Editorial: Kargil lessons for Sindoor

India’s posture on Pakistan’s claim that it shot down six Indian fighter jets, including three Rafales, on the first day of the May 7-10 confrontation has been one of studied ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying it. India’s Director-General of Air Operations AK Bharti phrased this stance perfectly when he said losses are a part of combat, “but all our pilots are back home safe.”

In the throes of war, there are no prizes for candour, and India is entitled to be economical with the truth about the costs it incurred while making the point that it will not put up with Pakistan-fuelled terrorism on its soil. The only consideration for New Delhi should be whether the cost was commensurate with the objective.

It was a surprise, therefore, that Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan late last week chose to be forthcoming on the losses sustained by India during Operation Sindoor. In interviews on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, he acknowledged that the Indian Air Force did sustain “losses in the air” on the first day of the conflict but recovered quickly to rectify the “tactical mistakes” that caused them and proceeded to inflict heavy damage on Pakistan’s air bases in the subsequent three days.

Although Gen. Chauhan gave no details, nor confirmed whether the losses included Rafales, this was the first official confirmation of any damage to Indian Air Force hardware during Operation Sindoor. Gen. Chauhan is India’s highest-ranking general, and his acknowledgement was made in two separate interviews; so we must assume this was no inadvertent disclosure, and that it was made to qualify the popular perception of the success, or otherwise, of the operation.

However, it must be said that India’s messaging since the ceasefire has been short of coherence. Instead of fine-tuning its communications to reinforce the so-called ‘new normal’ of responding to terrorism with resolve and force, New Delhi seems more eager to make electoral capital out of Operation Sindoor. The all-party delegations sent to foreign capitals are bleating India’s victim story while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has made inexplicable and alarming disclosures about forewarning Pakistan about India’s military action. The BJP is bent on destroying the national consensus on Operation Sindoor by politicking with the Opposition. As for the Prime Minister, he is busy with his victory tour of election districts and appears disinclined to address the nation’s concerns in Parliament. Contrast this with his Pakistan counterpart Shahbaz Sharif, who has visited Iran, Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan since the May 10 ceasefire to present his country’s case.

Gen Chauhan’s disclosure in Singapore only adds to this cacophony of mixed messages. What India needs at this juncture is a calm reckoning of the costs and benefits of Operation Sindoor. We need to assess whether we have succeeded in establishing deterrence, or whether some unforeseen risks, such as American meddling or China’s contribution to Pakistan’s capacity, need to be thrown into the calculus. It would be useful to conduct a security review of the operation like the Vajpayee government did after the Kargil conflict. That review committee assessed shortcomings as well as advantages, which led to a plethora of significant reforms. Its many recommendations included the induction of UAVs into our military response. Considering the role played by drones in Operation Sindoor, we could do with such foresight now.