Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 7: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is learnt to have personally chosen the name “Operation Sindoor,” symbolic to avenge the selective killings of Hindus in front of their wives in Baisaran valley in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22.
The name is heavy with symbolism. Hindu women put “sindoor,” (vermilion) on their heads as a symbol of marriage. The Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 innocents were killed in cold blood, destroyed as many families. The victims were rounded up, asked their religion and shot dead in front of their wives and children.
“It is, therefore, fitting that the operation to avenge their deaths is named ‘Sindoor’,” official sources said. An image put out by the Indian Army has Operation Sindoor written in block letters. One ‘O’ in Sindoor is a bowl of vermilion. Some of it has spilled over, symbolising the ruthlessness that snatched away the life partners of 25 women. The caption read: “Justice is served. Jai Hind.”
The Pahalgam terror attack had crossed several red lines: tourists were targeted, people were asked their religion and shot dead in cold blood and the videos of grieved wives did the rounds on social media, plunging the nation into grief. The tears of each woman who lost her partner in the attack made the nation cry. Operation Sindoor captured that.
The operation marked a significant escalation in India’s counter-terror strategy. Indian Army sources confirmed that the objective was to dismantle launchpads and camps used by terror groups operating from across the Line of Control (LoC). Military activity has surged in the Kashmir Valley, particularly around Srinagar, where heightened air traffic indicates increased operational readiness and surveillance.
On Wednesday morning, Mr Modi called on the President Droupadi Murmu and briefed her on the “Operation Sindoor.” Later he also briefed his cabinet colleagues about India’s retaliatory strikes against terror camps in Pakistan and PoK calling it a “moment of pride for all of us.”
The government has also called an all-party meeting on Thursday to apprise the Opposition about Operation Sindoor. The Opposition had backed the government on any action it takes to strike Pakistan.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has called an urgent meeting with the states sharing border with Pakistan and Nepal. CMs, DGP & CS of J&K, LG J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, West Bengal, LG Ladakh are expected to attend the meeting.
Meanwhile, after National Security Council meeting, Pakistan on Wednesday has authorised its Armed forces to respond to Indian strikes. The National Security Committee (NSC), was convened under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Mr Sharif is set to address the country later in the day.
