The global media's coverage of Operation Sindoor is symptomatic of the narrative spin familiar to India: Terrorists are referred to as militants, terror camps are described as mosques. And in many media outlets, the even the code name of the Indian strikes, Operation Sindoor, is not mentioned.

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This watering down is what gives terrorists the ammunition to continue dastardly attacks like Pahalgam on Apr 22, 2025.

Here are some examples: On the homepage of the New York Times, the lead photo has a caption saying, 'Pakistani soldiers at the site of a damaged mosque on the Pakistani-administered side of Kashmir.'

Also Read: Operation Sindoor: Opposition unites, calls for 'national solidarity' as Home Minister Shah hails Armed Forces | All India reactions highlights

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The Independent (UK publication), Associated Press, The Washington Post have all referred to terrororists as militants in their stories. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera has ran a headline saying 'Indian strike destroys mosque' in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Indian Army hits 9 terror camps

The Indian Army hit as many as nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in precision strikes on Wednesday from 1:05 AM to 1:30 AM. Providing video evidence of its precision strikes, the Army has shared a list of locations that were hit. India has also explained why these terror targets were hit.

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Among the nine identified targets were key installations of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)—two Pakistan-based terror outfits that have been behind some of the deadliest attacks on Indian soil for the past three decades. 

One of the main targets of the strike was Bahawalpur, a major city in Pakistan's Punjab province, and the ideological and operational nerve centre of JeM. Located around 400 km from Lahore, Bahawalpur houses the infamous Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah complex, also known as the Usman-o-Ali campus, where JeM’s leadership reportedly directs fundraising, recruitment, and radical indoctrination activities.

Words matter. In conflict zones, they shape perceptions, international opinion, and policy.

The choice of 'militant' over 'terrorist' by several news publications is not coincidental — it’s a strategic softening.

The term 'militant' implies rebellion or struggle, often cloaked in ideological legitimacy.

'Terrorist', on the other hand, directly confronts the reality of indiscriminate violence, radical ideology, and civilian casualties.

India’s fight against terrorism is not just national — it is global.

Operation Sindoor revealed the brutal face of terrorism. The least the world can do is to call it by its name.