Operation Sindoor will be new normal, says PM Modi: How India’s military strikes mark a shift in India’s terror policy

On Saturday (May 10) at 5 pm, India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire in hostilities, bringing a relative peace to the region, which was on the brink of a full-blown war. Since then, there’s been a tenuous peace, with New Delhi stating that it’s prepared for any eventuality.

Amid this situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on Monday evening (May 12) in which he signaled that Operation Sindoor was not just a one-off exercise and was India’s new policy against terrorism. “Now Operation Sindoor is India’s policy against terrorism. Operation Sindoor has carved out a new benchmark in our fight against terrorism and has set up a new parameter and new normal,” he said in the 22-minute address to the nation.

He added, “The enemy has now realised the consequences of removing sindoor from the forehead of our women. Operation Sindoor was not just a name… on May 7, the whole world saw our resolve turn into action.”

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Moreover, PM Modi laid down new conditions for engagement between the two nuclear-armed nations. He ruled out talks and trade when Pakistan’s terror infrastructure remains intact. “Terror and trade cannot go together… Water and blood cannot flow together,” he said in his speech.

But what does PM Modi actually mean by a ‘new normal’? How do India’s ties with Pakistan change post Operation Sindoor? We analyse the PM’s speech and get you the answers.

India won’t hesitate to take decisive action

On Monday, PM Modi once and for all set out India’s new doctrine on dealing with terror. He said that India’s missiles and drones attacked terrorist bases such as Bahawalpur and Muridke in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

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He said, “The big terrorist attacks of the world, be it 9/11, be it London Tube bombings, or the big terrorist attacks which have happened in India in the last many decades their roots are somehow connected to these terrorist hideouts. The terrorists had wiped out the sindoor of our sisters and India responded by destroying their terrorist headquarters. More than 100 dreaded terrorists have been killed in these attacks by India. Many terrorist leaders were roaming freely in Pakistan for the last two-and-a-half to three decades who used to conspire against India. India killed them in one stroke.”

He further added that in case of a future terror attack, India would give “a fitting reply”. We will give a befitting response on our terms only. We will take strict action at every place from where the roots of terrorism emerge.

He also made it clear that India has only halted Operation Sindoor for now, and that New Delhi’s next move will depend on how Pakistan conducts its business in the future. It seems, with Operation Sindoor, India has put Pakistan on notice, and the Modi government would not think twice to hit Pakistan hard if there is any provocation.

India won’t tolerate nuclear blackmail

In his address, PM Modi also said, “India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail. India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail.”

The PM called out Pakistan’s nuclear bluff, stating that the country would no longer be held hostage by Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent in the face of cross-border terrorism. This is a massive strategic shift in New Delhi’s posture, historically restrained by Islamabad’s nuclear threshold doctrine.

For years, Pakistan has used its nuclear arsenal not only as a tool of national survival, but also a cover for fomenting terrorism across the border.

Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine outlined four ‘red lines’ that would trigger nuclear retaliation: loss of territory, destruction of military infrastructure, economic strangulation or internal destabilisation.

And until Operation Sindoor, it seems that this doctrine held with Indian refraining from crossing escalation thresholds despite grave provocations. However, Operation Sindoor has junked this policy; the country struck deep in the heart of the neighbour, hitting 11 airbases and other significant military infrastructure.

The PM also reiterated that if talks were to be held with Pakistan, it would be only on terrorism and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). “If there will be talks between India and Pakistan, it will only be on terrorism and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)… India’s stand has been clear, terror, trade and talks cannot go together,” said Modi.

“Terror and talks cannot coexist. Terror and trade cannot go hand in hand. Blood and water can never flow together,” he added.

No difference between state-sponsored terrorism and its masterminds

In his speech, PM Modi also categorically stated that India would no longer differentiate between “the government sponsoring terrorism and the masterminds of terrorism”.

He said, “During Operation Sindoor the world has again seen the ugly face of Pakistan, when top Pakistani army officers came to bid farewell to the slain terrorists. This is strong evidence of state-sponsored terrorism. We will continue to take decisive steps to protect India and our citizens from any threat.”

Modi further added that “this is not an era of war but it is also not an era of terrorism. He explained that only zero tolerance against terrorism is the guarantee for a better world. He also warned Pakistan that the administration’s continuous support to terrorism would destroy it one day. “If Pakistan wants to survive, it will have to destroy its terror infrastructure. There is no other way to peace.”

An uncertain future for India and Pakistan

Experts note that with Operation Sindoor it is more than obvious that India-Pakistan ties have changed and there’s no going back.

As Ajay Bisaria, the former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, told Washington Post, that last week’s Indian strikes hit Pakistan “more decisively, more visibly” and established “a new equilibrium.”

The worry, however, according to experts is that the next time India feels compelled to enforce this new equilibrium, it would rely even more on missiles to avoid any further missteps by the air force. “There is this very real danger that another attack will come, and we will be back into a near war,” Christopher Clary, an associate professor of political science at the University at Albany and a former South Asia expert for the Defence Department, was quoted as telling Washington Post. “We just don’t have that many wars between nuclear-armed powers to know how dangerous this deadly game can be.”

With inputs from agencies