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Even though it fought away from its shores, the Korean War saw a close involvement of India. Discuss.
After World War II, USA and USSR agreed to divide Korea into two zones along the 38th parallel as Soviet-
backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. Since its establishment there were tensions between North and South Korea, which led to the Korean War on 25th June, 1950 when the soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army invaded South Korea. It was the first military action of the Cold War fuelled by ideological conflict. It left nearly five million people dead, injured or missing.
India’s involvement in the Korea post-1945:
India’s role in Korea began after Korea’s independence in 1945.
India held the chairmanship of a nine member UN Commission that was set up to hold elections in Korea, in 1947. Though India condemned North Korea as an aggressor when the Korean War started, as a non-aligned country it did not support the US sponsored resolution for military assistance to South Korea at the UN.
India decided to send a medical unit to Korea as a humanitarian gesture.
India also played a mediatory role during the war, and both North and South Korea accepted the India- sponsored resolution to end the war. As a result, a ceasefire was declared on July 27, 1953. India also chaired the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, which handled the prisoners of war of both sides.
After the end of the war, India was criticized by the US and its allies and the relationship between India and the US deteriorated. However, the war elevated India’s prestige giving a boost to the non-alignment strategy. In fact, after the armistice, the International conference held to resolve the Korean crisis permanently, proved to be a failure in the absence of India.
