• A fifteen year old girl shares her views on Operation Sindoor.

The explosive and provoking Pahalgam attack on April 22, 2025. Innocent tourists, who had unsuspectingly some say foolishly, come with their spouses and families on a vacation were shot before their own yes and in the name of religion. Families were first segregated into Hindus and Muslims. Those who identified as Muslim were safe but others read as Hindus were killed. Men were robbed of their lives while women and children were sent home as witnesses, meant to convey fear.

An attack like this can be dated back to various Mughal attacks on India, where the Mughals killed the men and kept the women alive as war loot.

Terrorism is globally condemned. Those who foster terrorists are condemned. Having said that, the world does make an exception when terrorism is advantageous to them and hinders the development of a country they do not favour.

Pakistan, a nation that was carved out of hatred and communal intolerance continues to be a country which rather than focusing on their innumerable problems, whines over the rapid growth of their neighbouring country from which, they themselves decided to separate. Perhaps if they were less engrossed in their ideas of majoritarianism and more dedicated towards education rather than supporting terrorism, they would be treated as a more formidable and respectable nation.

Unfortunately, in its present state the Pakistani Government continues to bleed their own country, dry and brainwash their citizens into thinking that all their misfortune in only due to India. Just like those who indulge themselves in petty politicking to cover up their own shortcomings, but Pakistan does so at a far more serious and grave level.

Yet they forget that a nation so culturally rich and linguistically diverse as India, does not come out of marginalisation but out of acceptance and resilience. We have constantly fought for what was ours and will continue to do so even when hypocrisy and prejudice block are paths.  A true testament to this is India’s retaliatory mission: Operation Sindoor. 

This was not just a response to another political slugfest between two countries but proof of the fact that our ability to maintain peace and order is only due to our ability to fight back.  Not only that, it showed the world capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces and Government are.

Operation Sindoor told the world that a country like Pakistan may discriminate on the basis of religion and gender but India does not. Our women like Colonel Sophia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh (Indian Air Force) are far more educated and capable than they can comprehend. Patriotism for Bharat flows in their blood cutting across man-made barriers. The very women they robbed of their Sindoor, a symbol of marriage, strength and the divine feminine, were sent back to give a befitting response to their utter cowardice and lack of humanity.

Sindoor on bride, Kumaoni wedding. 

Andhra wedding. 

This is why I believe that India can be compared to a lone lotus growing in a murky pond, defying all odds against getting defiled by all the mud and dirt around it. I say this not just because of the innate patriotism that has been inculcated in us through years of hardship, betrayals, attempts at division by forces internal and external, but also due to the genuine perseverance and determination shown by India and its people during times of crisis. India has consistently held on to its profound conviction that preaches:

Nation before religion, caste and creed and nation before oneself.

From times immemorial, my country has been the subject of countless invasions and attacks – from the infamous Mughals to the deceiving Christians who came under the guise of alliance/trade. Looking at our history, we are constantly laughed upon for our lack of autonomy and mixed cultural identity. 

We are laughed at for the so called “lack of advancement” in all most aspects ranging from economic development to literacy rates. We are laughed upon for both patriotism and a lack of it. We are made to believe that our ancestors were born passive and that that is the reason why we have managed to maintain unity and peace. 

However, the world forgets that to protect peace, one must be prepared to fight and that we Indians have managed to hold onto our cultural identity inspite of the many attempts to erase it primarily due to the fact that those before us fought tooth and nail for our empowerment and the ‘peace’ we now enjoy.  

The world, especially those who are envious of India’s unity and improving  development indices, conveniently forget the great sacrifices made by Indians and condemn us for not fighting against those who oppressed us and tried to destroy our nation. Back to the double standards on India by the world, we see a clear contradiction between what we were condemned for doing and NOT DOING. 

When we forgive and forget our oppressor, we are viewed as weak. But when we do retaliate, we are called inhumane, cruel and problematic.

It is not just outsiders who try to thwart India but also those within our country who have lost their ability to realize the truth.

To read all articles by author

Aadrika Chattopadhyay studies in class XI school in West Bengal. She has published seven non- fiction articles in Prabuddha Bharata which is the longest running English journal in India published by the Ramakrishna Mission and Math.

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