Operation Sindoor defined India’s response to provocation: Army chief

Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Saturday said Operation Sindoor had set a benchmark for how India responds to provocation, describing it as an example of national will expressed with precision and resolve.

Addressing the passing-out parade of the 150th course at the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Khadakwasla, General Dwivedi said the world the cadets were entering “does not pause for introductions” and that threats today “do not always arrive in uniform or on a declared front”.

“From contested grey zones to high-velocity hybrid warfare, today’s security environment demands that those who serve must think sharply as they act,” he said while addressing the parade.

“Operation Sindoor demonstrated that and set the benchmark when national will was expressed with precision and resolve, defining how Bharat responds to provocation. That standard now belongs to you to uphold,” the Army Chief said.

General Dwivedi said the integrated response witnessed during Operation Sindoor, India’s military exercise against terror infrastructure in Pakistan in May 2025, was rooted in the jointness instilled at the NDA from the first day of training.

“As our defence services deepen their integrated structures, remember, irrespective of the uniform we wear next, you will serve shoulder to shoulder again — both men and women,” he said.

Describing the occasion as “a poignant and a particularly personal moment”, General Dwivedi recalled passing out from the same quarterdeck more than four decades ago.

“Today, as I stand before you at the far end of a life in uniform, preparing to doff mine as you prepare to don yours, I can tell you with certainty: what you begin here endures forever,” he said.

The Army Chief complimented the parade commander and the cadets for maintaining an “impressive standard of drill” and extended special congratulations to Cheetah Squadron for winning the banner.

He also acknowledged the presence of 24 cadets from 12 friendly foreign countries graduating with the course.

“You came from different soils, but you leave shaped by the same ground and the same values,” he said.