Danger zone

Indian workers put themselves in harm’s way across the world. Their safety comes first

The news that six Indians and their Afghan translator were abducted by the Taliban while working on an electrical project in northern Afghanistan has raised alarm bells in the Ministry of External Affairs and other Indian companies working in the region. Indian companies, both in public and private sector, are playing a major role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and the resurgence of the Taliban evident in several deadly bomb blasts in Kabul and elsewhere which killed several prominent journalists. Officials might be claiming that this is nothing but a case of mistaken identity, but the Taliban will almost certainly demand a huge ransom for the release of these seven individuals. It may not be wise to deal with terrorists and kidnappers, but given the situation and the unpoliced badlands of the Hindu-Kush, it is almost certain that some money will change hands. That has been the case in previous cases as well, of Indians and others. At least by virtue of being foreign citizens, these six Indians will likely survive, local Afghans would have met a terrible fate.

Indian companies have made a lot of money from reconstruction projects in Iraq and Afghanistan and hundreds of Indians will almost certainly go to work in Syria and Yemen when the situation in those countries stabilise. The monetary opportunities in Iraq and Afghanistan are huge given that they are still recovering from long civil wars and have huge amounts of western money flowing in for reconstruction projects. While most American and European contractors travel with massive teams of armed mercenaries, making it viable for large numbers of them, Indian managers and lower-rung employees work with little protection and generally maintain a lower profile.

However, after the 39 dead Indians in Mosul, and several Indians actively putting themselves into harm’s way, the MEA ought to tell Indian companies working in such dangerous zones to maintain armed guards at all times. This might impact the profitability of the companies undertaking such projects, but it is clear that these six managers and their translator were travelling without any protection. As they say with diseases, the best form of defence is prevention, had there been an armed guard or two, things could have been very different. Indians will continue to put themselves at risk in such places because the economic dividends are so good, but some training and a little protection can go a long way. Sure, the Government of India must do its utmost to prevent Indian lives from being lost to terrorism abroad, but with tens of millions of Indians in active danger zones they can only do so much.