Operation Sindoor: Why India named its strike after Pahalgam attack widows

India's Operation Sindoor targeted nine terror hubs across Pakistan and PoK in a tri-service strike that honoured the 25 women widowed by the brutal Pahalgam attack

They were asked about their religion. Then they were shot dead in front of their wives and children. The Pahalgam terror attack crossed all red lines — targeting innocent tourists, executing men in cold blood, and leaving behind 25 widows, one of whom had just been married. In a symbolic gesture, India has named its military retaliation Operation Sindoor — a reference to the red vermilion Hindu women wear as a symbol of marriage.

 

Operation Sindoor: The name and its chilling visual message

 

The Indian Army released a graphic with Operation Sindoor emblazoned in bold letters. One of the O’s was replaced with a bowl of vermilion, some of it spilled — representing the bloodshed that stole away the husbands of 25 women. The caption read: “Justice is served. Jai Hind.”

 

 

#PahalgamTerrorAttack  Justice is Served.  Jai Hind! pic.twitter.com/Aruatj6OfA

— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) May 6, 2025

Operation Sindoor: India’s first tri-service strike since the 1971 War

 

This operation is India’s first tri-service strike since the 1971 War, with the Army, Navy, and Air Force carrying out precision attacks at 1:44 am on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). It was a direct response to the April 22 Pahalgam massacre that claimed 26 lives, including those of military officers and civilians.

 

Families of victims react to India’s strikes in Pakistan

 

Among the victims was Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, who had been married less than a week. His wife, Himanshi Narwal, was seen sitting in shock beside his body, her wedding bangles still on. The haunting image of her grief captured the collective heartbreak of a nation.

 

The pain didn’t end there. Visuals showed Pallavi Rao, whose husband Manjunath was gunned down, pleading for help; Shital Kalathiya, Sohini Adhikari, Aishanya Dwivedi, and Pragati Jagdale — each mourning the unimaginable.  ALSO READ | Operation Sindoor: Scalp missiles, Hammer bombs key to India's strike

 

A tribute that resonated with grieving families

 

Aishanya Dwivedi, widow of Shubham Dwivedi, told reporters, “I want to thank Prime Minister Modi for avenging my husband’s death. Our family had trust in him and he has kept our trust alive. This is the real tribute to my husband.”

 

In Pune, Sangita Ganbote, wife of Kaustubh Ganbote, echoed the sentiment: “We were waiting for Prime Minister Modi to take such action, and he has given them a befitting reply. Terrorists should be eliminated.”

 

Pragati Jagdale, wife of Santosh Jagdale, said the name of the operation brought tears to her eyes. “It’s a befitting reply after the way those terrorists erased the vermilion,” she said.

 

Arathy, daughter of N Ramachandran, said, “The name ‘Operation Sindoor’ seems like a reply from the women of India through the army and the government.” She added, “When the news came out in the morning, it was a kind of relief… and a comforting situation for all of us in the family.”

 

Meanwhile, sources told NDTV that Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally monitored the operation. Following the Pahalgam attack, he had warned, “Those behind it will get a punishment they cannot imagine.” He described the strike as not just an attack on tourists but on the soul of India itself.

 

Nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK hit under Operation Sindoor

 

Under Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force targeted nine key terror camps, striking both in Pakistan and PoK. The strikes hit the heart of the terror infrastructure:

 

• Markaz Subhan Allah (Bahawalpur)

• Markaz Taiba (Muridke, HQ of Lashkar-e-Taiba)

• Sarjal camp (Tehra Kalan)

• Markaz Abbas (Kotli)

• Shwawai Nalla and Syedna Bilal camp (Muzaffarabad)

• Markaz Ahle Hadith (Barnala)

• Makaz Raheel Shahid (Kotli)

• Mehmoona Joya (Sialkot)

ALSO READ | 'India exercised its right to respond to terror': Govt on Operation Sindoor 

India’s messaging: targeted, non-escalatory, symbolic

 

Targets included bases of banned outfits: Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. Of the nine sites hit, four were in Pakistan’s Punjab province and five in PoK.

 

India clarified the mission was “focused, measured and non-escalatory”, with no Pakistani military installations targeted.

 

“We have shown restraint in choosing the targets. The message is clear: those responsible will be held accountable.”

 

Pakistan retaliates, tensions remain high

 

But Pakistan responded with cross-border firing, killing three Indian civilians. ISPR’s Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary confirmed India hit sites in Kotli, Muridke, Bahawalpur, Chak Amru, Bhimber, Gulpur, Sialkot and Muzaffarabad. Notably, Muridke is the home of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s headquarters, and Bahawalpur is a known Jaish base.

 

(With agency inputs)