By Bibhudatta Pradhan
India launched missile strikes in the early hours of Wednesday—nearly two weeks after a deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam—targeting nine terrorist infrastructure sites across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
“Our intelligence indicated that further attacks against India were imminent, and it was essential to both pre-empt and neutralise these threats,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a press conference in New Delhi. “Our actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible.”
The operation was named Sindoor, the Hindi term for the bright red vermillion powder traditionally worn by married Hindu women along the parting of their hair. The name is widely seen as a symbolic tribute to the women widowed in the Pahalgam attack, which claimed the lives of 26 men.
According to eyewitness accounts, terrorists separated the men from women and children, asked for their names, and then executed them at close range. It marked the deadliest assault on civilians in Kashmir since the 2008 Mumbai attack.
The image of Himanshi Narwal, adorned with the traditional red bangles of a newlywed, sitting in quiet, stunned grief beside her husband, 26-year-old naval officer Vinay Narwal, emerged as a poignant and immediate symbol of devastating loss.
The Defence Ministry said the strikes were in line with India’s commitment to hold the perpetrators, organisers, financiers, and sponsors of the “reprehensible act of terrorism” accountable and bring them to justice.
After Wednesday’s operation, the Indian Army shared a social media post with an image titled Operation Sindoor, where a bowl of vermillion powder—sindoor—replaced the first letter “O” in the name.
“Justice is served. Jai Hind!” the caption read.
The term Sindoor carries deep emotional resonance, symbolising both marital devotion and collective mourning. For the families of those killed in the Pahalgam attack, the operation offered a measure of justice—and a moment of emotional release.
In some parts of the country, people took to the streets holding banners and chanting slogans in support of Operation Sindoor, celebrating what they saw as a decisive and symbolic act of national resolve.
Details of Operation Sindoor were presented to the world by two women officers—Colonel Sophia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh. Their selection as spokespersons for the armed forces appeared to be a deliberate part of India’s messaging: women leading the response to a terror attack that had left several women widowed.
The strikes come after weeks of rising tension between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attacks.
Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said at least 26 people were killed and 46 injured. Meanwhile, the Indian Army reported that at least 15 civilians were killed by Pakistani shelling along its side of the de facto border, according to the BBC.
Pakistan has accused India of committing a “blatant act of war” and has vowed retaliation.
“These are two strong militaries that, even with nuclear weapons as a deterrent, are not afraid to deploy sizeable levels of conventional military force against each other,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington. “The escalation risks are real. And they could well increase, and quickly.”