New Delhi, June 29: India has evacuated more than 2,500 of its nationals from Iran and Israel under Operation Sindhu, launched in response to the latest round of hostilities in West Asia, officials said. A majority of those airlifted are medical and postgraduate students facing deep uncertainty about their academic and professional futures.
The evacuation began on June 18, following missile strikes and escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. More than 1,400 Indians were flown out of Iran and over 1,100 from Israel, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Among the evacuees were Imroz and Raiban, students at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Their families in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir where Iran is a popular destination for medical studies, lost contact with them for several days after the conflict broke out on June 13.
“When I saw missiles for the first time, I froze,” said Hania, 23, a fourth-year medical student in Tehran. She was among several students relocated to the city of Qom before being flown out. “The glass from the men’s dormitory shattered during the attack and two Indian students were hurt,” she added.
According to Iranian authorities, at least 224 people have died in the latest wave of violence. Several university buildings and residential areas were damaged in Israeli air strikes targeting Tehran’s District 18.
Students, many of whom left mid-exams, say their universities have not issued any clear guidance on when or how academic activities will resume. “I have left all my books and notes behind,” said Imroz, who is now in India with her brother, also a student in Iran. “Even if classes go online, we are not prepared.”
Financial concerns weigh heavily on many families. Aman, 21, a student from Delhi, fears losing his entire investment. “This degree is our ticket to social and financial mobility,” he said, adding that Indian regulators do not recognize degrees from many countries that have offered transfer options.
The cost of a medical degree in Iran is roughly ₹30 lakh ($36,000), far lower than the ₹1 crore ($120,000) typically required for private medical colleges in India. Many families, including those from Kerala and Bihar, have spent decades abroad to fund their children’s education. “If she can’t complete her degree, what was the point of 25 years of labour?” said Md. Kachakkarel, a father from Malappuram who worked in Saudi Arabia.
In Israel, Indian students say they are better equipped to handle emergencies due to well-organized civil defence systems. Sreyashi Bhowmick, a postdoctoral student at Tel Aviv University, said she had already been evacuated once during the 2023 Gaza conflict under Operation Ajay, and returned to resume her research in early 2024. “It’s exhausting to always be on alert, but the government here is efficient,” she said.
Another student from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, near Tel Aviv, described how the situation escalated only after his university was directly hit by a missile. He returned to India after U.S. President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire on June 23.
The crisis has drawn parallels with the 2022 Ukraine conflict, when nearly 18,000 Indian medical students were evacuated under Operation Ganga. Students who returned from Ukraine struggled with recognition and completion of their degrees, prompting the Indian Supreme Court to allow limited exceptions.
Dr. Jeetender Gaurav, one such student from Patna, warned that Iran-returned students may face a similarly uncertain path. “Without proper policy decisions, many of these students will lose years of study and lakhs of rupees,” he said.
As students and families wait for clarity from foreign universities and Indian regulators, the psychological toll and academic disruption remain pressing concerns. Many are now calling on the government to introduce guidelines for academic continuity, especially for those in conflict zones.
