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Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi has revealed new details of Operation Sindoor, describing it as a high-stakes “grey zone” contest of strategic moves against Pakistan. He said the government had given the armed forces a “free hand” to respond decisively to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
Speaking at IIT Madras after inaugurating Agnishodh, the Indian Army Research Cell (IARC), Gen. Dwivedi recalled the turning point.
“On April 23, the very next day, we all sat down. It was the first time the Defence Minister (Rajnath Singh) said, ‘Enough is enough’. All three Service Chiefs were clear, something had to be done,” he said.
The clarity from the political leadership, he added, boosted morale and empowered theatre commanders to act with operational autonomy.
On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor, conducting airstrikes on nine terrorist hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes killed over 100 terrorists and inflicted heavy damage to the terror infrastructure.
Gen. Dwivedi likened the subsequent military confrontation to a chess game played in the “grey zone” – a space just short of conventional war.
“We didn’t know the enemy’s next move, and they didn’t know ours. We were making chess moves, giving them checkmate in some places, and going for the kill in others – even at the risk of losing our own. That’s what life is all about,” he said.
He also mocked Pakistan’s post-conflict narrative.
“If you ask a Pakistani whether they lost or won, he’ll say, ‘My Chief has become a Field Marshal. We must have won – that’s why he’s been promoted,” Gen. Dwivedi quipped, highlighting the role of narrative management in modern warfare.
The Army Chief’s remarks came just hours after Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh disclosed unprecedented air combat successes during Operation Sindoor.
Addressing the 16th Air Chief Marshal L. M. Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru, the IAF chief confirmed that five Pakistani fighter jets and one large aircraft-possibly an AEW&C platform-were shot down, marking India’s largest-ever recorded surface-to-air kill.
“We have at least five fighters confirmed and one large aircraft taken down at a distance of about 300 kilometres. It is the largest-ever recorded surface-to-air kill we can talk about,” he said.
These are the first official details of the damage inflicted on Pakistan during the strikes, more than three months after they were carried out.
Team BharatShakti
