Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi told how the master planning of Operation Sindoor was made

New Delhi. Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi has revealed that what happened in Pahalgam on 22 April shook the whole country. The very next day on 23 April, an important meeting of the top military and political leadership was held. According to General Dwivedi, this was the first time when Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said in very clear words – enough is enough.

He said, on 23 April, we all sat together. The chiefs of all three armies agreed that something big needed to be done. We were given complete freedom – ‘You decide what to do.’ This was the trust, political direction and clarity that we saw for the first time. General Dwivedi said that such clear political support boosts the morale of the soldiers. This was the reason that our army commander could go to the ground and take steps at his own discretion.

‘Strategy of Operation Sindoor from Northern Command’
He further said, on 25 April we reached Northern Command, where we thought, planned, prepared the concept and executed it. 7 out of 9 targets were destroyed and a large number of terrorists were killed. On 29 April we had our first meeting with the Prime Minister.

General Dwivedi said, it is important to understand how a small name ‘Operation Sindoor’ unites the whole country. It gave energy to the whole nation. When the director suggested this name, I thought it was ‘Sindhu’ – that is, Indus river and I said, ‘Very good, you have frozen the Indus Water Treaty.’ He said – no, it is ‘Sindoor’.

‘Emotional connection from Sindoor to soldiers’
General Dwivedi said, this one name united the whole country. Today people are saying – ‘From Sindhu to Sindoor… we have taken care of everything.’ When I went to the ground, I told the soldiers – ‘Whenever any sister, mother or daughter applies sindoor, she will always remember the soldier.’ This was the bond that made the whole nation stand together for a purpose. This was the reason why the whole country was asking – ‘Why did you stop the operation?’ And the answer has also been given.’

‘Grey zone means we are not going into a traditional operation’
In a program organized at IIT Madras, the Army Chief compared ‘Operation Sindoor’ to the game of chess and said, we did not know what the enemy’s next move would be and what we have to do. This is called the grey zone. Grey zone means that we are not going into traditional operations, but taking steps that are slightly lower than them. Traditional operation means – going with full force, using whatever you have and if you come back then it is fine, otherwise stay there. But the grey zone is one in which activities are going on in all domains. We were working in a very strategic manner.

He said, we were making moves in chess and the enemy was also making his move. Sometimes we were giving him checkmate and sometimes we were attacking him risking our lives. This is life.
‘Narrative Management System gave the edge to victory’

General Dwivedi said, there was one important thing in this – Narrative Management System. We understood on a large scale that the real victory is in the mind. If you ask any Pakistani whether he won or lost, he will say – ‘My Chief has become a Field Marshal, so we must have won.’ This is the way to influence the thinking of the public… whether it is our domestic population, enemy population or neutral population.

He told how he prepared a social sensitive index and gave strategic messages from other platforms including X. The first message given was – ‘Justice done, Op Sindoor’… which got the most hits in the world. This was given through a simple message and logo, which was created by a Lieutenant Colonel and an NCO.

‘Diplomatic steps with strategic clarity’
He said, strategic clarity came timely in diplomacy, information, military and economic fields. This is why the Indus Water Treaty was frozen. The power of the High Commission was reduced. Defence personnel were declared persona non grata and their visas were cancelled.