Concern among Indian officials has been growing as multiple reports emerge of harassment of hundreds of fleeing Indian students stranded in freezing temperatures at the Ukraine-Poland border.  On Sunday, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla acknowledged the evacuation of Indians from the Ukrainian-Poland border as a “problem area”, he said, “It’s not an organized situation, it’s a conflict zone. Many of our people have been there for a long time and they are in a very difficult situation.”

Several videos posted by stranded students on social media platforms indicated a pattern of discrimination, including racially motivated harassment. The students alleged they were kept in an almost hostage-like situation in the freezing cold and denied food, water, shelter, or safe passage. 

Multiple reports showed Ukrainian border guards’ mistreatment of Indian nationals citing New Delhi’s diplomatic position on the conflict where India walks a thin balancing line between the West and Russia. India abstained for the third time from the UNSC resolution that sought to condemn the Russian invasion. 

Shringla has also raised the matter with the Ukrainian envoy to India. Also, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador T S Tirumurti, said that New Delhi’s evacuation efforts were “adversely impacted by the complex and uncertain situation at border crossings.” 

“It is important to maintain a predictable and uninterrupted movement of people,” Ambassador Tirumurti said while speaking at the second meet of the UNSC on the Ukraine crisis.

The indifferent and hostile treatment of students at the hand of the Ukrainian authorities also severely impacted the ability of Indian officials to assist the stranded people. Relatives of many stranded people complained of receiving no help from officials with many students complaining to Indian journalists that they were getting no response from Indian embassies. 

The Indian Embassy in Poland has prepared temporary lodging and stay facilities across the border in Poland. However, only close to 250 Indians managed to cross the border. With hundreds of Indian students stranded in freezing temperatures at the Ukraine-Poland border, the government said it has identified an alternative train route from Uzhhorod, a city in western Ukraine, to the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

An Indian Express report citing an MBBS student from Ternopil who reached the border Saturday evening, saying, “There are just queues and queues of Indian students here but Polish authorities are not putting a stamp on our passports. They are allowing Ukrainians to cross over but not us. The Indian embassy officials are not responding to our calls. Where do we go?”

A video that emerged on social media showed a Ukrainian soldier firing warning shots and physically pushing a girl far from the border crossing point. 

Importantly, these visuals have also angered many Indians at home, reversing to a great extent the initial sympathy that Ukraine had managed to garner in India as Kyiv came under attack by Russians. 

(SAM)