Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, speaking in Washington, DC, at the National Press Club, lauded India’s counter-terror campaign, Operation Sindoor, as a calculated and symbolically charged response to the brutal Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians—including 25 Indians and one Nepali. Tharoor, leading a bipartisan Indian parliamentary delegation, described the operation’s name as poignant, noting its reference to the vermilion (sindoor) traditionally worn by married Hindu women, which closely resembles the color of blood.
He emphasized that the name was chosen with deep emotional weight, especially considering reports that the terrorists targeted families, killing men in front of their wives. Tharoor explained that the attackers left women alive deliberately—to spread fear. “It was like wiping off the sindoor from 26 foreheads,” he remarked, equating the violence to erasing symbols of life and dignity.
Tharoor explained the dual meaning behind the operation’s name: not just symbolic of mourning but also retribution. Quoting a Hindi sentiment, he said, “It was blood for sindoor,” framing the operation as both a tribute and an act of justice.
During his talk, Tharoor also fielded questions about the military fallout. While he refrained from citing exact aircraft losses, he stressed that final tallies rest with senior military leaders. What mattered, he said, was that India had clearly demonstrated capability—striking 11 Pakistani airbases, leaving craters on runways and disabling command centers.
Citing publicly accessible satellite images, Tharoor noted the Indian Air Force’s damage extended from southern Pakistan’s Hyderabad to the northwestern city of Peshawar. He added that Pakistan acknowledged the scale of the strikes and later requested a ceasefire, which India accepted.
Tharoor’s delegation—comprising members from parties including the BJP, Shiv Sena, JMM, and LJP—has been traveling globally to present India’s position on counter-terrorism. After visiting Brazil, the team arrived in the US and met with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, including Chairman Brian Mast and Representatives Gregory Meeks, Ami Bera, and Young Kim.
The operation was launched in response to the April 22 terror attack in Baisaran Valley, Jammu & Kashmir. India’s retaliatory strikes on May 7 eliminated more than 100 terrorists and destroyed major militant infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied regions.
