From Kargil War To Op Sindoor: How India's Military Doctrine Has Transformed Over 26 Years

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Operation Sindoor represents not just tactical success but the strategic coming of age of Indian statecraft and military science—an evolution born out of lessons learnt at Kargil
Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, marks a watershed in India's military doctrine—setting a bold contrast against the Kargil War of 1999, even as it highlights the stark consistency in Pakistan's proxy warfare tactics over the last 26 years.
During the Kargil War, Pakistani military units, masquerading as 'Mujahideen', infiltrated Indian territory in the harsh Himalayan heights. The incursion was initially denied by Pakistan, which falsely presented the conflict as an indigenous uprising. Only after significant losses and mounting international pressure did Pakistan reluctantly acknowledge its soldiers' presence, even refusing initially to repatriate its dead—acts that laid bare its strategy of denial and duplicity.
The war itself saw fierce, protracted battles to reclaim lost ground, with India heavily reliant on foreign-supplied weapons such as Bofors artillery and MiG fighters. It took nearly three months of attrition, tremendous sacrifice, and international intervention to bring that chapter to a close.
Fast forward to 2025, and the hallmarks of Pakistan's belligerence remain: use of 'non-state" actors as a smokescreen for state-backed attacks, prompt denial of direct involvement, and the deliberate muddying of fact in the aftermath of cross-border operations.
The attack in Pahalgam, attributed initially to the Terrorist Resistance Front—a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy—was only the latest instance of this old playbook being put into action.
Pakistan's political-military establishment, with General Munir at the helm now as Musharraf was then, allowed or directed these manoeuvres, often keeping civilian leadership in the dark or at best at arm's length.
Yet, what has transformed dramatically since Kargil is India's approach—rooted in indigenous strength and technological sophistication. Operation Sindoor was conceived and executed as a limited but decisive offensive, emphasising rapid, high-precision strikes deep into enemy territory. Within 23 minutes, India's armed forces struck nine terror hubs—four deep in Pakistan's Punjab, an assault reach not witnessed since 1971—with loitering munitions, BrahMos missiles, and electronic warfare assets rendering Pakistan's air defences impotent.
The integration of real-time surveillance, domestically-developed guided munitions, and instant post-strike damage assessments showcased an Indian military that is no longer dependent on imported tools.
The symbolism of this shift cannot be overstated. India's ability to penetrate deep, calibrated by political restraint but technological confidence, signals a new era where the fog of proxy war is lifted and accountability is enforced with precision. The response now is not limited to recapturing peaks but extends to redefining the deterrence paradigm—targeting not just the proxy but its patron, on their soil, using indigenous weaponry and homegrown innovation.
Through two-and-a-half decades, Pakistan's policy—fomenting terror under the guise of plausible deniability—remains frozen in time. What has changed utterly is India's readiness and capability to respond: more agile, far less constrained by diplomatic calculus, and fuelled not by foreign dependence but proud self-reliance.
Operation Sindoor thus represents not just tactical success but the strategic coming of age of Indian statecraft and military science—an evolution born out of lessons learnt at Kargil, now brought to fruition on its own terms.
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