India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, highlighted that “Blue Helmets continue to be the face of the UN in crisis spots in different parts of the world”.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
India underlined its “unflinching commitment” to UN peacekeeping as it paid homage at a solemn ceremony here to peacekeepers who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.
The permanent missions of India and Austria to the United Nations organised a solemn event on Friday (May 29, 2026) on the occasion of International Day of UN Peacekeepers to pay tributes to the supreme sacrifice of the fallen peacekeepers.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, highlighted that “Blue Helmets continue to be the face of the UN in crisis spots in different parts of the world”.
“Salute the UN Peacekeepers whose tireless efforts in the most dangerous settings bring peace and stability around the world. India has an unflinching commitment to UN Peacekeeping and it will continue its efforts towards this noble goal,” Mr. Parvathaneni said.
A post by the Indian mission on X said the solemn event paid tributes to more than 4,000 brave men and women, uniformed and civilian peacekeepers, who laid down their lives for peace.
India, among the largest troop-contributing countries, has deployed nearly three lakh troops in more than 50 UN Peacekeeping Missions since 1948. About 184 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice in defence of international peace and security, the Indian mission said.
The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is marked annually on May 29, a date selected for the commemoration since it was the day in 1948 when the Security Council established the first UN peacekeeping operation, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation in the West Asia.
The UN Headquarters in New York will observe the Day on June 5, when Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will lay a wreath to honour the men and women who served in UN peacekeeping and lost their lives in the cause of peace. He will then present the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal posthumously to 68 military, police and civilian peacekeepers, who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty, including 59 who died last year.
This year, Lance Havildar Harbhajan Singh, who served with the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and Naib Subedar Sujit Kumar Pradhan, who was deployed with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) will be honoured posthumously by Mr. Guterres for their sacrifice in the line of duty.
Additionally, Mr. Guterres will present the 2025 Military Gender Advocate of the Year award to Major Abhilasha Barak of India, who serves in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), honouring her outreach efforts with women and girls during her deployment in the West Asian country. Ms. Barak is serving with the Indian Battalion as the Commander of the Female Engagement Team (FET) in the UNIFIL. She is also the first woman combat helicopter pilot of the Indian Army.
In a moment of pride for India, Ms. Barak will be the third recipient of the prestigious award from the country, after Major Suman Gawani and Major Radhika Sen were honoured for their commendable work while serving in UN Peacekeeping missions.
Ms. Gawani, who had served with the UNMISS, was honoured with the 2019 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award. Ms. Sen, who served with MONUSCO, received the 2023 award.
India is the second-largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping. It currently contributes more than 4,200 military and police personnel — including 155 women — to UN peace operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the West Asia, Somalia, South Sudan and Western Sahara. More than 180 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, the highest number by far from any troop-contributing country.
Published – May 30, 2026 11:25 am IST
