In early May 2024, when the first reports of Operation Sindoor began to surface, the mainstream media did what it often does—diluted, dodged, and disguised the gravity of the mission.
Those of us who’ve been tracking the silent war waged on Indian soil, particularly in Jammu & Kashmir, knew better. We recognized the signs: another cycle of blood spilled on the soil that has long become a graveyard of appeasement and political cowardice.
Operation Sindoor was not just a military exercise. It was an awakening—though crimson-tinted in its cost—a response to a series of ruthless ambushes, targeted killings, and deep-rooted Islamist radicalism that has found its oxygen through decades of political appeasement and pseudo-secular neglect.
The Blood Trail Behind the Operation
To understand why Operation Sindoor matters, we must revisit the insidious wave of terrorism that began resurging in the Poonch-Rajouri sector over the past two years. The region, once considered relatively stable compared to the volatile Valley, has become a hotbed for Pakistan-backed Islamist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and The Resistance Front (TRF)—rebranded jihadist outfits that have evolved in form but not in function.
The tipping point came when Male tourists on vacation, in all cases, Hindu by identity—were executed in cold blood daytime ambush, their wives sent back unharmed quoting "GO TELL IT TO MODI". These weren’t just acts of terror; they were brutal assertions of Islamist supremacy in a region where the balance of fear had tilted once again.
Let’s not mince words. These attacks weren’t indiscriminate. They followed a chilling pattern: segregation and execution of Hindus—both civilians and soldiers. From the Dhangri village massacre to the targeted killing of a teacher in Kulgam, radical Islamists have long shown a preference for religious profiling when it comes to spilling blood.
Yet, the so-called secular voices in our polity and press remain eerily silent. Where is the outrage when it is a Hindu who dies? When a saffron-clad teacher is shot in the head in front of his students? When Hindu families sleep with one eye open in their own homeland? These questions form the moral foundation of why Operation Sindoor matters, not just strategically, but philosophically.
The Launch of Operation Sindoor
In response to the increasing number of attacks on Indian forces, Operation Sindoor was launched on May 4, 2024, across the dense forests and remote terrains of Poonch-Rajouri. It is one of the most massive, coordinated counter-terrorism offensives in the region in over a decade. Backed by heavy intelligence inputs, advanced drone surveillance, and terrain-specific tactics, the operation aimed at flushing out entrenched terrorists who had established sophisticated hideouts, even equipped with American-made arms—likely funneled from Afghanistan.
More than 12,000 troops were mobilized—drawing from the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Forces, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and paramilitary battalions. Despite the scale, the mission has been cautious, deliberate, and high-risk—owing to the booby-trapped terrain and civilian proximity. This wasn’t a blitzkrieg. This was surgical and symbolic.
A BJP View: With Eyes Wide Open
Let’s address the political elephant in the room. Yes, this happened under the BJP’s leadership. And yes, the Modi government deserves credit for green-lighting a full-fledged counter-offensive instead of the usual UPA-era template of “condemn and compensate.”
But support does not mean blind endorsement. The real question is: why now? Why were inputs of terrorist regrouping in Poonch and Rajouri ignored for months? Why did it take the death of brave Indian soldiers in such gruesome fashion to evoke a serious response? This delay is not strategic caution—it’s systemic lethargy.
The BJP, which came to power on a mandate of zero tolerance toward terrorism, has done well on macro fronts—revoking Article 370, for instance. But its micro-execution has faltered. Local intelligence networks remain weak, infiltration continues through porous LOC stretches, and worst of all, Kashmiri Hindus are still not safe to return home.
If we can chase terrorists into Myanmar, Balakot, and Uri, why can’t we make Poonch safe for its own people? This isn’t just a law-and-order failure; it’s a moral failure—to not ensure the dignity of those who stayed behind when others fled.
The Forgotten Ethnic Cleansing
Operation Sindoor also forces us to confront the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, a wound the Indian state has neither healed nor admitted with enough sincerity. While we rightly call out Hamas for its genocidal slogans and ISIS for its butchery, why is there silence when Hindus are ethnically cleansed from their own homeland?
This selective outrage has fed the Islamist narrative and radicalized new generations in Kashmir who view India as a colonizer, not a constitutional democracy. Until this ideological battlefield is confronted head-on, Operation Sindoor will be just another skirmish in an unending war.
Conclusion: The Crimson Line Must Hold
So where does that leave us?
Operation Sindoor is a start—but not a solution. It reminds us that the cost of inaction is blood. It reminds us that terrorism does not emerge from poverty but from poison—indoctrinated, well-funded, and increasingly global.
The BJP must act now—not just with bullets but with vision. Build back Hindu villages. Fortify local networks. Reform police accountability. And most importantly, end the policy paralysis when it comes to identifying Islamist radicalism for what it truly is—religious terrorism.
Anything less, and the crimson of Operation Sindoor will not be a mark of victory—but just another line in a long obituary of Indian soldiers forgotten by a country too afraid to name its enemy.
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