On Op Sindoor's Success, Ex Army Chief's "3 Factors Of Atmanirbharta"

The success of Operation Sindoor also traces its roots in the steps taken towards self-reliance and the focus on indigenous equipment in the last decade, former Indian Army chief General Manoj Pande (retired) told NDTV in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

The former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) highlighted three areas that contributed to "atmanirbharta (self-reliance)" in defence.

"Self-reliance for critical defence equipment under the overall ambit of Atmanirbhar [Bharat policy] is something which has been very crucial or one of the major aspects of what we have achieved during the last decade or so," General Pande said.

"There are three important aspects to it or what we have been able to achieve. One is the participation of private industry in this entire effort. The second is also the participation and encouragement or the contribution of a very vibrant startup ecosystem that we have in a country. And the third is tapping the innovation potential. I think when we talk of self-reliance, it is all of these three that have come together," the former Indian Army chief told NDTV.

General Pande said the country saw a manifestation and validation of what has happened or what has been happening over the last decade or so, be in terms of indigenous equipment, be in terms of higher defence management, and the reforms that have been undertaken, and a number of other things that have happened in the security domain.

The hangar at the Bholari air base was severely damaged.

He said Operation Sindoor showed clarity and convergence between the political aim, the political leadership, and the military strategy.

"In terms of utility of force, I think it is shown as to how force can be utilised to achieve strategic objectives. Also, if I may say here, while defence and diplomacy are complementary, this [Operation Sindoor] has shown how defence can come on its own and contribute to meeting strategic objectives," General Pande said.

The former COAS credited the reorganisation of the higher defence organisation and the national security apparatus during the last decade for giving results today.

"In terms of higher defense organisation, the two seminal reforms that took place was, A, establishing the posts of the Chief of Defence Staff, and B, the Department of Military Affairs. And the aim of both these was to make sure that earlier we were working in silos, so that is something that is dispensed with, we have better synergy, we have better coordination between the military and the civil component of those operating," General Pande said.

He said the setting up of a cyberspace and a special operations agency was a huge start and a precursor to the larger cyber space and special ops command that will come up in due course.

India launched Operation Sindoor in response to the killing of 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 by Pakistan-linked terrorists. Indian missile strikes killed over 100 terrorists in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), and destroyed a large number of critical assets of the Pakistani Air Force.