Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Gandhinagar, described Operation Sindoor as a decisive and historic counter-terror move, asserting that nine terrorist hideouts were destroyed within 22 minutes in a precision airstrike. He added that the entire operation was recorded on camera to eliminate any demand for proof from sceptics.
“This land is one of the brave. What used to be called a proxy war can no longer be termed so. After May 6, what unfolded proved that this is no longer indirect warfare—it is a planned war strategy by Pakistan,” PM Modi said.
He revealed that terrorists killed in India’s retaliatory strikes were later honoured with state funerals in Pakistan. “Their coffins were wrapped in Pakistani flags and saluted by the Pakistan Army. This is not proxy war anymore; this is open war, and they will be responded to in kind,” he asserted.
The Prime Minister made it clear that while India desires peace, it will not hesitate to strike back when provoked. “We don’t seek enmity, we want peace and progress. But if war is imposed, our answer will be decisive,” he said.
Modi also took a swipe at Pakistan’s fragile internal situation, referencing India’s recent efforts to clear sediment from dams under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. “The 1960 treaty was a blow to us—dams in Jammu & Kashmir weren’t allowed to be desilted for decades. Now, we’ve just opened a few small gates, and they’re already panicking across the border,” he said.
Recalling the aftermath of India’s 1947 partition, Modi criticised past decisions, suggesting that had Sardar Patel’s advice been followed, the long chain of terrorism might have been prevented. “If the terrorists who attacked Kashmir that night had been eliminated and Patel’s counsel had been heeded, India wouldn’t have suffered 75 years of terror.”
The Prime Minister concluded with a powerful metaphor, likening terrorism to a thorn in the body: “Even a healthy body is disturbed by one thorn. We have now resolved to remove that thorn forever.”
His remarks come in the wake of Operation Sindoor, India’s multi-phase response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which included airstrikes on terror camps and infrastructure inside Pakistan and resulted in the reported deaths of over 100 militants.
