'Sindoor' In Operation: What바카라�s In A Name?

In one stroke, a popular symbol of matrimony is recast as an emblem of blood and vengeance. At first, a nation wounded바카라�its public bristling with anger바카라�is told to await a 바카라�befitting response바카라�. Women stand by, as the tired tropes play out: outsiders coming in, killing 바카라�our바카라� men, and wiping off sindoor from 바카라�our바카라� women바카라�s foreheads, while the government promises to restore that honour with equal bloodshed in return.

Jubilation follows: women step into the streets, smearing sindoor as India strikes nine terrorist hideouts in Pakistan in the still of the night. India바카라�s military campaign, Operation Sindoor, takes wing. Sindoor transforms into a jet-fighter runway, featuring in memes that students pass around in classrooms, and that Indians and Pakistanis taunt each other with on social media...So, who바카라�s more powerful now바카라�isn바카라�t it us? And who should de-escalate first? It won바카라�t be us!

바카라�Traditionally, around the world, nationalism has always had emotional and gendered narratives. But what we바카라�re seeing now is that the symbolism of Operation Sindoor isn바카라�t just centred on women, but also on muscular nationalism,바카라� says Anuradha M. Chenoy, a Gender and International Relations expert and former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.

Feminine rage in India often manifests as the raudra roop of divine femininity바카라�Durga, Kali, Yellamma바카라�goddesses who didn바카라�t rely on help from men. But now, rage splits: one part hapless, the other empowered. The first spurred on by politics, the latter by the military.

The imagery of Operation Sindoor, launched on May 6-7, has captivated the national imagination. 바카라�There바카라�s a cultural milieu in which sindoor is deeply rooted, and naming a military operation after it was bound to strike a chord,바카라� says Ajay Gudavarthy, Associate Professor at the Centre for Political Studies, JNU. 바카라�It바카라�s also evocative of how the terrorist attack in Pahalgam is seen to have dishonoured women바카라�Hindu women, in particular. The choice of name suggests that this lost honour was being restored with blood.바카라�

So, it바카라�s not just a nation wounded, but also dishonoured. What began as a symbol of national grief, transforms into one of vengeance.

But as Operation Sindoor unfolded, something unexpected happened바카라�it began to take on characteristics of an ordinary brand, not shaping national pride but becoming a cultural-economic symbol. A battle unfolded in the trademarks registry, where enthusiastic executives of a powerful conglomerate (which has now withdrawn from the race) and citizens queued up to claim 바카라�Operation Sindoor바카라�.

A carefully crafted gendered symbol, steeped in nationalism and cultural identity, became something marketing and branding experts could recognise. And not all they saw they liked. Were women, the widows of Pahalgam, and the blood that had been shed there, forgotten so quickly? Was this the start of unwelcome commercialisation, soon to be followed by commoditisation?

바카라�A brand, at its core, is an idea, a belief system. So, if sindoor represents the sanctity of a relationship, then it follows that the words Operation Sindoor will bear emotional engagement for many, many people바카라�the majority of Indians. However, as a trademark, 바카라�Operation Sindoor바카라� will simply not work,바카라� says Kiran Khalap, Managing Director and co-founder of Chlorophyll, a brand consulting firm. 바카라�The reason,바카라� he says, 바카라�is that just a name does not make a brand.바카라�

What he means is that Operation Sindoor, as a military campaign, is rooted in a specific, highly evocative moment바카라�the attack at Pahalgam, the women grieving over their losses, a nation stunned into empathetic but enraged silence, and then, anticipation and anxiety over what was to follow바카라�attacks on targets across the India-Pakistan border. 바카라�Those are raw memories following a tragedy,바카라� says Khalap, 바카라�and while a military operation can signal closure바카라�or some have called it vengeance, as is their choice바카라�for the victims and survivors, no movie, slogan, album, or product with the same name can carry that kind of weight.바카라�

The rush of private individuals to claim the name of the military operation is classic 바카라�moment marketing바카라�, explains Harish Bijoor, a brand and business strategy specialist. That바카라�s when marketers run with a 바카라�hot바카라� idea, hoping to cash in on the symbolism바카라�in this case, the idea of bikhra hua sindoor (scattered vermillion), implying a catastrophic loss of men바카라�s lives, and women바카라�s honour. 바카라�When a highly evocative symbol emerges, one that carries deep meaning, and you want to capitalise on it, we call it vultural marketing. And it바카라�s crucial not to let anyone privatise such national markers of events that symbolise lost lives, and so much more,바카라� says Bijoor.

Other developments in Operation Sindoor also raise the question: do women still exist in the frame of this tragedy? Certainly, at first, a version of woman was put on display when a name for the operation was picked바카라�the sindoor-wearing one, but not just those who had lost their husbands to the terrorists바카라� bullets바카라�all Hindu women were expected to relate. It was reminiscent of an Indore family court ruling in a 2024 divorce case that it is the religious duty of a [Hindu] wife to wear sindoor, for it shows that she is married. Without much ado thereafter, her custody was handed over to her husband.

The question then becomes: how does using the nomenclature Operation Sindoor serve the interests of the Indian State? Reviving the deceased is, of course, impossible, so the focus shifts to reinforcing the sanctity of marriage through the symbol of sindoor. 바카라�The aim was to carry out a military operation, but the image of womanhood was co-opted to justify it,바카라� explains Neera Chandhoke, a former professor of political science at Delhi University. 바카라�This wasn바카라�t an image of marriage based on mutual consent, but one echoing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh바카라�s vision of women as homemakers, which leaves little room for discussing the darker realities of marriage. Forget domestic violence; this vision barely allows for women who choose not to carry the burden바카라�or privilege바카라�of sindoor.

바카라�I sense a paternalistic mindset behind the choice of name for a purely military operation,바카라� adds Chandhoke. 바카라�And, frankly, I don바카라�t believe revenge can be noble. So why should the State use sindoor as a symbol for attack?바카라�

To be fair, the use of woman as an emblem or badge isn바카라�t new or exceptional. Ananya Sharma, who teaches International Relations at Ashoka University, Sonipat, points out that Israel does something similar바카라�promote the 바카라�cool바카라� idea of a woman soldier, skilled in the use of lethal weapons, and unafraid to use them. 바카라�There바카라�s militarisation in that image of womanhood, and empowerment in that sense, but also effacement, for there바카라�s an element of spectatorship for men,바카라� she says.

In India, there바카라�s a similar dual narrative at play바카라�the nation-state is projected as a hyper-masculine protector of women, while, in fact, the woman only becomes vulnerable during conflict. And while India does invoke Bharat Mata, and other nations rally around feminine symbols바카라�Russia바카라�s Motherland; the United States바카라� Statue of Liberty바카라�not all these symbolisms are quite the same.

Had the operation been called Operation Durga or Operation Kali, would it have raised fewer concerns? Perhaps. After all, these Hindu goddesses are often portrayed as equals to men바카라�as symbols of strength rather than submission. 바카라�There바카라�s a suggestion of equality in the Godesses Durga or Kali, who are armed and powerful, which sindoor does not have. As the name of a military operation, it signifies grief, vulnerability, and the State offering women protection바카라�a more subordinate femininity that sees women in contrast to men, who are the protectors,바카라� Professor Chenoy says.

Operation Sindoor continued unabated since its launch바카라�shells and drones streaking through the night skies above the borderlands, while villages and cities below waited in uneasy darkness for 바카라�tensions바카라� to ease. If womanhood dominated the imagery in the initial phases of this operation, that no longer seemed true. By the morning of May 9, it was the men who had taken over.

바카라�I think the term Operation Sindoor is a weaponisation바카라�of women, of religion, and of women바카라�s cultural symbols,바카라� says Lalita Ramdas, a prominent peace activist. 바카라�It began as an emotive framing of what happened in Pahalgam바카라�the fact that twenty-five Hindu women were widowed바카라�and so the deeply symbolic sindoor was used to rally public sentiment. That allowed the government to bypass difficult questions: how could Pahalgam happen, and how it must gather evidence linking our neighbour to the attack, and then act accordingly.바카라�

The name is also unusual because military operations are typically given masculine names바카라�like Operation Bandar바카라�conducted after the 2019 Pulwama terrorist strike. Operation Sindoor strikes a hard contrast against that nomenclature, with its emotive imagery linked to nation as mother and home.

바카라�Wars can either reinforce or relax cultural definitions,바카라� points out Professor Chenoy. 바카라�At the moment, both these things are happening. The name itself reinforces a traditional, patriarchal image of womanhood. Yet, alongside this, there is a parallel discourse, of relaxing traditional gendered ideas.바카라� She is referring to the armed forces choosing two women as spokespersons바카라�Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh바카라�to address the media after the operation. 바카라�That signals that women in our country have the capacity to be equal,바카라� she says.

Another powerful example is Himanshi Narwal, the wife of a Naval officer killed in the Pahalgam terrorist attack, who urged the public to grieve with dignity and avoid targeting Muslims and Kashmiris. For this, she was viciously trolled. Still, her courage mattered, and the National Commission for Women defended her, stating that no woman should be harassed for her views or personal life.

This parallel narrative바카라�women asserting agency and calling for inclusive nationalism바카라�shows a more progressive side of the country. 바카라�But when symbols like sindoor are used to stir emotion, they reinforce a narrow vision: the Hindu woman as victim, lacking in agency,바카라� says Professor Chenoy.

In that sense, it바카라�s a conflict between different representations of womanhood. Women like Narwal become hyper-visible바카라�precisely because they are women. A man saying what she did likely wouldn바카라�t have stood out. A mixed faith but all-male panel of military spokespersons also wouldn바카라�t have carried the same symbolic weight.

This visibility can project an image of progress to the world바카라�Look, India is different!바카라�but the ground reality tells another story. Kashmiris and Muslims still faced harassment after the Pahalgam attack. 바카라�The Ministry of External Affairs said after the operation that the Pahalgam attack sought to divide us바카라�because the terrorist attack was communal as well바카라�but that we stand together. That is a good message, and so it must be repeated whenever Kashmiri students or Muslim vendors are harassed. True nationalism isn바카라�t about using gendered symbols or portraying women as passive victims; it바카라�s about rejecting divides바카라�of caste, class, gender, religion바카라�and building unity바카라�not just for women, but for everyone,바카라� says Professor Chenoy.

Between official narratives and stirred-up public sentiment, symbols can challenge roles and hierarchies바카라�but also obscure the roots of disunity. The real question is: whose grief are we honouring, and whose agency are we erasing?

Pragya Singh is senior assistant editor, Outlook. she is based in Delhi

This article is part of Outlook바카라�s May 22, 2025 issue, 바카라�Is This War?바카라�, covering the tense four-day standoff that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war. It appeared in print as What's In A Name.