Operation Sindoor and women-led briefing: India sends a firm, symbolic message to Pak & world

India’s choice of codename “Operation Sindoor" for May 7 strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK was meant to deliver a strong, symbolic message to the neighbour and the world of national solidarity with the widows of April 22 Pahalgam attack.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally gave the name to the military strike meant to “teach Pakistan trained terrorists a lesson", as he had promised in Bihar on April 24.

Sindoor, the red vermillion powder is a symbol of matrimonial longevity and health in the Hindu faith.

“On April 22, Pakistan trained terrorists singled out and murdered Hindu men in front of their wives, mothers and children. Those who were spared in the attack were told to give PM Narendra Modi the message. Operation Sindoor is PM’s answer to the perpetrators of Pahalgam attack. It is a revenge India has taken on the behalf of its mothers and sisters who were wronged in Pahalgam," said a top government source.

Even Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in his remarks on the Indian response today made a mention of the “savagery and barbarism" of the Pahalgam attack that overwhelmed every Indian.

Operation Sindoor evokes that emotional response.

This is in fact the first time Indian Armed Forces have framed a military operation against Pakistan as a tribute to terror attack victims. In the past, phrases and metaphors representing valour and warfare have been deployed in operations against Pakistan. These include Operation Riddle, military’s response to Pakistan’s 1965 offensive; Operation Trident, Indian Navy’s successful offensive during the 1971 Indo-Pak War targeting Karachi port; Operation Vijay to reclaim the Kargil heights in 1999; Operation Parakram after the 2001 Parliament attack and most recently Operation Bandar post the Pulwama terror attack.

Operation Sindoor lends voice to the collective national anguish over the Pahalgam attack. As Ashanya Dwivedi, the widow of Kanpur’s Shubham Dwivedi, the first among 26 to be hit in Pahalgam, said today, “This codename is a real tribute to the victims. Only PM Modi could have given this name. He identified with our pain and sentiments. I thank him for avenging the killing of my husband and 25 others."

Besides the choice of codename Operation Sindoor, India, by fielding two women officers to lead the national briefing after the military strikes today, delivered a sharp retort to Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir’s recent “Hindu-Muslim binary" rant.

Col Sofiya Qureshi and Wg Cdr Vyomika Singh both cautioned Pakistan against escalation.

Their presence at the briefing today alongside Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri mirrored Indian unity days after Munir backed the “two-nation theory" and said Hindus and Muslims were different in every aspect of their lives. Munir’s statements have widely been linked to the Pahalgam attack where Hindus were targetted.

Of war symbolisms & codenames

The US operation to kill Osama bin Laden, launched on May 2, 2011, was called Operation Neptune Spear because Neptune’s spear, the trident, is a symbol of the US navy’s special warfare insignia, specifically the SEALs. The operation was conducted by SEAL Team Six.

Operation Overlord during World War II

On June 6, 1944 (D-Day), the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France via the beaches of Normandy marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.

Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War

Used to describe the January 1991 US-led coalition’s air and ground assault to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation under Saddam Hussein.

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