Indian Peace Keeping Mission in Sri Lanka
India's Vietnam

In May 1987 the Sri Lankan army began a major ground and air campaign against Tamil rebels concentrated in the Jaffna Peninsula in the north of the country. The Indian government, which faced growing discontent among its own southern Tamil population, began to pressure Colombo to cease its offensive. As part of these pressure tactics, 10 Para Cdo. Bn. embarked on an Indian Navy task force on 21 July. On the following day the task force steamed off the horizon of Colombo, sending a clear signal to the Sri Lankan government.

On 29 July 1987 India and Sri Lanka signed an accord whereby an Indian Peace-keeping Force (IPKF) would be sent to Sri Lanka to engineer the disarming of Tamil guerrillas in the northern province of the country and oversee a ceasefire. On the same day, the para commandos in the Indian task force were landed at Colombo harbour in order to provide security during the signing of the accord. As India's designated rapid deployment unit, 54 Air Assault Div. was selected as the core of the IPKF. One of the division's brigades, 76 Inf, had already moved by rail to Madras as part of India's pressure tactics against the Sri Lankan government. On 30 July the initial elements of the division began landing at Jaffna airfield in northern Sri Lanka. By the end of August all three of the division's brigades were in Sri Lanka, though all at less than half strength. Two battalions of 91 Inf. Bde. were on the northwestern corner of the Jaffna Peninsula, while a third battalion was stationed inside Jaffna City. 47 Inf. Bde. was at Vavuniya, south of Jaffna, and 76 Inf. Bde. at Batticaloa on the eastern coast. In addition, 340 Independent Bde., which had been training in amphibious operations since 1983, was landed at Trincomalee, the major port in eastern Sri Lanka. Also assigned to the IPKF was 10 Para Cdo. Bn., which had moved north from Colombo.

By early October, relations had become strained between the IPKF and the Tamil Tiger guerrillas. Fighting became all but inevitable after five commandos were kidnapped by the Tamils and brutally murdered. In order to cripple the Tamil guerrilla network, the Indian Army planned to capture the insurgent headquarters in Jaffna City. To reinforce the lone brigade of 54 Air Assault Div. on Jaffna, two brigades from 36 Inf. Div. were flown to Jaffna and placed under the operational control of 54 Division. Codenamed Operation `Pawan', the Indian plan involved an initial heliborne assault into the center of the city followed by a multi-prong ground advance from all directions.

The initial heliborne assault involved a company of 10 Para Cdo. Bn. acting as pathfinders. Boarding Mi-8 choppers on 11 October, the commandos flew in low over Jaffna City. Unaware that their radio communications were being monitored by the Tamils, the commandos landed in a soccer field and were immediately pinned down by heavy machine gun fire: two helicopters were damaged and six commandos killed instantly. A second wave of choppers containing a platoon from 13 Sikh Light Infantry came under more intense fire, making further reinforcements impossible: all but one of the Sikhs perished. Cornered and running out of ammunition, the commandos pleaded for reinforcements. Their battalion commander, Lt.Col. Dalbir Singh, personally led a column of T-72 tanks the next morning to relieve his beleaguered men.

After the failure of the commando assault, the infantry brigades slowly fought their way into Jaffna City over the next 16 days. Because of heavy Tamil resistance, two more brigades were rushed to Jaffna before the end of the battle. The entire operation was marked by major confusion on the part of the IPKF. 5 Para Bn., for example, was initially placed under the command of 18 Inf. Bde., then shifted to 72 Inf. Bde., then back to 18 Brigade: as a result, neither brigade was able to maximize the use of this battalion.

By the end of November, Jaffna was completely in IPKF hands. Most of the Tamil guerrillas, however, had slipped out of the Indian net and exfiltrated to the east. With their duties fast becoming a protracted affair, the IPKF shifted 36 Inf. Div. to handle counter-insurgency operations in the Eastern Province. The Northern Province, meanwhile, remained 54 Air Assault Div.'s area of operations.

After their failed assault into Jaffna City, 10 Para Cdo. Bn. was used in November for a heliborne assault in the town of Moolai 14 miles to the north-west. Twenty-five guerrillas were killed and an arms depot seized. In December 5 Para Bn., still assigned to 18 Inf. Bde., lost six men to a Tamil landmine. Assigned to infantry divisions, parachute battalions rotated regularly through the IPKF for the duration of the war.

By January 1988 the IPKF included the entire 54 Air Assault and 36 Inf. Div., two brigades of 4 Mtn. Div., and several other independent brigades and support units. By February the entire 57 Mtn. Div., long experienced in counter-insurgency, had arrived in Sri Lanka and was used on a major sweep in the vicinity of Batticaloa. To provide increased firepower and mobility, infantry battalions formed platoon-sized Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) as mobile strike forces. In order to give the commandos battle experience, 10 Para Cdo. Bn. was rotated home in early 1988 and replaced by 9 Para Cdo. Battalion. 9 Para Cdo., iri turn, was scheduled to return in June, but had its tour extended for an air assault into the coastal swamps around Mullaittivu. There the battalion participated in a multi-battalion sweep that located several arms caches. During its tour 9 Para Cdo. Bn. also provided 12 men for security around the Indian High Commission in Colombo.

In March 1989 the IPKF launched Operation `Bazz' (`Falcon'), a clearing drive in the east involving mountain troops and paratroopers. Two months later the IPKF withdrew 8,000 of its 50,000 men to India; included in this first contingent was a para commando battalion. Still stationed in Sri Lanka was the 57 Mtn. Div. in Batticaloa; 4 Mtn. Div. in the Vavuniya sector; 54 Air Assault Div. in Jaffna, and 36 Inf. Div. in Trincomalee.

In July 1989 the IPKF launched Operation `Toofan' (`Storm') n the east. Some 500 recently arrived para commandos were allegedly involved. Over the next few months, the IPKF was considerably reduced in size. On 31 March 1990 the final 2,000 men of the IPKF were sent home; among these were at least one airborne battalion. In 30 months the Indians had lost 1,115 dead in Sri Lanka; worse, they had failed to achieve peace in that troubled nation.

In the immediate aftermath of the Sri Lankan operation the Indian Army pondered what to do with the IPKF, which in size and mission had become effectively a new `corps'. Because tensions were heating up along the Pakistani border in Kashmir, the IPKF framework was converted into the new 21 Corps and deployed to Kashmir in early 1990. The corps headquarters is rumoured to be in Bhopal, central India, but it will be available for deployment to trouble spots around the country. 57 Mtn. Div., which returned from Sri Lanka in January 1990, was placed under 21 Corps and sent to the Kashmir border. In addition, the bulk of 8 Mtn. Division was shifted from counter-insurgency in the east to the new corps. Finally, the corps was allotted elements of 23 Mtn. Div. normally held in reserve in Ranchi, and of 21 Mtn. Div., usually deployed along the Sikkim-Bhutan border. Also in the aftermath of the IPKF, the Indian Army recognized that it lacked the helicopter assets to make 54 Air Assault Div. a truly airmobile formation. At best, selected elements of the division were able to conduct heliborne training exercises twice a year. Because of this deficiency the division was once again designated 54 Inf. Division.

Order of Battle
Indian Peace Keeping Force 1987

54 Air Assault Div.
91 Inf. Bde. Jaffna 5 Madras Bn.
8 Mahar Bn.
1 Mahratta LI Bn.
76 Inf. Bde. Mannar-Vavuniya-Mulliativu
47 Inf. Bde. Trincomalee-Batticoloa-Amparai
36 Inf. Div.
115 Inf. Bde. Jaffna
72 Inf. Bde. Jaffna
4 Bn./5 Gorkha Regt.
13 Sikh LI Bn.
41 Inf. Bde. Jaffna
5 Rajputana Rifles
18 Inf. Bde. Jaffna
5 Para Bn.