Indian Armed Forces announced Operation Sindoor on Wednesday (May 7) as they struck terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir weeks after a deadly terror attack in India's Jammu and Kashmir.

Advertisment

The military struck at least nine sites, including the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke and the Jaish-e-Mohammad headquarters in Bahawalpur, as per reports.

Also read: ‘Justice is served’: Indian armed forces launch ‘Operation Sindoor’, strike 9 terror targets in Pakistan, PoK

“Altogether, nine (9) sites have been targeted. Our actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and the method of execution,” India's statement said.

Advertisment

Why the name Operation Sindoor?

While there's no official reason behind the name of the operation, there are many speculations as to why India must have chosen this name.

All of the victims of the deadly terror attacks were male. Sindoor could be a tribute to women who lost their sons, husbands, fathers, or partners to the attack.

Advertisment

Also read: Operation Sindoor | What did India say after striking 9 terror targets in Pakistan | FULL STATEMENT

Among the dead were sons, fathers, and husbands. And in Indian culture, when a woman loses her husband, she wipes off her indoor, the red line in her hair that symbolises marriage.

By naming this military response “Operation Sindoor”, India made it clear: this was for those women who lost everything.

One victim of the Pahalgam attack whose story is being retold

A victim, Manjunath Rao, was in Pahalgam with his wife and young son when the shooting happened. His wife, Pallavi, described the moment, “Three of us – me, my husband and our son – had gone to Kashmir. It happened around 1.30 pm, I think. We were at Pahalgam. He died on the spot, in front of my eyes,” she told India Today.

Also read: ‘Go tell this to Modi’: Terrorists leave chilling message for Indian PM after killing at least 27 in J&K terror attack

“Three to four people attacked us. I told them – kill me too, you’ve already killed my husband. One of them said, ‘I won’t kill you. Go tell this to Modi’,” she recounted.

She also mentioned that local civilians helped her immediately after the attack. “Three local people rescued me,” she added.