India’s Counter Terrorism Doctrine And Global Impact Of The Operation Sindoor

Abstract

India’s counter-terrorism doctrine has undergone a radical transformation where Operation Sindoor (May 7, 2025) is less than a willful strategic signalling of determination against cross-border terrorism (read: emanating from Pakistan). Conceived in retaliation to the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, Operation Sindoor was a meticulously technology-driven operation inflicted by the Indian forces and involving surgical precision strikes on nine terrorist facilities across Pakistan and its Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) using homegrown systems like the Akash missile, D4 anti-drone system, and Nagastra-1 loitering munition. “It wasn’t just that we neutralized over 100 terrorists but also the sort of clear-cut message that we wanted to give to Pakistan, a Rubicon that we had crossed at a very high political levels, and here the message is what was important, and that message was given through precision targeting, stand-off weapon, missiles with supersonic speeds and a telling effect through the electromagnetic power,”. Signaled a shift in doctrine away from deterrence by denial, undermining the distinction between non-state actors and their state sponsors, and calling Pakistan’s nuclear bluff. Operation Sindoor also elicited support of the major powers internationally (having also been whitewashed by Indian diplomats), in which it was presented as a bona fide action in self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. The operation highlighted the emergence of India’s defense industry, with post-operation contracts boosting exports and indigenization of the defense industrial base under the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” drive. This abstract explores the operation’s strategic execution, its role in redefining India’s counter-terrorism framework, and its broader implications for regional stability, global security paradigms, and the evolving norms of state-sponsored terrorism accountability.