Opinion PM Modi has rewritten the anti-terror script with Operation Sindoor
Critics who point to the current 'pause' in India’s retaliation fail to understand military doctrine. Ceasefires are not signs of weakness, they are tools of timing
This was not a war for territory. It was a war for credibility. And India won — militarily, diplomatically, and psychologically 
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On April 22, India was rocked by one of the deadliest terror attacks when 26 innocent civilians in Pahalgam fell to bullets fired by terrorists trained and sent from across the border. The nation was in mourning, but by April 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood before the people and made a bold, unambiguous promise: “Mitti mein mila denge (terrorists and those who sponsor them will be wiped out)”. It wasn’t a speech, it was a promise made to the nation, and May 7 marked the fulfilment of that promise with the commencement of Operation Sindoor.
Launched with precision, planned with strategic depth, and executed with iron resolve, Operation Sindoor is PM Modi’s 3E doctrine in motion: Eliminate, eradicate and evaporate terrorism and the terror industry. Operation Sindoor delivered a calibrated and coordinated tri-service offensive, resulting in the following achievements. One, 11 strategic Pakistani air bases were neutralised — airstrips, drone launch pads, radar stations, and surveillance assets used to facilitate infiltration were systematically targeted. Two, nine high-value terror camps in Muzaffarabad, Kotli, and Balakot were destroyed — these were not empty shells, but active facilities training fidayeen and cross-border operatives. Three, over 100 terrorists were eliminated, including five key people responsible for spreading terror and operating under the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence’s (ISI’s) guidance.
This wasn’t a symbolic show of force. This was a strategic demolition of Pakistan’s terror architecture planned in silence, executed with precision. As the idiom goes, “Speak softly and carry a big stick”. Operation Sindoor was the stick — swift, silent, and shattering. It was not just a mission but a clear message to Pakistan that India would not tolerate terrorism and would not hesitate to cross the LoC to uproot terror camps.
Despite this decisive response, Congress chose to indulge in rhetorical nostalgia and ended up comparing 1971 with 2025. But in doing so, it confuses a full-scale war in 1971 with state-sponsored terror in 2025. Let’s set the record straight: 1971 was a declared war. 2025 is undeclared terrorism waged by Pakistan through proxies, drones, and radicalised foot soldiers. One required tanks and treaties. The other requires satellites, surgical strikes, and smart warfare. India wanted to retaliate with the specific objective of hitting terror camps and destroying their support network, which Operation Sindoor achieved. Nothing less and nothing more.
Before pointing fingers at PM Modi, Congress must confront its own track record in a decade marred by nine major Pakistan-linked terror attacks including the dastardly Mumbai 2008 attack. The pattern was predictable: Terror strikes, India mourns, dossiers are delivered. There was no deterrence, no retaliation, no signal. Terrorists struck with impunity, knowing the response would be bureaucratic, not ballistic. On the contrary, post-2014, PM Modi displayed the clarity and courage to combat terrorism by taking bold decisions like the 2016 surgical strike, the 2019 Balakot strike and now Operation Sindoor. He transformed India’s approach from passive paperwork to powerful precision. The new doctrine is not about reactive outrage, it’s about being proactive. By giving a free hand to our brave forces, PM Modi has converted protest into precision and changed the script from lighting candles to blasting terror camps, from talks and tears to targets and triumphs. For the Modi sarkar, security is not just policy, it is personal.
Critics who point to the current “pause” in India’s retaliation fail to understand military doctrine. Ceasefires are not signs of weakness, they are tools of timing. They buy space for larger, more effective operations like Sindoor. The press conference held by our forces on May 11 made it clear beyond doubt that when terror comes knocking, India will knock back harder. A smart state doesn’t shout, it strikes. As they say, “Still waters run deep.”
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The Opposition may be stuck in sepia-toned nostalgia. But every Bharatiya’s chest swells with pride and they know the nation has moved on from diplomacy to deterrence, from silence to strikes, from dossiers to dominance. When it comes to terrorism, India has sent a strong message.
The writer is a Supreme Court lawyer and national spokesperson, Bharatiya Janata Party
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