Any military warfare, however effective, must be mindful of a sustained strategic foresight going forward. Operation Sindoor demonstrated India’s ability to deliver a swift and precise military response following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Without a doubt, it was a commendable operation. Yet, tactical success must not obscure the need for a strong national security doctrine.
First, India must address the gaps. The current geopolitical climate demands no less. Emerging technologies and hybrid warfare are realities of our times. And the adversarial alliances are deeply complex. It should constantly call for India to review its response and arm itself adequately for such terror strikes in future.
Despite the successful military strike, one cannot ignore the grim truth that the Pahalgam attack happened at all.
The readiness of a nation for terror strikes is seen in the way it combines military, diplomatic, technological, and informational power.
Ferocity of retaliation doesn’t define national strength; the robustness of deterrence does. And deterrence begins with anticipation.
Secondly, without a culture of institutional accountability and audit as to why such an attack took place, every act of aggression risks becoming yet another tragedy we avenge instead of avert.
Unfortunately, Parliament, the forum where systemic questions ought to be raised freely, slips into theatrics.
India can’t be in denial. Bare truths confront us, starting with the fact that it occurred in one of the most surveilled and militarised regions of the country.
Was there a failure of intelligence gathering or inter-agency coordination? Was local support underestimated? Why do we only scrutinise the architecture of response, and not the mechanisms of prevention?
There has been little to no transparency regarding operational lapses, no resignations offered, and no public audit presented. Silence, in such moments, is abdication.
Silence has other implications. The ambiguity surrounding foreign mediation claims such as US President Donald Trump’s assertion of brokering a ceasefire undermines India’s long-cherished principle of strategic autonomy. In an era of global narrative warfare, ambiguity isn’t always an asset; sometimes, it is misread as weakness. India cannot afford for its deterrence posture to be defined by external perception rather than internal coherence.
More troubling, however, is the widening technological and intellectual gap between India and its primary adversaries. Experts believe that China has surged ahead in AI-enabled warfare, drone technology, and autonomous systems, and is now actively modernising Pakistan’s strategic capabilities.
This shrinking window for conventional military options puts India in a dangerously reactive position. But the more pressing concern is domestic: while Chinese youth are spearheading generational leaps in Artificial Intelligence and strategic technology, large sections of Indian society are consumed by ideological distractions. It comes at the cost of fostering scientific innovation.
The last thing India needs is cultural theatre. Youth should exchange notes in laboratories and classrooms. Let them excel in playgrounds, not march in choreographed nationalism. A modern, resilient military and a secure national future demand sustained investment in the intellectual and physical development of India’s youth.
Furthermore, to bulletproof India against terror strikes, it’s imperative we institutionalise warfighting doctrines that span land, sea, air, cyber, and space.
Defence spending must be elevated to exceed 2% of GDP. Experts believe India must raise defence spending to at least 2.5% of GDP to ensure military preparedness against China and Pakistan, two nuclear armed nations.
Emerging technologies—AI, drone swarms, electronic warfare—must be domestically developed at high speed. The HAL Tejas, an Indian light combat aircraft (LCA), and Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft programnes must be fast-tracked.
To sum up, the readiness of a nation for terror strikes is seen in the way it combines military, diplomatic, technological, and informational power.
A nation serious about its future must be willing to reflect, reform, and institutionalise change, not celebrate muscularity after the loss of lives.
Operation Sindoor, then, should not be seen as an end in itself but as a starting point for rethinking India’s entire strategic posture. It must catalyse reforms across theatre commands, cyber-space integration, civil-military fusion, and national narrative infrastructure.
Most critically, India must articulate a formal deterrence doctrine that recognises terrorism and its state sponsors as part of the same threat matrix. The doctrine must remain unpredictable in execution, but unambiguous in principle.
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