Congo. Somalia. Sierra Leone. Dots on the vast canvas of a mad world. Where bullets rule.

Indo-China. The Gaza Strip. Yugoslavia. Hotspots of a recalcitrant universe. Where blood bathes history.

There are more such areas of conflict spread across the globe. Everywhere there is a common factor.

The Indian soldier.

He roams the world's battlefields wearing the blue cap of the United Nations. Often making war to make peace. As superpowers watch from the sidelines.

To date, 91 Indian soldiers have died on UN peacekeeping missions. Most of them young. Among the best.

Sierra Leone is the latest theatre of war. As the UN strives to find its feet in a unipolar world, Principal Correspondent Josy Joseph looks into the past, present and future of peacemakers.

Should India walk into bloody war zones? Can a nation hit by terrorists and defending volatile borders afford to risk its soldiers for someone else's future? rediff.com gets India's foremost peacekeepers to answer these questions.

PART 1
'Our boys will get released soon'

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