Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi, speaking at the curtain raiser of the Chanakya Defence Dialogues in New Delhi, underscored how the swift response and robust defence capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces enabled India to deliver a strong reply to Pakistan through Operation Sindoor. Describing it as an “88-hour trailer”, he stressed the military’s readiness to respond decisively if provoked.

“Operation Sindoor was just a trailer which ended in 88 hours. We are prepared for any circumstances in future. If Pakistan gives a chance, we will teach it how to behave responsibly with a neighbouring nation,” he said.

General Dwivedi outlined three key points from the operation, emphasising rapid decision-making, seamless integration across all defence forces, and ensuring adequate supplies for prolonged conflict.

He noted that in modern warfare, synergy is essential:

‘’Another thing is integration, which means that all forces, whether Army, Navy, Air Force, CAPF, anyone else need to have good integration, because today's battles are multi-domain. Just the army cannot fight a battle, everyone has to fight together...So many things have been mixed together.”

He highlighted the unpredictability of conflict duration and the need for long-term preparedness:

“We also cannot say how long a battle will last even today. This time we fought for 88 hours, next time it could be four months too or even four years. Looking at that, do we have enough supplies and weapons to fight that? If we do not have then we need to prepare for that.”

Touching upon India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack, he said the nation has established a “new normal” in its approach to terrorism and cross-border threats:

“When a country encourages state-sponsored terrorism, it becomes a matter of concern for India. India talks about progress. If someone creates obstacles in our course, then we will have to take some action against them. When we talk about the new normal, we have said that talks and terror can't go together. All we are asking is to adopt a peaceful process, which we will cooperate with. Until then, we will treat terrorists and their sponsors alike.”

General Dwivedi also noted the major improvement in the security landscape of Jammu & Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370:

“After 5th August 2019 (abrogation of Article 370), there has been a huge change in the situation in Jammu & Kashmir. After this, political clarity has come. There has been a huge decline in terrorism (in J&K).”

The Chanakya Defence Dialogues, organised by the Indian Army, aim to bring together global and Indian policymakers, strategists, defence experts, and scholars to discuss India’s strategic vision.

This year’s theme of Dialogues is ‘Reform to Transform, Sashakt, Surakshit, aur Viksit Bharat’. The main event will be held from November 27 to 28 in New Delhi.