INDIA'S 'NEW NORMAL' DECONSTRUCTED

Operation Sindoor has made it clear - India will now respond to terrorism as it deems fit, with or without global support

- 

On April 24, addressing a public gathering in Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth....” Known to speak in Hindi to domestic audiences, it was noteworthy that the Prime Minister switched to English to say these lines. Clearly, the Prime Minister intended the message to be heard not only in Pakistan but across global capitals in an unambiguous manner that it would be firm in its resolve to take action against the particularly heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22.

On the night of May 6-7, a fortnight after the Pahalgam attack, India responded with the launch of 'Operation Sindoor', striking nine different terrorist targets in Pakistan that housed United Nations proscribed entities such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the Hizbul Mujahiddin (HIM). Five of these were in Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK), while four locations were in Pakistan's heartland, Punjab province. On May 7, India clarified that its response was "focused", "measured" and "non-escalatory" and that Pakistani military establishments had not been targeted. However, any attack on military targets in India would invite a suitable response.

In subsequent days, in response to Pakistan's escalation, India foiled drone and missile attacks and delivered a fitting response to intense artillery shelling from Pakistani positions. As Pakistan escalated the attacks, India responded with precision strikes on Pakistan's air defence systems. On May 10, India targeted 11 Pakistani military bases across the length of the country from Skardu in the north to Bholari and Malir in southern Pakistan. Within hours of these strikes, Pakistan interceded with a "ceasefire" plea that India acceded to.

A change from the traditional response