Operation Sindoor is India's Greatest Victory Since 1971

Op Sindoor was not about seizing ground. It was about shaping the future balance of power.

- LT. GEN. RAJ SHUKLA (RETD.) & JOHN SPENCER

In India's long and proud military history, the 1971 war has stood as the benchmark of strategic triumph. India liberated Bangladesh, decisively defeated Pakistani forces in the east, and captured over 90,000 prisoners of war. It was a political and military earthquake. But there was one thing India did not do in 1971. It did not break through on the western front. It did not penetrate into Pakistan's heartland or shake Rawalpindi's confidence in its military dominance. That remained untouched.

Operation Sindoor changed that equation. In just four days, India not only responded to a cross-border terror attack, it launched a military campaign that struck deep into Pakistan's western military core. Indian fighter jets operated only three kilometers from Pakistan's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. Indian missiles hit key facilities in Punjab. The attacks exposed critical blind spots in Pakistan's defenses. And the Pakistan Air Force failed to contest the skies. India established total air dominance.

On 10 May, Pakistan was naked and exposed, having lost complete control of its sky. The Indian military demonstrated a successful transition to a long-range precision strike capability. What unfolded was not just tactical dominance, but a validation of long-term investments in readiness, innovation, and doctrine tailored for modern warfare.