Ebbing spirit
As hardships pile on, stranded Indian students in Ukraine are looking at another facet of life
As most of India grapples with emotions to come to terms with the tragic news of the death of two of our students in Ukraine, besides experiencing anxiety over the fate of those who still remain stranded in eastern parts of that country, there’s more disturbing news trickling in. As per latest reports citing some Indian students who have run aground since the Russian invasion began, local authorities and the military in Kharkiv are now assaulting these students, pointing guns at them and pushing them out of bunkers and trains arranged to evacuate people from the region. The scenes are reminiscent of apartheid and unadulterated discrimination: After trains open their locked doors at a station, the authorities allow only the Ukrainians — children first, their mothers followed by other women and, lastly, Ukrainian men — to board. All attempts to contact the Indian embassy were wasted as the beleaguered students could not get through. The embassy in Kyiv was already shut down on March 1. The Ukrainian officials on patrol around town harbour a grouse against the Indian Government as they reportedly told these students that when India was not supporting the war-torn nation, why should they help Indians?
Of the 18,000-20,000 Indian students in Ukraine, only 6,000 have returned so far. The students, especially girls, are braving snowfall without shelter and awaiting evacuation at Ukraine’s eastern borders. The normal bond between average Ukrainians and Indians is tellingly captured in the true story about a student who turned down an offer to be evacuated because she wanted to stay with her landlady’s two young daughters to take care of them after the family man, a civilian, volunteered to enlist in the Ukrainian Army. But this initial mood of euphoria and pride being an Indian seems to be steadily giving way to hopelessness and despair against the Modi Government among the Indian expatriates. If India had not extended tacit approval to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this week at the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly meetings, Ukraine’s Army and general populace might not have turned against hapless Indian students, who are innocent young adults, like those of any other nationality. India’s neutral stance is certainly not helping Indians survive easily in Ukraine though it might have helped the cause of Indian diplomatese.
Source: The Pioneer
