April 15, 2006: India has been a regular contributor to UN peacekeeping operations since the 1950s. Except during the 1970s, when problems with Pakistan interfered, the Indian army usually had about 4,000 troops out on peacekeeping duty. Currently, India has 8,000 troops on peacekeeping missions. The Indian troops are among the most sought after for peacekeeping. There are many reasons for this. They are well trained and equipped. Most of the officers, and many NCOs, speak English (sort of an international language for peacekeeping and relief operations), and about ten percent of them are Moslem. This comes in handy when the peacekeeping is in a Moslem area, where searches of mosques go much easier if done by Moslem troops. The Indian troops are also very disciplined. This can be seen from the fact that, out of nearly 300 misconduct complaints against UN peacekeepers, only one was against an Indian soldier (who was dismissed from the army.)