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Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today.
(Relevance: With the rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, ‘Operation Sindoor’ is viewed as a major strike at deterring the terrorist infrastructure operating in Pakistan. Terrorism continues to be a major concern for India. UPSC has asked questions around these themes, and in that respect, this topic becomes very relevant for the exam.)
Early Wednesday, the Indian Armed Forces launched an attack on nine terror locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strike came two weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed. A defence ministry statement said on Wednesday, “A little while ago, the Indian armed forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.” After the all-party meeting today, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India’s strikes under Operation Sindoor killed at least 100 terrorists in Pakistan and PoK.
In the past, India has used conventional military names to execute such operations. These names are strategically chosen to maintain the secrecy of the operation, inspire confidence, and send a message of strength externally.
Here are some of India’s important past military operations.
1. Operation Sindoor: India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ in the wee hours of Wednesday, hitting nine terror locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). India’s retaliatory attack is ostensibly considered a reference to only men being singled out based on their faith before being killed in Pahalgam. This marked the most expansive and widespread retaliation by India in recent years, since the Balakot airstrikes in 2019 and the surgical strikes following the Uri attack in 2016. The attacks were made at nine locations, which were terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Follow the live update here.
| Operation Abhyaas |
| Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the Union Ministry of Home Minister announced the conduct of mock drills across 244 districts nationally on May 7 to enhance civil defence preparedness. These drills are codenamed ‘Operation Abhyaas.’ |
2. Operation Bandar: The Balakot airstrike after the Pulwama terror attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammed on a CRPF convoy in February 2019, leading to the killing of 40 soldiers, was codenamed ‘Operation Bandar. In this operation, the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, where it claimed to have killed several terrorists.
3. Operation Vijay: Operation Vijay was the codename for the Indian military operation launched in May 1999 to reclaim areas occupied by Pakistani forces during the Kargil War. The operation successfully forced Pakistani troops to withdraw and recapture critical positions, leading to India’s victory.
4. Operation Safed Sagar: It was the codename for the Indian Air Force’s role in the 1999 Kargil War. It involved a series of airstrikes to flush out Pakistani troops from Indian positions in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control. This was the first large-scale use of air power in the region since the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.
5. Operation Cactus: India’s intervention in the 1988 coup attempt in the Maldives was coded as Operation Cactus. With India’s military intervention, the Maldives was able to thwart the military coup. The 1988 coup was the brainchild of Maldivian businessman Abdullah Luthufee and Ahmed “Sagaru” Nasir, supported by Uma Maheswaran, leader of the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), a militant Lankan Tamil organisation.
6. Operation Pawan and Operation Poomalai: It was the codename given to the mission of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1990. As part of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord, the operation was launched to disarm the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and ensure peace and stability in Sri Lanka. India’s “parippu drop” or Operation Poomalai was launched by the Indian Air Force mission in 1987 to airdrop supplies to civilians trapped in Jaffna when Sri Lankan forces had laid siege to the peninsula.
7. Operation Meghdoot: The Indian Army launched Operation Meghdoot in April 1984 to secure strategic heights on Siachen with the deployment of troops. The IAF transported stores and troops and air-dropped supplies to high-altitude airfields, from where Mi-17, Mi-8, Chetak, and Cheetah helicopters ferried men and material to dizzying heights on the glacier. With this, India gained a significant tactical advantage against Pakistan in the region.
8. Operation Jackpot and Operation Cactus Lily: Codenamed Operation Jackpot was launched during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. It called for operational and logistics support, training, equipping, and tasking of Bengali deserters from the Pakistan Army, East Pakistan Rifles, Police, and civilian volunteers to take on the Pakistani forces within East Pakistan to ultimately liberate the land.
Operation Cactus Lily, also known as the Meghna Heli Bridge or the Crossing of the Meghna, was an air assault operation conducted by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force to cross the Meghna River and reach Dhaka in December 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
9. Operation Ablaze and Operation Riddle: Both military operation was launched by India in the context of the 1965 Indo-Pak war. Operation Ablaze was launched by the Indian Army as a pre-emptive mobilisation plan in April 1965, following rising tensions and skirmishes along the India-Pakistan border. Operation Riddle was the Indian military’s response to the offensive launched by Pakistan under the code names of Operation Gibraltar and Grand Slam in 1965. Operation Riddle, in retaliation for Pakistan’s violation of the Line of Control (LOC), targeted Lahore and Kasur on September 6, 1965.
India has also launched several humanitarian relief and evacuation operations where a huge number of people have been provided humanitarian assistance in their country, or Indians have been brought back to the safety of Indian borders. Here are some of the rescue and humanitarian operations of India conducted in the recent past.
1. Operation Brahma: This operation was conducted by India in March 2025 in the wake of a powerful earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand, leading to the death of more than 3000 civilians. Under the operation, the government provided necessary support, including Search and Rescue (SAR), humanitarian aid, disaster relief and medical assistance.
2. Operation Sadbhav: It was launched by India in September 2024 in the wake of the devastating effects of Typhoon Yagi to provide aid and urgent supplies to Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. As part of Mission Sadbhav, India had sent 10 tons of aid, including dry rations, clothing, and medicines, to Myanmar aboard the Indian naval ship INS Satpura.
3. Operation Ajay: In October 2023, as the Israel-Hamas war escalated and countries scrambled to bring home their people trapped in the fighting or looking for a way out of the war zone, India launched Operation Ajay to repatriate its citizens from Israel and Palestine.
Post read question
With reference to India’s military operations, consider the following pairs:
| Name of operations | Context |
| 1. Operation Sindoor | Pulwama attack |
| 2. Operation Cactus | Bangladesh Liberation Movement |
| 3. Operation Vijay | Kargil War |
How many pairs given above are correctly matched?
(a) None of the pairs
(b) Only one pair
(c) Only two pairs
(d) All three pairs
| Answer key |
| (b) |
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