India marks the 10th anniversary of the surgical strikes that demonstrated to the world a new example of the Narendra Modi government’s counter-terrorism policy. On September 28-29, 2016, the Indian Army carried out targeted surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). The operation was launched as a direct and decisive military response to the Uri terror attack earlier that month, in which 19 Indian soldiers lost their lives. The anniversary highlights a decade of evolving national security measures. The government noted that the resolve shown in 2016 laid the groundwork for subsequent bold actions, including the 2019 Balakot airstrike and Operation Sindoor in 2025.
In his Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the 2016 surgical strike against terrorist hideouts as a historic milestone. He said the surgical strike highlighted the role of the Indian Army in carrying out the operation across the LoC. PM Modi recalled how the world was astonished by the manner in which Indian soldiers crossed the LoC to take action against terrorism. The Prime Minister said that India’s counter-terrorism approach has continued to evolve over the past decade, citing the Balakot airstrike and Operation Sindoor as examples.
PM Modi said the surgical strike was India’s decisive response to the long-standing pain the country had endured due to terrorist attacks. The Prime Minister said India had suffered from terrorist attacks for a long time, recalling a period when serial blasts had become a frequent occurrence in the country. Referring to terrorist attacks in September 2008, Mr Modi recalled the serial blasts in Delhi on September 13, 2008, in which several innocent people lost their lives. The Prime Minister also recalled the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, which took place just weeks after the Delhi blasts. He said India’s approach to terrorism has changed and that the country now follows a “zero-tolerance policy against terrorism”.
