“We saw missiles in the sky and heard bombs in our neighbourhood… We were petrified,” said MBBS student Mir Khalif, his voice still shaking with fear, as he stepped out of the Delhi airport on Thursday morning.
Khalif was among the 110 Indian students, including 90 from Jammu and Kashmir, who were flown home in the first evacuation flight under Operation Sindhu, a special mission launched by the Indian government to rescue its citizens from war-torn Iran.
As the conflict between Iran and Israel escalated, explosions and aerial attacks rocked cities like Tehran. The students were moved from Iran to Armenia earlier this week, and then flown to India with the help of the Indian Embassy.
Khalif, a Kashmiri studying medicine in Iran, called the experience a nightmare. “Our building shook during the attacks. It was a war zone. I hope no student has to face what we did,” he said.
Another student from Kashmir, Varta, remembered the terror of hearing bombs near her home. “The situation was quite critical. We were terrified when our neighbourhood was attacked. When the Indian government reached our doorstep, we felt relieved,” she said.
Ali Akbar, a student from Delhi, shared a chilling account: “We saw a missile and a drone fall from the sky while travelling in a bus. Tehran is in ruins. The images on the news are real. The situation is very bad.”
At Delhi airport, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh welcomed the students. “Warmly welcomed home the first group of 110 Indian nationals evacuated from Iran as part of Operation Sindhu,” he later posted on X. “India stands firmly committed to the safety and well-being of its citizens abroad.”
Singh confirmed that evacuation efforts are ongoing, with more flights scheduled. “Another plane is ready to leave today. We are also evacuating people from Turkmenistan. Our missions are running 24-hour helplines,” he said.
Many relieved but anxious parents had gathered at the airport to receive their children.
“We are happy and grateful, but our hearts are still heavy knowing that many students are still stuck in Tehran,” said Haider Ali, father of MBBS student Maaz Haider. “We urge the government to bring them back too.”
Parvez Alam, from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, whose son studied in Urmia, added, “We were under constant stress. The students were shifted to Armenia and looked after well. We thank the government for this.”
The Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for responding swiftly to the crisis.
