New cases of harassment for jobs abroad are adding to the irony of India’s central Narendra Modi government. After the start of the Ukraine war, the government’s new thoughts on the fate of Indian nationals seeking jobs in Russia. Because, despite many searches, the government has not yet found any trace of the 16 Indian citizens who went to war in that country. 12 people have already been reported killed. Recently, a young man from Kerala named Binil Babu was killed in the war. Several young Muslims of this country migrated abroad a few years ago in response to the threat of the Islamic State (IS). Some were even killed. Most of those incidents were knowingly voluntary. But most of the cases of going to Russia and getting involved in the war happened in the clutches of brokers. According to the government, some were forced to join the Russian army even after traveling again. The Government of India is in regular contact with the friendly country Russia regarding this. Russia is also being pressured to find missing persons.
This topic came up in the weekly briefing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India on Friday. Along with that, the embarrassing and ironic picture of India is also clear. Because, spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said, 16 people who joined the Russian forces have not been found yet. The news of death of Binil Babu is very sad. A total of 126 Indian nationals have been reported to have joined the Russian army since the start of the Ukraine war, the official statement admitted. 96 of them have returned to the country. 12 people were killed in the war. There are 18 people in the war, of which 2 are still alive, the government hopes. But there is no trace of the remaining 16 people. Jaiswal gave this information in a briefing yesterday and said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in close contact with the Russian Embassy. RG asked the Russian government to find the missing persons and quickly return them to their country.
His father told the story of a young man from Jammu and Kashmir. The 27-year-old boy’s name is Zahrur Sheikh. After graduating from Chandigarh, he was working in an organization in the country with a salary of Rs. 30,000 per month. Zahrur’s father Amin Sheikh told the media in Srinagar yesterday after hearing the story of his son’s plight, that in 2023, some brokers lured his son with a job of more money. He said, if you go abroad with them, you will get a year’s salary in the country in one month. Stepping into that temptation and going to Russia, Zahrur realizes that the job is in the Russian army. Amin Sheikh said that he last spoke with his son three months ago, and since then the government of India or Russia has not been able to find any trace of Jahrur. After the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, citizens of various countries, including India, have been heard to join the Russian army. The presence of ‘mercenary’ soldiers from several countries including Nepal, Ghana, Yemen has been heard. Most have been lured in with false promises of good jobs.
According to official sources, many of the Indians were taken to the battlefield, but not all of them were sent to fight. Many are employed in cooking, preparing food and other types of work for the frontline forces in the war zone. According to various media reports in Western countries, after the attack on Ukraine in February 2022, mainly anti-war journalists, writers and critics of various professions migrated abroad from Russia. A thousand journalists left the country. In July of that year, mainly the middle and upper middle classes left the country. But the largest exodus occurred in September of that year, when President Putin made conscription mandatory. At least 300,000 Russians left the country that month.
According to media reports, 700,000 Russians have left the country so far. They have mainly sought refuge in Kazakhstan, Serbia, Georgia, Finland, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates. To prevent desertion, President Putin issued a decree saying that anyone who deserts the army or quits his job during the war will be sentenced to 15 years in prison. It is believed that after the issuance of that decree, the broker circle became active in sending foreigners to Russia by luring them in the name of jobs in late 2022.