View source for Operation Lal Dora

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
{{Indira Gandhi series}}
'''Operation Lal Dora''' ({{lit|Operation Red Line}}) was conceived in 1983, with the then [[Prime Minister of India]], [[Indira Gandhi]]'s approval and called for the secret landing of Indian troops in  [[Mauritius]].<ref>{{cite news|title=When India drew Top Secret 'red line' in Mauritius|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/when-india-drew-top-secret-red-line-in-mauritius/article4493495.ece|access-date=22 March 2013|newspaper=The Hindu|date=10 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Medcalf|first=Rory|title=When India (Almost) Invaded Mauritius|url=https://thediplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2013/03/19/when-india-almost-invaded-mauritius/|access-date=22 March 2013|newspaper=The Diplomat|date=19 March 2013}}</ref> These troops were to be launched from the 54th division and the purpose of doing this was to help the Mauritian Prime Minister [[Anerood Jugnauth]] fight off a challenge from his rival [[Paul Berenger]] which [[Government of India]] feared might take the form of an attempted coup.

In February 1983, Jugnauth travelled to New Delhi to meet with Mrs Indira Gandhi, where he asked for military assistance in the event of a coup by Berenger.  Gandhi assured him of Indian support.  The power struggle between Berenger and Jugnauth came to a head in March 1983.  On [[Independence of Mauritius|Mauritian independence day]], while Jugnauth was in New Delhi attending a [[7th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement|Non Aligned Movement summit]], Berenger arranged for the [[Motherland (anthem)|Mauritian National Anthem]] to be broadcast over Mauritian television in Creole, referring to Creole, instead of English, as the national language.  On Jugnauth's return to Mauritius, Berenger proposed constitutional changes that would strip power from the prime minister.  The [[Mauritian Militant Movement|MMM]]-[[Parti Socialiste Mauricien|PSM]] government disintegrated with Berenger and most of the cabinet resigning from the government.  Jugnauth was left with a small number of mostly Hindu followers.<ref>{{cite web |title=11 ministres démissionnent du gouvernement MMM-PSM |url=https://www.lexpress.mu/article/328430/11-ministres-demissionnent-gouvernement-mmm-psm |publisher=L'Express |access-date=2018-03-22}}</ref>

Gandhi ordered the Indian Army and Navy to prepare for a military intervention against a possible coup against the Jugnauth government. She chose to task the [[Research and Analysis Wing]]’s then chief, [[Nowsher F. Suntook]], with supervising a largely intelligence-led operation to reunite the Indian community whose fracturing along ideological and communal lines had allowed Mr. Berenger to mount a political challenge.<ref>{{cite web|author=David Brewster|url= https://www.academia.edu/7992843 |title=India's Ocean: the Story of India's Bid for Regional Leadership. Retrieved 13 August 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1983 in India]]
[[Category:1983 in Mauritius]]
[[Category:Indira Gandhi administration]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1983|Lal Dora]]
[[Category:Military operations involving India|Lal Dora]]
[[Category:Research and Analysis Wing]]
[[Category:India–Mauritius relations]]