Summary of this article
Former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said Operation Sindoor marked a significant shift in India's approach to cross-border terrorism
According to Lt Gen Ghai, the government had clear "political-military objectives" and gave the defence forces complete operational freedom
He highlighted the "whole of the government approach", saying that senior officials from several ministries, intelligence agencies, BSF, and the armed forces worked in close coordination
Addressing media personnel in Jaipur, former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said Operation Sindoor demonstrated a huge shift in India's approach towards cross-border terrorism.
"Today, when I look back, I see Operation Sindoor ias not only a military operation but possibly a defining moment in India’s strategic journey", he said.
According to Lt Gen Ghai, the government had clear "political-military objectives" and gave the defence forces a complete operational freedom.
In his comments, ge highlighted the "whole of the government approach", saying that senior officials from several ministries, intelligence agencies, BSF, and the armed forces worked in close coordination.
The Operation involved integrated land, air and maritime capabilities and reflected the salience of military jointness.
The senior official also highlighted that out of nine terror bases that the Indian security Forces hit inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and mainland, seven were destined by the Army while two were carried out by the Air Force.
"The strikes achieved total surprise and inflicted maximum damage, signalling that no sanctuary is safe,” he said, adding that Pakistan's attempts to hit the Indian military infrastructure completely failed.
Lauding the success of indigenous capabilities such as Brahmos, Akash Air Defence System, ammunition, rockets, surveillance sensors and others that played a key role in the Operation Sindoor, Lt Gen Ghai said that this Operation "proved that Atmanirbharta is not just a slogan but a force multiplier."
On the decision to halt the conflict which created a debate in the strategic circles and the issue became a geopolitical contest as US President Donald Trump claimed that he brokered the peace, the senior army officer said, "We struck hard and achieved the military objective and ceased when Pakistan was compelled to negotiate and requested us to stop."
Talking about the ongoing prolonged wars and it's ill effects that are being felt globally, the senior officer said that it, "reflects the maturity of our strategic culture."
Similarly, Air Marshal AK Bharti stressed the importance of civilian lives as he said that that, "our fight was with terrorist and their supporting infrastructure and that is what we hit, ensuring no collateral damage."
He also stressed the importance of air power, jointness and indigenous capability development.
Vice Admiral AN Pramod said that after the operation began, the Indian Navy transformed rapidly into combat readiness and deployed the carrier battle groups, surface action groups "led by potent indigenous frontline warships, submarines, aircrafts and special forces in an offensive posture in the northern Arabian sea."
The forward deployment, he said, forced the Pakistani Navy and Air Units into a defencive posture close to their coastline.
