‘Riddle', ‘Cactus Lily' and 'Sindoor' – decoding India's military codenames against Pakistan
Operation Sindoor: India's strikes at terrorist camps in Pakistan, hitting 9 targets successfully in the exercise on Wednesday morning was called 'Operation Sindoor' – a codename which was perhaps coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'Operation Sindoor' came two weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Baisaran hill station. India had blamed Pakistan for the attack.
Wednesday's operation was the deepest strikes inside Pakistan's territory since 1971, according to CNN, successfully targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The operation's codename is ostensibly a reference to only men being singled out based on their faith before being killed in Pahalgam. Sindoor is the Hindi word for vermillion, which married Hindu women often apply to their foreheads. 'Operation Sindoor' was perhaps India's revenge on behalf of the widows of Pahalgam terror attack.
Unlike 'Operation Sindoor' where the emphasis was on victims, India's earlier military operation againts Pakistan had codenames that kind of inspired confidence within the armed forces.
Here are some examples of codenames used by India for military operations before 'Operation Sindoor' :
'Operation Riddle' was the India's response to Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar and Grand Slam in 1965. Pakistan violated the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. In response, on 6 September, 1965, India launched 'Operation Riddle' in Lahore and Kasur.
'Operation Ablaze' was exercise by the Indian Army along the western border in May-June 1965, following Pakistani attack in the Rann of Kutch. It took place between the operations in the Rann of Kutch (Operation Kabaddi, April 1965) and Operation Gibraltar by Pakistan. The operation did not involve direct combat, it, however, demonstrated India's readiness before the war broke out in August 1965.
'Operation Cactus Lily' is also known as The Meghna Heli Bridge. This was an air operation by India in December 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The operation was conducted by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force to cross the Meghna River, bypass a Pakistani stronghold at Ashuganj/Bhairab Bazar and reach Dhaka.
'Operation Trident' was launched by the Indian Navy on port city of Karachi in Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. In this operation anti-ship missiles where used for the first time during combat in the region. The operation was conducted on the night of 4–5 December and inflicted heavy damage on Pakistani vessels and facilities.
The Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, also known as the third Indo-Pakistani war, occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 December 1971.
'Operation Meghdoot' refers to the Indian army's operation to take full control of the Siachen Glacier in Ladakh. The operation was executed on the morning of 13 April 1984. It marks the highest battlefield in the world. The operation ended with Indian forces gaining control of the Siachen Glacier.
'Operation Sindoor' was perhaps India's revenge on behalf of the widows of Pahalgam terror attack.
The Indian Army remains the first and only army in the world to have deployed tanks and other heavy ordnance at altitudes well over 5,000 meters.
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