Operation Sadbhavana: Winning hearts and minds in the Ladakh Himalayan Region

"Sadbhavana" literally means "goodwill among people." The Indian Army has evolved a military strategy of winning hearts and minds, with this being just a phase in the broader war on terror. We have focused on actions to address the border regions of Ladakh in the Himalayas. The government of India strives against difficult conditions to provide essential services (including health care) to its population in an equitable manner; in remote areas with fragile security and hamstrung provincial government systems, the Indian Army fills this role. The Army's medical units have played a pivotal role in providing comprehensive health care as a keystone of the strategy. The endeavors of the doctors in uniform have succeeded in winning over an alienated population. A total of 163 medical camps were held in 2004, with attendance of 14,050 patients seeking medical attention and 264 patients seeking dental attention; in 2005, 87 camps were conducted, with attendance totals of 7,562 and 559, respectively. The Operation Sadbhavana military strategy has paid rich dividends in the form of changes in the perspective of the denizens of the remote and exotic locales of Ladakh. Planners must carefully analyze the target audiences and the messages delivered to those audiences at the onset of such projects. Future efforts would be enhanced by attempts to quantify the effects of medical missions on the health of the population and on population attitudes toward the Indian Army and the central government. Copyright © by Association of Military Surgeons of U.S., 2008.