While the Pakistan Navy staged press shows, the Indian Navy held the line in silence, with assets ready, targets surveilled, and superiority unquestioned.
GOA: The recent unfolding of Operation Sindoor has done more than just respond to a terror strike. It has established a new strategic grammar, one where India speaks softly but strikes precisely. As the dust settles over the Line of Control and the Arabian Sea, one thing is evident: India has acted with clarity, capability, and conviction, and the world is recalibrating its assumptions about how far New Delhi will go to uphold its sovereignty.
What began with the horrific Pahalgam terror attack—where civilians and tourists were targeted in an act of cross-border terrorism—was met with India’s carefully coordinated military response. These strikes were not random, nor were they escalatory.
They were a measured, sovereign answer to a barbaric provocation. But this was not just a moment of retaliation. It was a moment of reset. DOCTRINE UNVEILED WITH PRECISION On 12 May 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation and the world—not with bluster, but with decisive calm.
He laid out three clear pillars that now define India’s red lines:
1. Terror infrastructure will be located and neutralised, wherever it may be.
2. Nuclear threats will no longer serve as protection for terror sponsors.
3. There will be no distinction between terrorist actors and their enabling states. These are not slogans.
These are strategic signals. India will act with proportionality, but it will act, and it will do so without apology. As the Prime Minister asserted: “This may not be an era of war, but it is certainly not an era for terror.” CIVIL-MILITARY SYNCHRONY: INDIA SPEAKS AS ONE What stood out in the days following Operation Sindoor was the discipline and dignity with which India communicated its actions. The Ministry of External Affairs briefed clearly. The three military operations chiefs—from the Army, Navy, and Air Force— spoke with assurance and restraint.
There was no chest-thumping, only facts. In sharp contrast to Pakistan’s military’s noise and posturing, India spoke as a mature power: composed, coordinated, and confident. ATTEMPT AT NAVAL FICTION Among the more curious attempts at narrative control was the briefing by Vice Admiral Raja Rab Nawaz, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Operations), Pakistan.
He claimed that the Pakistan Navy had deterred the Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikrant from approaching Karachi, boasted about near-perfect surveillance, and even presented a map tracking Indian naval movement. The problem? The image used to support these claims was doctored, repurposed from a 2023 joint naval exercise with China. The original image lacked several of the elements later “inserted” to demonstrate supposed operational readiness. The truth is, the Indian Navy never needed to show up at Karachi’s doorstep to demonstrate dominance.
With forward deployment of assets and precision maritime air capabilities, the Navy stood poised and unblinking in the Arabian Sea. As stated by the Indian Director General Naval Operations, India could have struck targets at sea and on land, and chose precision over provocation. While the Pakistan Navy staged press shows, the Indian Navy held the line in silence, with assets ready, targets surveilled, and superiority unquestioned. DETERRENCE EMERGING AS A HABIT India’s posture in Operation Sindoor wasn’t just about defeating provocation.
It was about resetting deterrence. Over the years, strategic restraint had served India well, but it had also created space for adversaries to test limits. That space has now closed. India’s Armed Forces remain on high alert. Military operations may have paused, but there is no question of disengagement. From deep drone strikes to radar suppression, India showed that it can escalate horizontally and vertically and still retain control over the tempo. And this was no solo act. Inter-service synergy, real-time politicalmilitary coordination, and effective messaging demonstrated India’s institutional cohesion in the face of conflict. INDIA’S CREDIBLE STRATEGIC VOICE India didn’t ask the world for permission.
It didn’t wait for committees. It acted as any sovereign, confident nation must, when its people are attacked. The global community took note and largely stood back, acknowledging India’s right to act. This is how strategic credibility is built, not just with weapons, but with composure, consistency, and consequences. ROAD AHEAD IS DETERRENCE WITH RESOLVE As the guns fall silent, India has not declared victory.
It has declared vigilance. What the Prime Minister and military commanders have made clear is that this is not the end of operations—it is a pause, on India’s terms. Talks with Pakistan, if any, will not be about atmospherics or photo-ops. They will be about two things only: terrorism and the return of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
India will continue to guard its borders, defend its seas, and counter terror wherever it arises. Strategic patience now has a counterpart: operational readiness. MESSAGE IS LOUD, EVEN IN SILENCE For too long, India’s adversaries have misread her silence as indecision. That era is over. India has not changed who it is, it has changed what it will no longer tolerate. Operation Sindoor was not a declaration of war.
It was a declaration of where India now stands. And that, more than any speech or missile, is what makes deterrence real. * Commodore (Dr.) Johnson Odakkal is a maritime scholar, strategic affairs analyst, and Indian Navy veteran. He serves as Faculty of Global Politics and Theory of Knowledge at Aditya Birla World Academy, Mumbai, and Adjunct Faculty of Maritime and Strategic Studies at Naval War College, Goa.