to stay neutral. Ukraine, Russia, and NETO also should respect that. But unfortunately, it seems that in desperation, Ukraine has been acting in ways that may be questionable. On the one hand, thousands of Ukrainians have already fled their own country or its cities, and many are hiding in bunkers or subways. On the other hand, the Ukrainian president is inviting foreign volunteers to come and fight. Yes, there are also Ukrainian who have stayed in the country to take on the Russians, but why not allow a hassle-free passage to the innocent foreign students who had no role in this conflict?

As far as India and its humanitarian aid are concerned, there is a pattern that we can notice.

In 2008- when China got struck by a major earthquake India offered over 5 million US Dollars to China for its relief activities for the victims of the earthquake.

In 2005- When Pakistan was struck by an earthquake. India offered over 25 million US Dollars to the Pakistani government as cash assistance along with 15 million US Dollars in-kind contributions from both private and government sources.

In 2010- When Pakistan suffered from massive floods, India over 25 million US Dollars to Pakistan so that it can help the victims of floods.

Yes, India even helps countries like Pakistan and China which have fought wars against India. Even though India is a developing nation itself, it has shown its intent to even help former colonial powers for countries that are richer than India.

In 2005 and Indian Air Force aircraft arrived at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas in the USA. It was carrying 25 tonnes of relief supplies for victims of Hurricane Katrina. On multiple occasions, Sri Lanka has received humanitarian assistance from India worth more than 120 million US dollars. Not only that, in 2004 when India was itself affected by Tsunami, it still goes on to send help to other nations like Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. It deployed 14 Navy vessels, nearly 1,000 military personnel, and several dozen helicopters and airplanes to Sri Lanka.

 The Reserve Bank of India has provided financial assistance to the governments of Maldives, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka when they face foreign currency liquidity shortages and India is also one of the largest contributors to United Nations peacekeeping missions. As far as India’s affordable medicines are concerned, globally, they have contributed to saving millions of lives and when it comes to Indian vaccines, many countries have even received the Indian vaccines for free.

So, as far as, humanitarian aid is concerned, there is no surprise that India is planning to stand with Ukraine and help the war-torn nation recover.

To conclude, Ukraine is going through a crisis and India is sending medicine and food as Humanitarian aid, we should understand the pain the people of Ukraine going through but it should not be an excuse to treat Indian people like this.  

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

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In the year 2021, we wrote about 1000 Inspirational Women In India, in the year 2022, we would be featuring 5000 Start Up Stories.