Fighting words
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Losses are inevitable in military ops. India's done the correct thing by acknowledging them
In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies, Churchill said in WWII. Like tennis, where you can lose back-to-back sets and still win the match, war has its ups and downs, and it's good policy not to let the lows affect public morale. America knew it was losing Vietnam but never admitted it, until the 1971 Pentagon Papers leak. It never got a grip on Afghanistan in 20 years, but for the longest time maintained it had.
In contrast, India has been surprisingly candid about its losses in Op Sindoor. While Pakistan claimed it had shot down five IAF jets on May 7 – the night raid that launched Op Sindoor – India neither confirmed nor denied it at the time. But shortly after the May 10 ceasefire, Air Marshal AK Bharti told a press conference, 'We are in a combat scenario and losses are part of combat.' And three weeks on, CDS Gen Anil Chauhan has more or less ended the suspense: 'What I can say is that on May 7, in the initial stages, there were losses.' But not six planes, as Pakistan is now claiming.
This acknowledgment is a measure of India's morale. The country does not need to cover up because Op Sindoor achieved all its objectives. As for making a full disclosure, that can wait till the operation is over – it's only suspended post-ceasefire. Besides, as the CDS said, more than the numbers, what mattered was the reasons for the losses, and a course correction, which India made.
India's official responses may have seemed slow, but they adhered to facts. Dangers of the alternative – unverified claims – were brought home on May 8 when some TV channels abdicated all journalistic responsibility and spread wild untruths. While it might have seemed patriotic to those in front of the cameras, it only increased the military's burden. The CDS said 15% of operational time during Op Sindoor was spent countering fake narratives and disinformation.
Later, the audience's unreasonable expectations, stoked by disinformation, resulted in the vicious trolling of foreign secretary Vikram Misri, who along with Col Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh had been the face of India's factual and measured media response during the hostilities. If Op Sindoor proved one thing, it's that riding the tiger of disinformation is always folly.
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This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
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