'Winning note will always be ours': Ex-CDS reveals what PM Modi told armed forces before Operation Sindoor
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Winning note will always be ours': Ex-CDS reveals what PM Modi told armed forces before Operation Sindoor")
'Winning note will always be ours': Ex-CDS reveals Modi's message before Operation Sindoor Photograph: (Screenshot/ANI video)
What exactly did PM Modi tell the armed forces before Operation Sindoor? Former CDS General Anil Chauhan has revealed the message given at a key April 29 meeting, including a crucial instruction on when and how India should respond to Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the armed forces "complete freedom of action" ahead of Operation Sindoor and made it clear there was no pressure to launch the operation immediately, former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has said.
Speaking at the Vivekananda Centre in New Delhi on Tuesday (Aug 25), Chauhan said the political message was clear: those responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack would not be spared, and India would not accept cross-border terrorism.
PM told military to choose the timing
Chauhan said the political decision was conveyed by Modi during his speech in Patna on April 24.
"The political decision that the perpetrators of this particular strike will not be spared, and we'll not tolerate cross-border terrorism. This was conveyed by none other than the honourable Prime Minister in his speech in Patna on the 24th," Chauhan said.
According to the former CDS, discussions on India's diplomatic, economic, and trade response began on April 23. The military options were then discussed in a series of meetings before a key meeting with the Prime Minister on April 29 involving the Chiefs of Staff Committee, Defence Minister, and National Security Advisor.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
Chauhan said the armed forces presented multiple options after discussions with the NSA.
'Do it at your own time'
At the April 29 meeting, Chauhan said the larger objective was to ensure that Pakistan understood India would not tolerate cross-border terrorism. He said Modi then gave the military considerable operational freedom while setting clear conditions. "The Prime Minister told us only one thing: that he is not under any kind of political pressure to do it immediately," Chauhan said.
He added that Modi told the military: "Do it at your own time, but ensure that there is no reason for failure, either human or because of technical reasons, and we should have evidence of whatever we do." Chauhan said the fourth instruction was "complete freedom of action".
"For the military, actually, this could be nothing better than this," he said, explaining that what the armed forces need is clear political direction, which he said was available in this case.
He also noted that "one of the couple of principles which we thought in the escalation matrix which we laid for ourselves was that the last strike or the winning note will always be delivered by us and not by the Pakistanis...".
What was Operation Sindoor?
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025. The military operation was a targeted response aimed at terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It was intended to dismantle terror bases allegedly used to plan the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
After Indian strikes against the targeted terror infrastructure, the operation was paused on May 10 following a formal request from Pakistan.
