Rajnath at Bhuj airbase: ‘A witness to India’s victory over Pakistan in 1965, 1971 and again in 2025’

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while addressing the forces at the Bhuj Rudra Mata Air Force Station in Gujarat, said he was proud to be at a defence base that has witnessed India’s glorious victories over Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.

He noted that this place has seen India’s triumph over Pakistan twice—first in 1965, then in 1971, and once again this year.

“Whatever you did during Operation Sindoor has made every Indian proud—whether in India or abroad,” Singh said.

#WATCH | Gujarat: Speaking at Bhuj Air Base, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says, "....Bhuj was witness to our victory against Pakistan in 1965, and today again it has been witness to our victoryagainst Pakistan... I feel proud to be present here." pic.twitter.com/qjs8MLwsdn

— ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2025

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Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh landed at Bhuj Airbase in Gujarat on Friday, an airbase that was attacked by Pakistan. He was accompanied by Air Chief Marshal AP Singh.

In a post on X, Singh said he was “looking forward to interacting with our courageous Air Warriors at Bhuj Air Force Station.”

“Also, I shall be visiting Smritivan — a memorial and museum envisioned by Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the 2001 earthquake,” he added.

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Gujarat, which shares a 508-kilometre border with Pakistan, was among the states targeted by Pakistani drones and airstrikes during the recent four-day conflict. Pakistan reportedly attacked Bhuj with drones and missiles, but the Indian armed forces successfully neutralised the threat.

A day before his Bhuj visit, while addressing soldiers in Srinagar, Singh questioned whether Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are safe and urged the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to bring Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal under its supervision.

On May 7, Indian armed forces carried out precision strikes on nine terror camps linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under ‘Operation Sindoor’. The action was in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, where 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.

Following these strikes, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling, drone attacks, and attempts to send unarmed vehicles across the border targeting Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, and Rajasthan. However, all these efforts were successfully thwarted by the Indian armed forces and the nation’s air defence systems.