The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), deployed in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1990, carried out one of the most complex overseas humanitarian and peace-building operations in India’s post-independence history. Based on the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, the mission went beyond military goals—it was a humanitarian and civil reconstruction effort grounded in India’s values of compassion and regional stability.
Motivated by the noble ideals of saving lives and rebuilding shattered communities, the IPKF’s multidimensional role became crucial in rehabilitating Sri Lankan Tamils, restoring civil services, and reconstructing infrastructure devastated by years of conflict. The spirit of Karl Lutz, the Swiss diplomat who saved thousands during the Holocaust, echoed in the courageous and dedicated efforts of the IPKF. Although the narrative of Operation Pawan is often seen through the lens of combat, its quieter legacy lies in the rebuilding of worlds once torn apart by war.
“Whoever saves a life is considered to have saved an entire world”. It is about a Swiss Diplomat, Karl Lutz, who worked to save approximately 60,000 Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust between 1942 and the end of World War II
Historical Context and the IPKF Mandate
Sri Lanka’s civil conflict tore apart its social fabric along ethnic lines, especially in the north and east, where Tamil populations suffered the most from displacement and destruction. The IPKF faced significant challenges in this context, including the need to rebuild destroyed villages, restore failed administrative systems, and provide basic services like education, healthcare, and clean water that had vanished due to the conflict.
In July 1987, the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord was signed to end hostilities between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil militant groups. This agreement was a significant diplomatic achievement, brokered by India, paving the way for the deployment of the IPKF to facilitate disarmament, protect civilians, and help restore normalcy. Besides its military role, the IPKF was tasked with returning displaced individuals, rebuilding vital infrastructure, and re-establishing civil administration. This ambitious plan made the Force both a stabilising and humanitarian presence.
Rehabilitation and Civil Reconstruction
The IPKF’s rehabilitation efforts focused on the essential human needs: shelter, safety, and livelihood. Thousands of Tamil civilians displaced by the conflict were guided back to their homes, with Indian military engineers and civil affairs officers directly managing resettlement initiatives.
Temporary shelters were replaced with more permanent housing structures, supported by Indian assistance valued at over $350 million. These homes, built through coordinated efforts involving Indian public-sector companies and local Sri Lankan agencies, enabled families to regain their dignity and restart their livelihoods.
Simultaneously, the IPKF collaborated with local administrators to re-establish civic order in devastated towns. Markets reopened, transport services resumed, and agricultural lands—once abandoned—were cleared of mines and returned to local use. The return of normalcy was not just physical reconstruction; it also symbolised the psychological healing of a population that had endured years of fear and uncertainty. The impact of these efforts on the local communities was profound, fostering a sense of empathy and connection.
Restoring Railways, Roads, and Bridges
Infrastructure reconstruction became one of the IPKF’s defining contributions. Recognising that roads and railways are the arteries of recovery, Indian technical teams supported by public-sector undertakings such as IRCON restored critical routes that connected the Northern and Eastern provinces to Colombo.
The reopening of the Talaimannar train service symbolised this effort. It reconnects remote communities, revitalises local economies, and restores the flow of goods and aid. Roads destroyed by shelling are repaired, while bridges, which are lifelines to isolated towns, are rebuilt with Indian engineering expertise.
These acts were more than just technical tasks; they symbolised India’s commitment to connecting communities that were physically and emotionally separated by war. Each rebuilt bridge served as a metaphorical link between divided peoples and a reaffirmation of regional stability through development.
The Sappers and the Builders: Engineering Miracles Under Fire
Among the unsung heroes of the IPKF mission were the Sappers of the Indian Army and the Road and Rail Construction Companies (RCC & RCC Engineers), who worked under dangerous conditions to restore the vital lifelines of the war-torn north and east.
Operating in an environment full of landmines, unexploded ordnance, and the constant danger of ambush, these units showed extraordinary courage and professionalism. Their work went beyond construction — it included combat engineering, mine-clearing, route maintenance, and the quick building of temporary bridges and causeways to support both military and civilian movement.
The Corps of Engineers’ motto, *Sarvatra* (“Everywhere”), truly came to life in Sri Lanka. Whether building Bailey bridges over damaged culverts in Jaffna, laying field defences around humanitarian zones, or clearing debris to reopen main roads, the Sappers served as the link between security and survival.
Many operations were carried out at night, under blackout conditions, to avoid enemy fire. Yet, despite these risks, roads to remote villages such as Chavakachcheri, Vavuniya, and Batticaloa were reopened within weeks, often using improvised resources.
The Road Construction Companies, working alongside the Sappers, rebuilt kilometres of tarmac under fire. They restored supply routes vital for the distribution of food, fuel, and medical aid, ensuring that humanitarian relief could reach isolated populations. Their coordination with Indian Railways engineers made it possible to reconnect rail links critical to commerce and evacuation.
Equally notable was how local Tamil youth became part of these projects. Under IPKF supervision, they received training in basic construction skills, which not only created local jobs but also fostered a sense of ownership in the rebuilding effort. This method helped build trust between civilians and the peacekeeping force, demonstrating the collaborative nature of the mission and its positive impact on the local community.
The Engineers also provided crucial support to medical and educational reconstruction. They constructed makeshift classrooms, field hospitals, and storage facilities for relief supplies. In several cases, Sapper units repaired bomb-damaged school buildings within days, allowing education to continue even as sporadic fighting persisted nearby.
Their dedication was best summed up by the adage that circulated among IPKF ranks: “Where a Sapper walks, life follows.” In the history of Indian military engineering, the Sri Lankan campaign remains a standard of professionalism where bravery met compassion and skill met purpose under the harshest conditions imaginable.
Drinking Water and Health Care Initiatives
Access to clean water and healthcare is essential for human survival, and the IPKF recognised this early. Its engineers and medical corps worked tirelessly to restore public utilities and provide medical aid to civilians caught in the crossfire.
Wells, pipelines, and water treatment plants damaged in fighting were repaired, ensuring a steady supply of potable water and reducing outbreaks of waterborne diseases. In areas where infrastructure was irreparably damaged, IPKF engineers installed makeshift systems to distribute clean water.
Parallel to this, mobile medical camps staffed by the Indian Army Medical Corps and paramedics provided free healthcare to thousands. These field hospitals treated war injuries, communicable diseases, and chronic ailments neglected during years of conflict. For many rural Tamils, these Indian-run facilities became their first experience of consistent medical care in years.
Such initiatives emphasise that military presence is not only about force projection, but it can also represent compassion, care, and public service.
Restoration of Civil Services
Equally important was the IPKF’s role in restoring civil administration. In districts affected by war, schools, hospitals, and municipal offices had stopped functioning. The IPKF supplied the security and logistical help needed to reopen these vital services.
Education was prioritised as a foundation for long-term stability. Schools were reconstructed, teachers encouraged to return, and students, many of whom were orphaned or traumatised, were given a glimpse of a normal childhood again.
The Force also collaborated with Sri Lankan authorities to restore local governance. Civil administrators resumed their duties under IPKF protection, law courts reopened, and police training was provided to re-establish the rule of law. Health centres, agricultural offices, and public works departments started functioning again.
Drawing from India’s own administrative experience, IPKF officers helped train Sri Lankan civil servants in modern governance practices, introducing record-keeping, resource management, and coordination techniques that enhanced efficiency. This period marked one of the rare instances in contemporary South Asian history where a foreign peacekeeping force successfully transitioned an area from conflict to civic control.
Humanitarian Impact and Civil Empowerment
Measured in humanitarian terms, the IPKF’s achievements were significant. In less than three years, it repaired transportation networks, water systems, and health infrastructure that had been destroyed for over a decade.
The formation of a merged North-Eastern Province, followed by elections to a provincial council, established a legitimate political space for Tamil representation. This move, though politically fragile, was an unprecedented moment in Sri Lanka’s post-colonial governance, achieved with Indian facilitation.
Civilians, once reliant on aid agencies, started to rebuild self-sufficient communities. Small markets reopened, farmers returned to their fields, and fishermen went back to the seas. Women’s cooperatives and local self-help groups, supported by IPKF officers’ community outreach programs, began revitalising cottage industries.
In the humanitarian sectors of housing, health, education, and livelihood, the IPKF succeeded in turning occupied zones into functioning societies—a quiet yet powerful success overshadowed by the political turmoil that followed.
Challenges and Complex Legacy
Despite its civil and humanitarian achievements, the IPKF’s legacy remains complicated. What started as a peacekeeping mission gradually evolved into an armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The resulting military operations, which resulted in over a thousand Indian soldiers losing their lives, altered public perception and political narratives in both India and Sri Lanka.
Many of the IPKF’s civic efforts went unnoticed amid media focus on battlefield casualties and political controversies. Misperceptions of intent fueled by competing Tamil factions and Sri Lankan political actors further complicated its image. However, for the civilians who directly benefited from its presence, the IPKF was remembered as a stabilising and protective force that restored their ability to live with dignity.
It is essential to view this mission not merely as a military campaign, but as a multidimensional peace operation aimed at blending the ethics of soldiering with the compassion of humanitarian work. The challenges it encountered—from political indecision to the complexity of asymmetric warfare—offer lasting lessons for future peacekeeping and counter-insurgency efforts worldwide.
Lessons for Future Peace Operations
The IPKF experience offers vital insights for modern civil-military interventions. Firstly, peace Enforcement and reconstruction must proceed together. Combat without concurrent civil rebuilding leads to instability; rebuilding without security invites relapse into chaos.
Secondly, local participation is essential. By engaging community leaders, teachers, and local officials in reconstruction, the IPKF showed that peace ownership must belong to the people themselves.
Thirdly, coordination between military, diplomatic, and developmental agencies is vital. The IPKF’s success in infrastructure and civic recovery resulted from its ability to synchronise with Indian and Sri Lankan civil agencies—a model that modern efforts from UN peacekeeping to disaster relief could follow.
Lastly, the mission reaffirmed the moral aspect of soldiering. Soldiers can be agents of rebuilding, teachers of discipline, and creators of peace. In Sri Lanka, Indian soldiers not only fought but also taught, healed, and reconstructed.
The Lasting Impact: Rebuilding Worlds
When historians revisit the IPKF’s mission, they often debate its political outcomes. Yet, the accurate measure of its success is found elsewhere— in the stories of ordinary people who regained their homes, their schools, and their communities.
In Jaffna, where schools reopened under IPKF protection, children once again recited lessons instead of running to shelters. In Trincomalee, markets bustled anew as repaired bridges reconnected trade routes. In Vavuniya, villagers drank clean water from wells repaired by Indian engineers. And in countless small towns, Indian medical teams restored life through care and medicine rather than force.
Each of these moments signifies what might be called the *restoration of worlds*. For every family that moved back into a rebuilt house, for every child who returned to class, and for every patient who received medical attention after years of neglect, a fragment of humanity was restored.
This is the IPKF’s lasting legacy: a demonstration that military power, guided by empathy and discipline, can heal as much as it can defend. Long after the guns fell silent, the structures it rebuilt and the lives it touched remain living memorials to a mission undertaken not for conquest, but for compassion.
Conclusion
The Indian Peace Keeping Force’s role in Sri Lanka marks a significant chapter in India’s military and humanitarian history. It demonstrates how a disciplined force, guided by national conscience and international responsibility, can accomplish much more than just battlefield victories.
In rebuilding Tamil societies devastated by war, the IPKF demonstrated that peacekeeping is more than just separating conflicting groups; it involves restoring human dignity. Its initiatives in housing, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and governance have created a lasting legacy that transcends borders and politics.
As global conflicts persist and create humanitarian crises, the IPKF’s experience remains a case study in the art of ‘rebuilding worlds’. It was a mission where soldiers became saviours, compassion was strategy, and restoring a nation’s spirit became the greatest victory.