Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, leading an all-party Indian parliamentary delegation to the US, described Operation Sindoor as a “brilliantly chosen name” and a powerful response to terrorism. Addressing the National Press Club on Wednesday, Tharoor linked the operation’s name to the symbolic wiping out of sindoor, a traditional mark of marriage worn by Hindu women, during the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
‘Sindoor ka badla khoon’: Tharoor explains the name
Tharoor noted that 26 Indian women were widowed in the Pahalgam attack, and described the choice of the name Operation Sindoor as both culturally evocative and emotionally resonant. “Sindoor is a vermilion mark applied on the forehead of married women in Hindu tradition. These terrorists wiped it off. The colour is not far from that of blood. So yes, this was sindoor ka badla khoon,” he said. He recounted how the terrorists deliberately spared the wives of those killed to force them to “go back and tell others what had happened,” making the act even more chilling.
Indian Air Force struck 11 Pakistani airbases: Tharoor
On the military scale of India’s retaliation, Tharoor said the Indian Air Force hit 11 Pakistani airbases in a wide-ranging strike. “Pakistan has publicly admitted that Indian strikes were so effective they hit from Hyderabad in the south to Peshawar in the northwest,” he noted.
While refusing to comment on India’s aircraft losses, Tharoor said the final night of the conflict showed the extent of India’s capability and resolve, with satellite imagery confirming craters on runways and damaged command centers across Pakistan.
US lawmakers briefed on India's anti-terror stand
The Indian parliamentary delegation, comprising members from Congress, BJP, LJP, TDP, Shiv Sena, JMM and others, met key US lawmakers including Bipartisan India Caucus co-chairs Ro Khanna and Rich McCormick, and members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The delegation briefed them on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, emphasizing India’s zero-tolerance approach to terrorism. US lawmakers expressed bipartisan support for India’s right to defend itself and condemned the April 22 attack unequivocally.
India’s military and diplomatic response
Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 dead, including one Nepali citizen. The operation targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, reportedly killing over 100 terrorists from Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on May 10 after a sharp escalation over three days.
The Indian delegation reached Washington after a visit to Brazil, continuing its global outreach campaign to build support against terrorism and disinformation.
(With inputs from ANI)
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