Yearender 2025: New India and zero tolerance doctrine against terrorism

India’s stance against terrorism has been unwavering, but this year the nation showed an evident shift in approach. On April 22, terror outfit, The Resistance Front (TRF), which is an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) orchestrated the dastardly attack that claimed 23 innocent lives. This attack shook the nation, it numbed citizens across the states. Most of those killed were people who were spending time with their family in the valley. After this unprovoked action by terrorists operating from neighbouring Pakistan, India decided to retaliate. This is what led to the launch of Operation Sindoor on the intervening night of May 6 and 7.

In the initial press conference, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had told the country, "It was deemed essential that the perpetrators and planners of the 22 April attack be brought to justice. Despite a fortnight having passed since the attacks, there has been no demonstrable step from Pakistan to take action against the terror infrastructure on its territory or territory under its control."

He added, "Instead, all it has indulged in denials and allegations. Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated that further attacks against India were impending. Thus, there was a compulsion both to deter and to preempt."

A fortnight later, India continues to mourn the death of innocent tourists, who we brutally killed in front of their loved ones. The images have numbed the country and they were angered by the dastardly attack. After the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, this one shook the nation.

Operation Sindoor was India's answer to all the terror-mongering, and it's a clear message that the country has zero tolerance towards such acts. On May 15, the prime minister reiterated that the operation has not ended and is a decisive action against state-sponsored terror attacks on Indians. “This is a new normal. India will strike at the heart of terror decisively if our citizens are attacked,” PM Modi said as the country adopted the new doctrine against terrorism.

As India celebrated 78 years of Independence, PM Modi paid tribute to the country’s freedom fighters, who worked relentlessly to free India from its colonial past. He lauded the grit and valour of the soldiers securing the borders. PM Modi highlighted the doctrine of ‘New India’, which has zero tolerance for terrorism and threats. He said, “India has decided that it will not tolerate nuclear threats anymore; we won’t fall for any blackmail.”