In the theatre of modern warfare, names carry weight. India바카라s military operations against Pakistan have long followed a coded lexicon바카라concise, mythic, abstract and loaded.
The Indian Army바카라s most recent operation was shared with the public on X with an image of a word, Sindoor, in block letters. One 바카라O바카라 was drawn as a bowl of vermilion, tipped over just enough to suggest spillage. The caption read, 바카라Justice is served. Jai Hind.바카라 The name of the operation, positioned by India as a retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed, was said to have been chosen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. Its symbolism was unmistakable and strategic바카라bright red sindoor as the marker of marriage, of womanhood, of loss, and bloodshed.
Historically, Indian military operations have been named to reflect conventional deterrence strategies, often borrowing from mythology, geography, or abstraction. At times, names were kept deliberately generic to avoid compromising operational secrecy. The naming of Operation Sindoor, however, appears to introduce a more emotive register. Naming in India바카라s military history has rarely been neutral. Each title signals intent, perspective, and control over how a conflict is remembered.
The naming conventions바카라from Trident to Vijay to Sindoor바카라project triumph, righteousness, and retribution. Pakistan바카라s counter-narratives stress provocation. Yet, the terrain that absorbs the shock, Kashmir remains frozen between two nations and multiple versions of history. Peace, however, is still elusive.
Operation Gulmarg (1947): In Indian records, Gulmarg refers to Pakistan바카라s plan to send Pashtun tribal militias into Kashmir, aiming to annex the princely state. On October 22, 1947, the tribal fighters entered Baramulla. Maharaja Hari Singh then signed the Instrument of Accession, prompting the first India바카라Pakistan war.
Pakistani historians contest the official Indian version. They argue the tribal incursion was decentralised and spontaneous, triggered by communal unrest. India바카라s troop airlift to Srinagar, they contend, was pre-emptive annexation ahead of a promised plebiscite.
Operation Ablaze and Operation Riddle (1965): Following border clashes in the Rann of Kutch, India mobilised troops under Operation Ablaze. When Pakistan launched Operation Gibraltar to stir rebellion in Kashmir, and Grand Slam to support it, India countered with Operation Riddle, advancing into Lahore and Kasur on September 6.
India called it a defensive action. Pakistan claimed it was an escalation. The war ended in a stalemate, sealed by the Tashkent Agreement. Civilians in both countries bore the brunt of air raids and blackouts.
Operation Cactus Lily (1971): Part of India바카라s eastern front in the Bangladesh Liberation War, Cactus Lily or Crossing of the Meghna, was an air assault operation. The operation sought to help Indian troops cross the Meghna River and march on Dhaka. India cast it as a humanitarian intervention. Pakistan labelled it interference in a civil war.
Operations Trident and Python (1971): Launched on December 4 and 8, two naval strikes on Karachi바카라s port, Trident and Python, were among the first in South Asia to deploy missile boats. India called them tactical triumphs. Pakistani accounts describe a naval command caught unprepared in the war바카라s final stretch.
Operation Meghdoot (1984): In April 1984, India captured the Siachen Glacier under Operation Meghdoot, claiming it pre-empted Pakistani movements. The name바카라borrowed from Kalidasa바카라s Cloud Messenger바카라fits the terrain: high, cold, unreachable.
Operation Vijay and Operation Safed Sagar (1999): During the Kargil conflict, Operation Vijay바카라meaning victory바카라marked India바카라s campaign to reclaim the occupied peaks. Operation Safed Sagar was the codename for the Indian Air Force바카라s role in Operation Vijay. India framed the operation as a restoration of territorial integrity. Pakistan initially denied involvement, later admitting military support.
Surgical Strikes (2016): Following the Uri terror attack, Indian special forces crossed the Line of Control to target militant launch pads. No official name was given. The action was heavily publicised, signalling a new posture.
Operation Bandar (2019): In response to the Pulwama suicide bombing, India claimed to have struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot. Aerial skirmishes followed. India called it deterrence. Pakistan said it was a symbolic strike with no casualties. International analysts warned the escalation brought the nuclear-armed neighbours to the brink over unclear gains.
Â(Compiled by Aranya Mukerji)
This article is part of Outlook바카라s May 22, 2025 issue, 바카라Is This War?바카라, covering the tense four-day standoff that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war. It appeared in print as 'The Coded War'
