Red Lines Redrawn. Deterrence Restored. A Doctrine unveiled
Rahul Khullar
When history looks back at South Asia’s security architecture in 2025, Operation Sindoor will stand as a watershed. For the first time, two nuclear powers engaged in high-intensity drone warfare in the week following the horrific Pahalgam attack-an atrocious sectarian massacre that shook the nation to its core.
This time, India didn’t just react-it roared with thunder, that was calculated, deliberate & precise. This article cuts through the fog of war to analyse the full spectrum of this watershed moment: from the operational brilliance of Sindoor’s execution to its wider strategic and doctrinal implications. It will unpack how India redefined nuclear deterrence, asserted escalation dominance, showcased indigenous military capabilities, and signaled a doctrinal recalibration. It also explores the case for updating India’s nuclear posture, and countering the 0.5 front that threatens national cohesion from within.
OPERATIONAL BRILLIANCE OF
SINDOOR
Operation Sindoor was conceived with strategic clarity: to punish the perpetrators and planners of the Pahalgam massacre and to dismantle the cross-border terror infrastructure. Under this operation India targeted precisely 9 terror hubs across Pakistan, this time India’s precision strikes extended well beyond PoJK-penetrating deep into Pakistan’s heartland, marking a bold shift in operational scope.
This operation initially was not against the Pakistan military, but Pakistan’s blatant escalatory response in shielding the non-state actors necessitated the expansion of the operation’s scope. As a result, India in just four days of calibrated action, met all its intended targets, including the successful neutralisation of the nine terror infrastructures across Pakistan and further secured a decisive operational edge in the widened conflict theatre by neutralising nearly every drone and UCAV launched by the PAF, enabled by India’s formidable Integrated Air Defence architecture. Further SEAD/DEAD (Suppression/ Destruction of Enemy Air Defences) operations carried out by the Indian Air Force, in retaliation to Pakistan’s drone strikes, struck 11 key airbases & incapacitated 20% of Pakistan’s frontline air defence infrastructure, including key radar installations in Lahore and near Gujranwala-rendering them inoperable.
In stark contrast, Indian military assets remained virtually untouched, with minimal to no confirmed damage sustained across operational theatres. This fact remains unchallenged by any credible defence analyst, global military observer, or third-party satellite imagery firm, further underscoring the precision, preparedness, and supremacy of India’s calibrated strike doctrine under Operation Sindoor.
The brilliance of Operation Sindoor lies not only in its kinetic operations, but also in its non-kinetic offensive, which profoundly carries long-term strategic consequences. One of the most critical among them was the decision to place the Indus water treaty in abeyance- a move that introduced a powerful economic pressure point, and effectively weaponised the geography without firing a single shot. Furthermore, India meticulously documented its stated objectives and claims through time-stamped satellite images. Indian space assets corroborated by private satellite firm Maxar Technologies, provided high resolution images capturing the destruction inflicted on Pakistan’s terror camps and military infrastructure. This set a global standard for transparency in hybrid warfare. In contrast, Pakistan under operation BUNYAN-UN-MARSOOS, made exaggerated claims, but failed to produce any credible evidence to substantiate its retaliatory narrative-thereby weakening its diplomatic standing and strategic legitimacy .That said, Operation Sindoor met and exceeded its strategic aims completely.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT REDRAWN
Operation Sindoor marked a decisive departure from India’s long-standing Political-military posture of strategic restraint to a new, assertive doctrine of offensive deterrence. Under this recalibrated doctrine, India has made it unambiguously clear: any major terror attack on Indian soil will be treated as an act of war-not merely a law-and-order issue. The response will not be limited to symbolic retaliation, but will involve decisive, disproportionate, and potentially escalatory force to establish escalation dominance at every rung of the conflict spectrum. This is not about reaction-it is about pre-empting future aggression by forcing the adversary to reconsider the cost of any hostile action. The new red lines are no longer ambiguous. The message is sharp and uncompromising: “Waha se goli chalegi, yaha se gola.”
INDIA’S NUCLEAR RESET
Prime Minister Modi unequivocally declared, “India will not tolerate nuclear blackmail.” This declaration, reinforced by the precision strike on the Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi-located in close proximity to Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, which oversees its nuclear arsenal of over 170 warheads-sent a calculated signal: India can and will strike deep into Pakistan, even near its critical nuclear command infrastructure, using conventional force if necessary. While India outrightly denied hitting the Kirana Hills, it made no such denial about the Nur Khan strike. The result was clear-Pakistan’s long-practiced nuclear sabre-rattling has lost its credibility. The myth of nuclear immunity is broken. For years, Islamabad had used the shadow of its nuclear arsenal to shield terror proxies, projecting a doctrine of first-use ambiguity to paralyse Indian responses. Operation Sindoor flipped that script.
In light of this strategic shift, India must now revisit and recalibrate its nuclear doctrine. The long-standing ‘No First Use’ (NFU) policy, though born out of moral conviction, no longer serves India’s security interests in an evolving threat landscape. A shift toward a Conditional First Use doctrine-wherein a credible threat to national security or nuclear posturing by the adversary may invite a preemptive strike that would ensure Pakistan operates under continuous psychological pressure, seriously considering the real possibility of a first nuclear strike by India. There should be no room for Islamabad to feel mentally secure or at ease, thinking that India will always stick to a No First Use policy. In nuclear deterrence, controlling the enemy’s mindset is half the battle won and we need to leverage it.
COMBAT TESTED ATMANIRBHAR ARSENALS
Operation Sindoor was not merely a tale of tactical success-it was a defining demonstration of India’s indigenous and co-developed weapon systems operating in seamless synergy, validating years of sustained investment in defence self-reliance and cutting-edge technology. At the forefront of this operation were the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, Sukhoi-30 MKI jets, Akash and Barak-8 missile systems, and the formidable Russian-made S-400 Triumf supported by a robust Integrated Air Defence Network (IADN) and sophisticated real-time command-and-control infrastructure. Even our legacy systems, often underestimated in today’s high-tech warfare environment, rose to the occasion. The L-70 anti-aircraft guns, ZU-23 mm twin-barrel cannons, and upgraded Schilka systems proved to be formidable point defence weapons, effectively countering Pakistan’s low-flying, hard-to-detect drone swarms that had threatened Indian airspace. India executed a devastating first strike while simultaneously neutralising retaliatory missile and drone threats behind an impenetrable shield. Operation Sindoor marked the combat debut of several indigenous systems-and they did not just perform; they excelled. The indigenous Akasteer system showcased stellar operational reliability and countered most of the enemy aerial attacks. IAF successfully jammed and bypassed Pakistan’s Chinese-supplied air defence systems (HQ-9 & H-16) using advanced Indian-Israeli drones and missile technology. The mission’s swift execution within 23 minutes highlighted India’s operational precision, technological prowess, and strategic readiness. This operation shattered long-held myths that Chinese defence equipment are state of the art and Turkish drone technologies hold a qualitative edge over Indian systems. Operation Sindoor single handedly proved the contrary.
Many countries, having closely observed the performance of India’s indigenous systems during Operation Sindoor, are now expressing interest in acquiring Indian-made defence equipment. This marks a turning point-not just in India’s military posture but in its emergence as a credible global defence exporter. Operation Sindoor has thus not only showcased India’s military and technological ascendancy, but also significantly bolstered its defense industrial base, reinforcing the strategic value of Atmanirbharta.
NARRATIVE WARFARE: THE 0.5 FRONT
While India asserted dominance across its western frontiers through Operation Sindoor, a more insidious battle unfolded within the borders -what the late General Bipin Rawat aptly termed the “0.5/half front”. Unlike conventional threats from Pakistan or China, this internal front operates in the cognitive realm. It doesn’t attack territory, it attacks national will, cohesion, and legitimacy, precisely when the country needs it the most.
In the immediate aftermath of the Pahalgam massacre, these actors rushed to label this horrendous act an insider job or a politically staged event. When India retaliated with calibrated force and achieved all intended objectives, the same voices turned again-accusing the government of stopping short, demanding a march into Pakistan, questioning ceasefire , equating strategic restraint with weakness. This front distorted a limited and objective-driven military operation into a loud demand for marching deep into Pakistan and reclaiming POJK-completely missing the point that Operation Sindoor was never about territorial conquest, but about the retribution of the Pehlgham massacre & achieving specific strategic goals with precision and restraint which we unequivocally achieved. This half front is arguably more lethal than the conventional threats from Pakistan or China as it attacks India’s will to fight from within.
To counter it, India must harden its information domain, amplifying credible voices, and launching civic awareness campaigns that inoculate the public against misinformation. Narrative control must become as critical as air superiority.
Operation Sindoor has not been declared over-it is currently in a strategic pause, not a ceasefire. This is not a celebration, but a moment of careful watchfulness. India has deliberately avoided triumphalism because the objectives go beyond battlefield gains. Our focus is not just on what we have achieved, but on what must still be secured.
While Pakistan rushes to claim success despite suffering critical blows, India remains grounded. We are a nation guided by foresight, not applause. Tactical success is only one part of the equation-the real goal is long-term strategic stability, on India’s terms.