Operation Sindoor in the newsroom: Covering history in sleepless nights
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Operation Sindoor in the newsroom: Covering history in sleepless nights")
Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, 2025, by the Indian Armed Forces, marked India’s powerful response to the Pahalgam terror attack Photograph: (X/@adgpi)
Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, 2025, by the Indian Armed Forces, marked India’s powerful response to the Pahalgam terror attack
Indian newsrooms changed ever since the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, 2025. The mood shifted. Shock, reflection, and anticipation of India's response replaced the usual noise and debates. A heaviness in the air was palpable when the enormity of the event became apparent by the evening: 26 innocent civilians were killed in one of the deadliest terror attacks in India. Horrifying images and survivor accounts trickled from the remote hill station, first through social media and then turned into a flood that filled Indian screens and devices. As someone shared on social media with the image of a woman sitting near her dead husband, it was 'All Eyes on Pahalgam'. The terror attack dominated every discussion in the subsequent days.
Who were the attackers? How did they infiltrate? And the lingering question was: How and when would India respond? And if it did, how big would that response be?
Even while reporting on the attack calmly, one could sense the anger building across the country. In the first week of May, signs started appearing of India's massive response to Pakistan-based terrorism. Mock drills. Civil defence rehearsals. Blackout exercises. Increased military chatter. Unusual troop movements along the border.
Inside the newsroom, the conversations shifted from 'will India respond' to 'when will India respond'. Nobody said it loudly, but everybody knew it was just a matter of time. All of us could feel it:something was coming.
Suddenly, every news alert felt important. Every defence source message was read twice. We were glued to the screens and refreshing our social media feeds to find out and break the news first on the developments along the border. Defence beat reporters barely slept for days. Anticipation was building in the newsroom, as India waited for the moment of closure, which was already decided somewhere behind closed doors. On the intervening night of May 6-7, just after midnight, something stirred, and nobody in the newsroom was thinking of going home. Around 1 AM, the first confirmation came in. India had launched strikes targeting the terror infrastructure in Pakistan. Phones ringing, keyboards clacking, TV anchors screaming, breaking news, and fiery graphics filling the screens.
This is no longer a speculation. This is not a drill. This is, Operation Sindoor. We were not just reporting news. We were writing history. As it unfolded in real time before our eyes. The phrase 'Operation Sindoor' took over every screen in the newsroom. Anchors rushed back to studios. Producers rewrote rundowns. Guests were patched in from the wee hours into daybreak and more. Graphics teams scrambled for maps and timelines.
Trending Stories
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
The Indian Army posted three words on social media that instantly spread across every newsroom, every television screen, and every Indian phone that night: 'Justice is served'. Those words changed the feeling inside the newsroom. For days, we had covered funerals, mourning families, and unanswered questions after Pahalgam.
But now, for the first time since April 22, there was a sense that India had answered. The following days were about making sense of the chaos.
Daily press briefings. Drone and missile strikes caught on shaky social media footage. Grainy satellite images. Border shelling updates from Jammu and Kashmir and other areas. Air defence systems activated. Global reactions. Nuclear escalation fears amid reports of missile strikes near some strategic Pakistani facilities. Claims and counterclaims from Pakistan. Misinformation. Disinformation. Propaganda from the neighbouring country masquerading as news.
Every few minutes brought another 'breaking' update. Somewhere amid all the noise, exhaustion disappeared. These were not ordinary days and nights for a newsperson. Adrenaline had kicked in. Shift timings did not matter anymore. The whole war was one single shift. Nobody looked away from their screens because deep down, every journalist knew they were covering one of the biggest stories of the year, maybe even of the decade.
In the media field, we are taught to stay detached from the story. But some nights make that impossible. Operation Sindoor was one of them. It was felt in the guts. And reported from the hearts.
Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.
