Chennai: Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi described Operation Sindoor as unlike any conventional mission, comparing it to a game of chess where “we did not know” the enemy’s next move.
Speaking at an event at IIT-Madras, he reflected on India’s decisive military action in May targeting terror infrastructure, launched in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack.
Using the chess analogy, Gen Dwivedi explained, “In Operation Sindoor, we played chess. It meant we didn’t know what move the enemy would make next, nor what our immediate response would be. This is what we call the grey zone — not a full-scale conventional operation, but actions just short of it.”
He contrasted this with conventional warfare, where forces deploy all resources and either return victorious or remain on the battlefield. The grey zone, he said, involves coordinated activities across all domains, a lesson reinforced by Operation Sindoor.
“In this operation, we made our moves, and the enemy made theirs. At times, we delivered a checkmate; at others, we went in for the kill, even at the risk of losing our own. That’s the reality of life,” he remarked.
In May, under Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force conducted precision strikes on multiple targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir linked to terror groups, aiming to dismantle their infrastructure and eliminate key operatives following the Pahalgam attack.
