NEW DELHI: India’s first and only overseas military deployment in strength started this month in 1987. The induction of the Indian Peacekeeping Force or IPKF into Sri Lanka was a result of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 29th July 1987. So the IPKF went in with an understanding that it would keep peace in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern provinces. However, Lt Gen AS Kalkat (retd), the Commander of the IPKF tells Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale, the provisions of the Accord were flawed to begin with and the Indian military was forced to switch its role from peacekeeping to peace enforcement because neither the Sinhalese nor the Tamil militants were happy with the accord thrust upon them. Listen to what happened in the years between 1987-1990 in Sri Lanka and with the IPKF from the man who was at the forefront of India’s military effort.
