Question

Indian diplomats and leaders often mediated during ______ in the 1950s.
1. Korean War
2. German War
3. Myanmar War
4. East and West Pakistani War

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Korean War

Indian mediation in Korean War

• Some called it an “ideological war” between Communist and non-Communist blocs, some others called it a war of “innocent Koreas”. What emerged to be the goriest war after World War II commenced on June 25, 1950, with the North allegedly attacking the South, resulting in the death of more than 2.5 million people in the course of the war.
• India’s forgotten role in the resolution of the Korean War, therefore, needs a reckoning.
• After Korea’s Independence in 1945, India was chairman of a nine-member UN Commission that was set up to hold elections in Korea.
• The success of the election in the South was the seed behind the formal establishment of the Republic of Korea (RoK) on August 15, 1948, a day that coincides with India’s Independence Day.
• Playing a role to support peace, India maintained a balance between the two Koreas.
• Voting in favour of the United States resolution over North Korea’s invasion of South Korea, India supported the declaration to term North Korea as an “aggressor”.
• But when the US forces crossed the 38th parallel without UN approval and sought to have a resolution passed to declare China as an “aggressor”, India decided to vote against the proposed resolution.
• India played a mediatory role during the war, and both North and South Korea accepted the India-sponsored resolution to end the war.
• As a result, a ceasefire was declared on July 27, 1953. Sending medical aid and planning formula for repatriation for the soldiers were other notable aspects of India’s contribution in the Korean Peninsula.
• India also chaired the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission.