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As the dust settles following the swift and decisive Operation Sindoor, India finds itself at a critical juncture. On one hand, its military has delivered a clear message — displaying unmatched technological superiority, seamless coordination, and operational dominance in the air. On the other, the information and narrative space continues to be a battlefield where victories are elusive and perception is often shaped by voices outside India.
Editor-in-Chief Nitin A Gokhale sat down with Amitabh Revi and Neelanjana Banerjee to unpack Operation Sindoor. The show underscored an uncomfortable truth: while India is winning wars in the kinetic realm, Pakistan continues to punch above its weight in the narrative space.
An Operation That Redrew the Strategic Map
Operation Sindoor, by all accounts, marked a significant shift in India’s conventional deterrence posture. Carefully calibrated, the operation targeted critical Pakistani military and terrorist infrastructure. Air Bases were hit, ammunition dumps neutralised, and high-value terror safehouses taken out — all with precision and without drawing India into a wider conflict.
The fact that India’s air defences remained unbreached during the course of the escalation is testament to the country’s steadily maturing integrated air defence grid. Kamikaze drones, loitering munitions, and surface-to-air missile systems played a coordinated role in securing Indian skies — a significant marker of the capabilities developed through indigenous defence production and modernisation over the past decade.
Notably, Pakistani air defences, including the much-hyped Chinese-origin HQ-9 system, failed to register any credible counter-action. “India has gone from playing catch-up to setting the rules of engagement in the air,” said Nitin.
Pakistan’s Collapse — And Its Compulsive Narrative Spin
What stood out during this phase of hostilities was the Pakistani military’s virtual collapse in terms of both preparedness and response. Despite being hit at multiple strategic locations, there was little effective retaliation.
Within hours of the operation, Pakistani officials and media declared a “victory,” claiming that India had been “taught a lesson” and that Pakistan had “averted a crisis.” These were statements wholly disconnected from the reality on the ground but aimed at a domestic audience conditioned by decades of hyper-nationalistic state narratives.
Such distortion is not new, Nitin reminded. In 1965, Pakistan claimed to have won the war even as Indian tanks rolled deep into its territory. In 1971, the surrender of 93,000 troops was spun into a diplomatic “compromise.” This historical pattern has once again repeated itself.
However, what is more alarming is the international echo of such spin. Sections of Western media — notably CNN and The New York Times — picked up Pakistani talking points, often without verifying facts from independent sources or Indian authorities. The result – a skewed global perception of events in which India’s clear strategic wins are blurred by editorial bias or lack of context.
Pahalgam: The Spark That Lit Operation Sindoor
But even as Operation Sindoor demonstrated India’s hard power capabilities, it is important to raise hard questions about the softening of internal security postures. The recent attack in Pahalgam unfolded against the backdrop of the Indian government’s determined push to portray Kashmir as stable, safe, and open for business after the abrogation of Article 370. With record-breaking tourist arrivals in 2024 — over 3.5 million — cited as evidence of returning normalcy, security deployments in civilian zones were gradually relaxed. But that calm may have been deceptive.
Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale, Amitabh Revi, and Neelanjana Banerjee examine how this thinning of vigilance was exploited by militant groups. Nitin argued that the Pahalgam attack wasn’t just another act of terror — it was a calculated move at a time when Pakistan’s army and intelligence agencies were under global pressure and reeling from credibility issues. The strike sought to inflict more than casualties; it aimed to sabotage India’s peace narrative, dent Kashmir’s economic revival, and reinsert fear into a region trying to move on.
India’s Achilles Heel: The Narrative Battlefield
Why does India repeatedly falter on the narrative front despite operational success? Nitin points to a structural gap — India’s military and diplomatic arms often operate in silos when it comes to international outreach. Add to that a lack of sustained engagement with global media ecosystems and think tanks, and the result is a vacuum that Pakistan and its lobbyists are quick to exploit. He says, “Our policymakers still haven’t internalised that information warfare is no longer secondary. It is central to modern conflict.”
Lessons Moving Forward
Operation Sindoor must be a wake-up call not just for Pakistan, but for India herself. The mission proved that India now possesses the capability to conduct deep, precise, and deniable kinetic operations. It showcased the integration of indigenous technology into active operations and reinforced India’s capacity to dominate the escalatory ladder without stumbling into a full-scale war.
But military superiority must be matched by narrative dominance. In today’s interconnected world, the court of public opinion, especially on global platforms, shapes diplomatic outcomes, economic perceptions, and international legitimacy.
It is time India institutionalised strategic communication cells — drawing talent from journalism, academia, diplomacy, and defence — to work proactively on narrative shaping. The battle for perception is not just a postscript to war. It is, increasingly, the war itself.
The Takeaway
Operation Sindoor will likely be remembered as a watershed in India’s kinetic military doctrine — a moment when airpower, technological sophistication, and real-time intelligence converged to yield swift and stunning results. Pakistan’s lack of response has exposed deep strategic vulnerabilities.
However, unless India steps up to own and tell its story globally — quickly, credibly, and convincingly — it risks seeing its victories erased or rewritten by louder adversaries.
In modern warfare, perception is power. India must now rise to that reality.
Associate Editor
