We halted 'Op Sindoor' on our own terms, prepared for long battle: Rajnath Singh

NEW DELHI: Recalling an old mantra 'Bhay bin hoye na preet' (there can be no love without fear), defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday, "Operation Sindoor conveyed an unequivocal global message that India is no longer bound by the old mindset of merely issuing diplomatic statements when terror attacks are perpetrated on its soil. A powerful deterrence is essential for peace and stability in international relations."

Ahead of the May 7 Op Sindoor anniversary, the defence minister, during ANI National Security Summit here, called Pakistan the epicentre of international terrorism and stressed that there is a need to uproot the ideological and political roots of terrorism. "Terrorism emanates from a distorted mindset. Attempts are made to justify it by giving it a religious colour or linking it to a violent ideology. It is a stain on all of humanity. Today, India is known worldwide for IT, that is, Information Technology, while Pakistan is considered the hub of another IT, International Terrorism," he said.

Rajnath's hard-hitting statement has come at a time when Pakistan, which is a hub of terror outfits like LeT and JeM, is trying to play a peacemaker in the US-Iran talks. "Op Sindoor conveyed an unequivocal global message that India is no longer bound by the old mindset of merely issuing diplomatic statements when terror attacks are perpetrated on its soil. The operation was a concrete manifestation of deterrence," he said.

"Op Sindoor may have been completed in just 72 hours, but I want to clarify, the preparations behind it were very lengthy. Op Sindoor is still on. And we are fully prepared to fight a long war if necessary. Our surge capacity, our storage capacity, the credibility of our indigenous weapons— all of these have become part of our deterrence today," he said, adding the operation displayed India's tri-service military prowess and synergy.

Stressing the role of AI across various domains, he said, "Sudarshan air defence system is a massive project that serves as a prime example of the exemplary application of AI. By leveraging AI, machine learning, and big data science, our defence forces have formulated a roadmap to bolster their capabilities in response to emerging AI-based challenges. This strategy will prove instrumental in making them even more adaptable and responsive in the future.

On his recent visit to Germany, Rajnath said major companies across Europe are keen to collaborate with our private defence firms and PSUs, terming it as a testament to India's growing credibility.