Chief of defence staff (CDS) general Anil Chauhan on Tuesday asserted that the outcome of 'Operation Sindoor' matters more than the losses incurred, highlighting India’s decisive military response to the brutal Pahalgam terror attack. “Losses are not important. What matters is the outcome of the operation,” he says while delivering a lecture on ‘Future Wars and Warfare’ at Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Reflecting on the Pahalgam attack, general Chauhan described it as an act of 'profound cruelty', recounting how victims were 'shot in the head in front of their families and children'. “They were shot in the name of religion… which is kind of unacceptable to this modern world. This caused a huge revulsion in society,” he says.
The CDS strongly condemned Pakistan’s long-standing strategy of using state-sponsored terrorism as a tool of war, stating, “India is not going to live under the shadow of terror and nuclear blackmail.”
Speaking about the genesis of 'Operation Sindoor', general Chauhan explained that it was designed to draw the limits of India’s tolerance. “The aim is clear — state-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan must stop. Pakistan should not be able to hold India hostage to terror activities."
He revealed that on 10th May at about 1am, Pakistan had launched multiple strikes with the intent of forcing India to its knees within 48 hours. However, India responded with swift and targeted precision strikes against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
“What they expected to last 48 hours ended in just eight. Soon after, they picked up the phone and asked to talk,” he says, highlighting the Indian armed forces’ operational effectiveness and strategic dominance.
The CDS also dismissed political controversy around the operation’s toll. “When I was asked about losses on our side, I said these are not important. The results and how you act are important. It would not be very correct to talk about losses,” he reiterated.
Emphasising the professional ethos of the Indian military, general Chauhan said, “Professional armed forces are not affected by setbacks or losses. What defines them is resilience and resolve.”
He also said the Indian government’s intent was not retribution, but to 'draw a line' with Pakistan. “The emotion that was being evoked among people was revenge and retribution… and to bring the perpetrators to justice. That was playing on everyone’s mind,” he observed. “At the end, there was probably some sort of satisfaction — and also anxiety.”
On the risks of modern military operations, he admitted, “You can’t be 100% prepared for every contingency… In every operation, there is an element of risk. The only thing is that it must be a calculated risk.”
He added that none of the capabilities employed in 'Operation Sindoor' had been tested in real combat before. “Even if there are setbacks, we adapt, we understand what went wrong, and we go out again,” he said.
Drawing an analogy to cricket, he remarked, “Suppose you go into a Test match and win — then there’s no question of how many wickets, balls or players. It’s the result that matters.”
General Chauhan said that India’s latest military response has 'raised the bar' and signalled a shift in how the country deals with cross-border terror. “We have drawn a new line of military operations against terror. We have connected terrorism to critical resources — like water — and shown that Pakistan’s strategy to bleed India by a thousand cuts will no longer go unanswered,” he says.
He also recounted that Pakistan Army chief general Asim Munir had made inflammatory anti-India and anti-Hindu remarks just weeks before the Pahalgam incident. “This was no coincidence,” he noted, calling the Pahalgam attack a planned provocation.
Tracing the historical evolution of warfare, general Chauhan described war as intrinsically tied to politics. He says, “Warfare is as old as civilisation. It has two key elements — violence and the politics behind that violence. The third element is communication, which is happening constantly."
'Operation Sindoor', he stressed, is not over but has entered a phase of temporary cessation. “Every operation is a learning curve. But the essence of a professional force is in its ability to adapt, respond, and strike back harder,” the CDS concluded.
