Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strategy during Operation Sindoor was based on a series of incorrect assumptions, according to senior Indian journalist and founding editor of The Wire, Siddharth Varadarajan.
In a critical analysis posted on X (formerly Twitter), Varadarajan said the Modi government’s actions have led to unintended consequences, including the re-internationalisation of the Kashmir issue.
“The Modi government is welcome to spin this any way it likes — that it is the Pakistanis who went running to the US saying 'save us', or that India accomplished all that it set out to — but the reality is that Modi did something that has produced an unsavoury but quite predictable end result,” Varadarajan wrote.
'All our pilots are back home' not same as 'all planes are back home'
"This is a significant admission and the sad fact is that the IAF's refusal to provide specifics will continue to lend credence to Pakistan's claims of having shot down multiple Indian aircraft. Everybody knows 'all our pilots are back home' is not the same as 'all our planes are back home', he said.
The refusal to acknowledge losses stems from the Modi government's political compulsions because the resulting cost-benefit analysis may alter public perceptions about the utility of Op. Sindoor.
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He pointed out that Pakistan now believes Jammu and Kashmir is once again being treated as an international issue, and even the United States has acknowledged this perception.
It is pertinent to note that Jammu and Kashmir conflict remains rooted in a series of unresolved United Nations resolutions dating back to 1948, which called for a plebiscite to allow the people of the region to decide whether to join Pakistan or India.
Despite these resolutions, the vote has never been held, and both nations continue to claim the region in full while administering separate parts of it. 2025 India-Pakistan war have once again spotlighted the need for international engagement and a political solution that honours the right to self-determination which New Delhi has been denying for decades.
Highlighting India's reluctance to disclose military losses during the operation, Varadarajan said, “The Indian side has also suffered military losses that it is reluctant to quantify because doing so will be to the ‘advantage of the adversary’ – an admission that these losses are non-trivial.”
He also noted discontent among Modi’s right-wing supporters, some of whom believe the prime minister lacked the resolve to pursue a full military solution against Pakistan.
“Modi knew all along that there is no military solution. Driven by his own political calculations, he recklessly embarked on a dangerous, ‘Balakot x9’ course of action hoping that the consequences could be easily managed. Events proved him wrong,” Varadarajan argued.
Contrasting Modi’s rigid stance with standard international diplomacy, he noted that most countries employ a mix of tools — diplomatic, economic, and military — to manage adversaries. “Here it seems, Modi and his advisors made several incorrect assumptions,” he said.
Varadarajan said that the overall outcome of Operation Sindoor might not deter Pakistan.
