Arriving in New Delhi from the conflict zone in Iran under India’s Operation Sindhu, Indian students expressed their gratitude to the Central government for evacuating them directly from their doorstep. They described the situation in Iran as “bad”, noting that people there are extremely “scared”.
An Indian student, Sheikh Afsa, on board the flight carrying 110 nationals under Operation Sindhu, praised the government’s efforts to ensure a safe evacuation upon returning to Delhi, saying that the government evacuated them ‘from their doors’.
“We are happy to return here, but we are also worried about our studies. The situation there (Iran) is bad, and people are scared. We even received calls from people in Iran, who said the situation in Iran is very critical. The (Indian) government literally evacuated us from our dormitory, from our doors; we didn’t even expect this much. They helped us at every step; no one faced any problem, and we are grateful to the central government for the role they played in evacuating us,” she told ANI.
The Indian government has launched Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran in view of the deteriorating situation as a result of the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel.
Another evacuated student expressed his gratitude to the Indian government, saying that he was safely back home because of their efforts.
“I am happy that I am back in our country. We didn’t see any such thing in Urmia, but in other places across Iran, the situation was bad… The Government of India helped a lot; that is why we are back home,” he stated.
Describing the situation as “critical”, another Indian student urged the Indian Embassy in Iran to rescue fellow Indians still stranded in Tehran and Isfahan: “…We thank the Indian Embassy for evacuating us at the right time, but we have one more appeal: that all of our brothers and sisters who are stranded in Isfahan and Tehran be evacuated as soon as possible, as the situation is so critical there.”
A girl from Jammu and Kashmir, currently in her fourth year of studies in Iran, expressed hope that the war would end soon so she could return and complete her education.
She described the entire evacuation process as “smooth”, noting that they did not face any challenges. She also urged the Jammu and Kashmir government to facilitate their early return home.
“We are sad as we have to leave our studies… We are happy, as we didn’t expect that we would be back; such is the condition there (in Iran)… I hope the war will end soon, as our studies will also be completed, and Iran won’t have to suffer too much. I am very thankful to the Indian government for the way they evacuated us; it was smooth. We faced no issues till now. But we have come to know that buses are being arranged for the students of Kashmir from here. I think after travelling to 3 countries, we are not ready to travel by bus. I request our CM (of J&K) to facilitate us so that we can meet our parents as soon as possible,” she said.
Earlier, in a post on X, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote, “India launched Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran. India evacuated 110 students from northern Iran, who crossed into Armenia under the supervision of our Missions in Iran and Armenia on 17th June. They departed from Yerevan on a special flight and will arrive in New Delhi in the early hours of 19th June 2025. India accords the highest priority to the safety and security of her nationals abroad.” (ANI)
