A terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22 left 25 women widowed, one of whom had been married only days earlier. In response, India launched a major military operation against Pakistan-based terror camps, named Operation Sindoor, according to NDTV.
‘Sindoor,’ meaning vermilion in Hindi, symbolizes marriage in Hindu tradition. The operation’s name reflects the deep personal losses suffered by these women, whose husbands were killed in the attack. The Indian Army released a striking image of the operation’s name, with one ‘O’ in Sindoor depicted as a bowl of vermilion, captioned: “Justice is served. Jai Hind.”
Sources told PTI that Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally chose the operation’s name. Operation Sindoor marks India’s first tri-services strike—coordinated by the Army, Navy, and Air Force—since the 1971 war. Precision strikes were carried out at 1:44 a.m. on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Targets included key sites like Lashkar-e-Taiba’s headquarters. The Resistance Front, a Lashkar proxy, had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. India stated that the operation was “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” emphasizing that no Pakistani military facilities were targeted, showcasing “considerable restraint.”
Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling, killing three civilians. Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary confirmed that India hit sites in Kotli, Muridke, Bahawalpur, Chak Amru, Bhimber, Gulpur, Sialkot, and Muzaffarabad. Muridke houses Lashkar-e-Taiba’s HQ, while Bahawalpur is home to Jaish-e-Mohammad’s base.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the Indian Army both posted “Justice is served. Jai Hind” on social media following the strikes. Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the strikes as an act of war, vowing a strong response.