KARACHI: Indian Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Saturday described Operation Sindoor as a “complex and non-conventional military manoeuvre”, comparing it to a game of chess.
Speaking at an event hosted by IIT-Madras, Gen Dwivedi said: “We didn’t know what the enemy’s next step would be, nor were our own moves fixed. That’s what made Operation Sindoor unique. It was about thinking multiple steps ahead, like in chess”.
The operation, launched in May, was India’s response to the April 22 attack in Pahalgam. Under Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force conducted airstrikes targeting Pakistani soil, claiming it was attacking “terror infrastructure” in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, killing civilians in the process and losing aircraft when Pakistan defended itself.
Gen Dwivedi said the mission was not a conventional military campaign. “Conventional operation means [to] go with everything, take everything you have. And, if you are able to [then] come back. Otherwise, stay there. That is called the conventional approach. Here, the grey zone means any activity that is taking place in all domains… Operation Sindoor taught us that this is the grey zone”.
Detailing the tactical manoeuvres and sticking to his chess theme, he said: “So, we were making the chess moves, and he (enemy) was also making the chess moves. Somewhere we were giving him the checkmate and somewhere we were going in for the kill at the risk of losing our own, but that’s the way life is....”
Without naming Pakistan, the Indian army chief also warned of future conflicts: “Next time, it may be much more, and whether that country will do it alone, or supported by some other country, we do not know. But I have a strong hunch… that country will not be alone. That is where we have to be careful”.
On Operation Sindoor, Dwivedi said: “Something was visible, while something was not visible… maybe other countries were helping to make it visible for the adversary. This test match stopped on the fourth day. It could have gone to 14 days, 140 days also, 1400 days also. We don’t know, but we have to be prepared for those things.”
The army chief also claimed that the Indian government gave the military full operational freedom, saying “This is the first time [Indian] Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, ‘Enough is enough’. All three chiefs were very clear that something had to be done. The free hand was given: ‘you decide what is to be done’. That is the kind of confidence, political direction, and political clarity we saw for the first time”.
