Losses not important, outcome is: Says CDS Chauhan amid row over Op Sindoor setbacks

Hans India

04-06-2025

New Delhi: Days after his comments on India's losses during Operation Sindoor stirred a controversy, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday said that the losses were not important, but what matters is the outcome of the operation.
Addressing an event at Pune University, General Chauhan stressed that the armed forces must be able to recognise and rectify their mistakes and cannot remain passive in the face of setbacks.
"When I was asked about losses on our side, I said these are not important. The results and how you act are important. It would not be very correct to talk about losses. Suppose you go in a cricket test match, and you win by an innings defeat, then there's no question of how many wickets, how many balls and how many players" he said.
Speaking on 'Future Wars and Warfare', he added, "I think professional forces are not affected by setbacks or losses; in a war, what is important is that the morale needs to remain high even if there are setbacks. Adaptability is an important constituent of a very professional force".
The top military general, in an interview with Bloomberg in Singapore, admitted for the first time that an unspecified number of Indian fighter jets were downed in the initial stage of Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, but the armed forces quickly rectified their mistakes and struck again.
He, however, dismissed the Pakistan Prime Minister's claims that six Indian jets, including four Rafales, were shot down as "absolutely incorrect".
"What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down... Why they were down, what mistakes were made - that are important.
Numbers are not important," General Chauhan had said.
These remarks, made on foreign soil, drew sharp reactions from the Opposition, which targeted the government, saying it should have informed the parties about the losses before the general revealed them abroad. Multiple Congress leaders argued that the remarks warrant broader political discussions and reiterated their demands for a special parliamentary session to discuss India's military action against Pakistan.
India launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistan on May 7, targeting terror camps, a fortnight after the Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26.
Pakistan responded by sending a barrage of drones to Indian cities, prompting India to retaliate by targeting Pakistani army
airbases. Pakistan had claimed that it had downed six Indian fighter jets, a claim India had previously downplayed.