India and Pakistan may be at daggers drawn politically and diplomatically, but among its common people there have been many instances of fellowship and even helping each other, especially among the South Asian diaspora. In one such instance, as thousands of foreign students fled war-hit Ukraine, there was a heartening story of how a spray-painted, hastily assembled Indian flag helped students from India, Pakistan and even Turkey cross over to the safety of neighbouring countries.

Indian students who arrived in the Romanian capital Bucharest from Ukraine said that the national tricolour helped them as well as some Pakistani and Turkish students in safely crossing the various checkpoints in the war-torn country.

"We were told in Ukraine that being Indians and carrying Indian flag, we won't have any problems," a medical student who arrived from Odesa, the port city in southern Ukraine, was quoted as telling by ANI news agency.

The students narrated how they bought spray paints from the markets to tailor Indian flags.

"I ran to the market, bought some colour sprays and a curtain. I then cut the curtain and spray-painted it to make the Indian tricolour," narrated a student.

Then even some Pakistani and Turkish students came along with them to pass the border checkpoints as they marched behind the Indian flag.

"The Turkish and Pakistani students were also using the Indian flag," a student said, adding that the Indian flag was of great help to the students.

"We booked the bus from Odesa and came to the Molodova border. The Moldovan citizens were very nice. They provided us with free accommodation and taxis and buses to get to Romania," a student said. They said they did not face much problem in Molodova as the Indian embassy had already made the arrangements.

The students also expressed their gratitude to the Indian embassy officials who arranged for their food and shelter as they awaited their flights back to India.

"When a student is arriving here, he's first taken to a proper shelter and provided with food while the registration takes place while dates on which they will be evacuated are finalised," the student said.

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi deputed four senior cabinet ministers to the neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate the evacuation efforts of thousands of Indian students, mostly studying in medical colleges across Ukraine, following a high-level meeting chaired by him.

(SAM)