A video of passengers chanting "Vande Mataram" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" has surfaced online.
The first flight carrying 212 Indians, who were stranded in war-hit Israel, has landed in New Delhi. 'Operation Ajay' was rolled out to help Indians stranded in Israel after flights were suspended on October 7.
The passengers were chosen on a "first come first serve" basis after a drive launched by the Indian embassy for all Indians to register at the mission's database
Now, a video of passengers chanting “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” has surfaced online.
In the clip, shared by news agency ANI, passengers, aboard the first flight from Israel, are seen chanting “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. The clip was recorded by one of the people in the fight.
The text along with the clip reads, “Chants of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' by passengers on the first flight carrying 212 Indian nationals from Israel. The flight landed at Delhi airport earlier today.”
After the Indian embassy launched a drive for all Indians to register in the mission's database, the rescued passengers were chosen on a "first come first serve" basis. The Indian government is bearing the cost of their return.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar received the passengers at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.
MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi welcomed the passengers to their homeland through a post, including a series of pictures. The post read, “Welcome to the homeland! 1st Operation Ajay flight carrying 212 citizens touches down in New Delhi.”
The flight under ‘Operation Ajay' was arranged to facilitate the return of those who were unable to do it, as Air India immediately suspended its flight on October 7. Air India's commercial operation remains suspended till now.
A student in Israel, Shubham Kumar told news agency PTI, “We are thankful to India... Most of the students were a little bit panicked. Suddenly we saw some notification and the links for every Indian citizen through the embassy of India which boosted our morale. We felt like the embassy of India is connected with us which was a kind of relief to us. And then we got all the arrangements.”