Codename ‘Operation Sindoor’: What's India's symbolic message behind its night strike on Pakistan terror bases

Codename Operation Sindoor: India carried out late-night strikes at terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, hitting 9 targets successfully in the exercise called ‘Operation Sindoor,’ the government said early Wednesday morning.

The strike by India comes two weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Baisran hill station. India had blamed Pakistan for the attack.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had vowed to avenge the terror attack in Pahalgam, is said to have monitored the operation through the night and coined the named ‘Operation Sindoor’, according to sources. The strikes come after days of escalated tensions and downgraded diplomatic relations between Indian and Pakistan.

Why named Sindoor?

Codenamed 'Operation Sindoor', the mission aimed to eliminate top terror leaders from Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke.

The name Sindoor for the operation carries its own significance. Sindoor is the Hindi word for vermillion, which married Hindu women often apply to their foreheads. 'Operation Sindoor' is perhaps India's revenge on behalf of the widows of Pahalgam terror attack. 

The operation's name, it seems, is revenge reference to the manner in which terrorists shot dead 26 people, mostly tourists, in Pahalgam's Baisaran valley on April 22. All the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack were men who were reportedly asked to identify with names before being killed.

The Wednesday night's ‘Operation Sindoor’ is ostensibly a reference to only men being singled out based on their faith before being killed in Pahalgam.

“These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered. We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable," India said in a statement.

Remember, the Balakot airstrike, conducted by the Indian Air Force on February 26, 2019, was codenamed "Operation Bandar". This operation was a response to the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, 2019. The airstrikes targeted a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) training camp in Balakot, Pakistan

The strategic significance?

The Pakistan military's media arm, Inter-Services Public Relations, said India has "struck three places from the air" – Bhawalpur in Pakistan's Punjab Province as well as Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

Muridke is the headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is believed to be behind the Pahalgam attack, and Bahawalpur is the base of the Masood Azhar-led Jaish-e-Mohammed.