Students from Tamil Nadu who were evacuated from Israel under Operation Sindhu have voiced concerns that the Tamil Nadu state government failed to make any arrangements for their travel from Delhi to their respective hometowns.
Amid ongoing tensions between Iran and Israel, the Indian government launched Operation Sindhu to safely evacuate its citizens from the conflict zones. Among those rescued were five students from Tamil Nadu who had been pursuing their studies in Israel. These students expressed gratitude to the central government, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for ensuring their safe return to India.
However, they criticized the Tamil Nadu government for not assisting them with their onward journey from Delhi. According to the students, after arriving in the capital, they were left to fend for themselves without any state-supported arrangements, including the lack of flight tickets. After traveling for three days, they had to cover the cost of their own air travel to reach Coimbatore.
In their statements to the media, the students shared their frustration over the lack of support, highlighting the challenges they faced upon their return. The five students arrived at Coimbatore airport safely by flight 24 June 2025 evening.
One of the students speaking to the media said, “We reached Kuwait after a lot of difficulties. We arrived in Kuwait from Amman (Jordan). After we arrived, we were put on a flight from Kuwait and were on our way to Delhi when suddenly, Qatar’s airspace was closed. Because of that, we were sent back to Kuwait. From there, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs helped us a lot again. We are very grateful to the central government for that. Then, as soon as we arrived back in Delhi, the Tamil Nadu government came to pick us up. But the problem was, they weren’t able to help us properly this time. They said they would arrange train travel for us. However, our journey had started at 3 AM on a Sunday, and after all the hardships we faced, undertaking another train journey of three or four days was impossible for us. We were in a difficult situation, so we asked them to arrange flight tickets for us. But they couldn’t do that. They were unable to help us this time, and that’s a bit disappointing for us.”
He added, “Last Thursday, when we contacted the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in Israel, they immediately helped us. We were the first to be evacuated. The Indian central government greatly assisted us in crossing the borders from Jordan and Egypt.”
Another female student expressed appreciation for the Indian government while criticizing the DMK-led state administration, stating that they hadn’t received the same level of support as in previous years. She remarked, “A big thanks to the Indian government! However, the last time we came, the Tamil Nadu government had arranged flights from Delhi to Tamil Nadu. But this time, no one arranged anything. We had to book our own tickets after arriving here. Last time, there were about 50-60 of us from Tamil Nadu, and they even dropped everyone off at their homes. This time, the Tamil Nadu government did come to the airport, but they only offered to book train tickets if we wanted them. It would take three days to reach here from Delhi by train.”
Another student, recounting his experience of being stranded in the conflict zone, said, “Like our friends said, we were all quite scared because bombs were falling very close to where we were staying. We were always in bunkers, only coming out to eat or in emergencies. We were in a very difficult situation. Even though the Indian government rescued us and brought us out, it wasn’t easy at all; we faced many hardships. We spent a full day traveling through Jordan. Then, we went to Kuwait and faced many difficulties there as well. We’re happy to have finally made it back, despite everything we went through.”
Operation Sindhu
On 24 June 2025, India successfully evacuated over 1,100 citizens from Iran and Israel amid escalating tensions between the two nations, raising the total number of people brought home under Operation Sindhu to 3,170.
From Israel, 594 Indians were repatriated, with the Indian Air Force deploying C-17 heavy-lift aircraft to airlift more than 400 individuals who had first been transported by land to neighboring Jordan and Egypt. An additional 161 Indians who had reached Amman, the capital of Jordan, by road were flown back to New Delhi via a chartered flight.
In parallel efforts from Iran, India evacuated 573 citizens along with three Sri Lankan and two Nepalese nationals using two chartered flights, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
With these latest operations, the total number of Indians evacuated from Iran alone has reached 2,576. Since the initiation of Operation Sindhu following the flare-up in hostilities between Iran and Israel, India has now rescued 3,170 of its nationals from both conflict zones.
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