August 10, 2025

Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi did not hold back against Pakistan’s bragging about the recent clashes with India after Operation Sindoor. Speaking at IIT Madras, he gave us food for thought on how stories are told during conflict. "If you ask a Pakistani whether you lost or won, he'd say, 'My chief has become a field marshal. We must have won, that's why he's become a field marshal,'" he said, pointing to Pakistan’s promotion of their army chief Asim Munir to field marshal. Giving the Indian government full credit, General Dwivedi revealed the key to their success was the government’s trust and freedom to act. On 23 April, just a day after a terror attack in Pahalgam claimed 26 lives, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh declared, “Enough is enough.” This powerful statement gave the armed forces a free hand to decide their actions. "This is the first time that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, 'Enough is enough.' All three chiefs were very clear that something had to be done. The free hand was given 'you decide what is to be done.' That is the kind of confidence, political direction, and political clarity we saw for the first time," General Dwivedi added. This clear support boosted the morale and allowed commanders to act boldly. Echoing this, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh spoke at Bengaluru’s HAL Management Academy. He said, “A key reason for success was the presence of political will. There was very clear political will and very clear directions given to us. No restrictions were put on us... If there were any constraints, they were self-made. The forces decided what the rules of engagement would be. We decided how we wanted to control the escalation. We had full freedom to plan and execute.” Talking about Operation Sindoor, General Dwivedi described it as a tricky “chess game” played in a “grey zone” — not full war, but close enough to confuse the enemy. Planning began on 23 April, and by 25 April, seven out of nine big targets were destroyed by Northern Command. The operation attacked deep inside Pakistan, reaching places earlier untouched — codenamed “Nursery” and “Masters.” "This was the first time we hit the heartland. And our targets were Nursery and the Masters. And that’s what came as a shocker to them," he said. While previous operations Uri and Balakot hit specific launch and training sites, Sindoor’s hits were wide and deep, spanning Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Two missions involved the Indian Air Force. The ‘test match’ of this fight stopped surprisingly on the fourth day but could have lasted much longer. "It could have continued for fourteen days also, one forty days also, fourteen hundred days also, we don’t know. So we have to be prepared for those kinds of things," Dwivedi warned. Pakistan fought back with shelling, drones, and air defence, but India’s counter-attacks hit 11 Pakistani bases including the important Nur Khan airbase. For the first time, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh confirmed India’s air defence shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one large surveillance aircraft. Speaking at the prestigious 16th Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture, Singh stated, “We have at least five fighters confirmed killed and one large aircraft, which could be either an aircraft or an AWC, which was taken at a distance of about 300 kilometres.” These are India’s largest-ever surface-to-air kills, a fact kept under wraps earlier but now proudly announced. With bold strikes, clear political backing, and full freedom to act, India has sent a powerful message with Operation Sindoor. Pakistan’s boasts and promotions cannot hide the reality on the ground – India hit deep, hit hard, and flew away victorious!

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Tags: Operation sindoor, Indian army, Pakistan, Upendra dwivedi, Air chief marshal ap singh, Military strikes,