A game of narratives

Wars will always be fought on the battlefield. But acceptance of outcomes by a nation and the world would be determined on the basis of narratives in the media, especially when there is no loss or gain of territory as was the case in Operation Sindoor.

- HARSHA KAKAR

India had no intention of launching a ground offensive to capture territory. It had only sought to send a message on its tolerance limits for terrorist strikes, after which it would respond. The message was sent and received by those that matter in Pakistan, but definitely not the common Pakistani who has been brainwashed by his media.

Well-played-out narratives in media networks result in acceptance by the global public on which side emerged stronger on the termination of the conflict. On the narrative front, Pakistan, backed by China and its paid handles in the West, may have won this battle.

Pakistan's media channels, controlled by their DGISPR (Director General Inter Services Public Relations), pushed a narrative determined by them, while Indian media houses attempted to play to the gallery, on occasions even going ridiculously overboard. Their theatrics did far more damage than good, especially with their ludicrous announcements.

Indian official media briefing was based on truth and facts, while Pakistan conveyed fake narratives to convince the world of its success. Pakistan's heads of DGISPR gave rambling stories of victory with no evidence, reiterating damaging strikes and resultant losses to India, even when there were none. Geolocations based on their narratives yielded nothing, yet were played up convincingly across the world. On social media, Chinese and Pakistani media handles joined hands to project exaggerated Indian losses while claiming a Pakistani victory in the initial stages of the conflict. In addition, Pakistan journalists, embedded with multiple global media houses, published articles buttressing these narratives. The impact was evident when they and Western strategic analysts, even on Indian TV channels, iterated Pakistan's boasts as true.