But the term 'peacekeeping' can be a misnomer many times. As many as 90 Indian soldiers and officers have died serving in UN peacekeeping operations.

Lieutenant Colonel R Mandal, contingent commander of the 10 Garhwal Rifles, receives a goodbye hug from his daughters as his wife looks on, at Palam Airport in New Delhi on July 31, 2003. The contingent is currently keeping peace in Congo, surely one of the most dangerous assignments in the world today.

Photograph: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images