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New Delhi: On Monday evening Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a national address in a message that echoed strength and revenge. This was after India launched its military campaign Operation Sindoor to decimate terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). In an address to the nation, Modi congratulated the Indian armed forces for their “surgical strikes”, which destroyed nine terror camps, claimed the lives of more than 100 militants and gave a clear message to Pakistan. The swift speech was laced with emotion and presented the operation as a memorial to the 26 victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which occurred on April 22.
Operation Sindoor is no mere name — it is the ‘sanskaar’ of millions of Indians and an unremitting ‘commitment’ to punish the Pahalgam attack perpetrators,” Modi said, referring to the symbol of ‘sindoor’, or vermilion mark denoting marital bonds, to pay tribute to the women who lost their husbands in the Pahalga attack. He cited pictures of Pakistan army officers attending terrorists’ funerals, describing them as “irrefutable evidence of state-sponsored terrorism,” and attributed every action taken by Pakistan to complicity on the part of the Pakistani government. Pledging that India will hunt down every terrorist, the prime minister said, “Those who dare steal the sindoor (the mark of a married woman) from the foreheads of our sisters will undergo a punishment that they cannot imagine.”
The ceasefire between India and Pakistan has only been a ‘pause’ post-10th May, when the latter called for a ceasefire, Modi. Pakistan’s every move will now be watched, the 66-year-old general said, as he urged India to accept the package as a “measure adopted by us” and “only a suspension”. There can be no talk of nuclear blackmail, and India’s response to provocations in the future will be “bigger and stronger”, he added. He rejected a claim from U.S. President Donald Trump that he had helped broker the truce. He said it was “not linked to any party” and that the agreement was reached merely between the DGMOs of both countries.
Thanking opposition leaders for their support, the prime minister hailed the unity of the country. He said India’s mothers, sisters and daughters were the ‘real shining’ and dedicated the operation’s success to them. Press Information Department In his speech, Chauhan claimed that “bold decisions become easy when national interest is paramount,” citing the example of the “global terror universities” of Bahawalpur and Muridke which had been destroyed due to his decision and saying that these centres of terror were linked to attacks from 9/11 to Pulwama. Modi also pointed out that India had enhanced its defence system, which instantly destroyed Pakistani drones and missiles; as a result, no enemy aircraft had entered Indian airspace.
While Modi gave an unprecedented context in shaping the fight against terrorism for India by keeping one eye on Pakistan, one eye on the home front. He also came across as an outstanding international statesman while tackling terrorism, He described the present time as neither a “time of war” nor a time of “terrorism,” indicating that ‘Operation Sindoor’ will establish a “independent normal” of “quick action” against terrorism. Modi’s words were thus reassuring: India will not rest until terrorism is destroyed to the roots. This offered both comfort and a firm commitment at a time when the nation was yet to recover from Pahalgam.