New Delhi: Operation Sindoor is very much on and what happened till now was merely a warm up, defence minister Rajnath Singh told Indian Navy personnel on board aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on Friday, asking them to remain prepared. Had the Navy played a role in Operation Sindoor, Pakistan would have been divided into further parts, the defence minister said.
“I want to tell all of you not to leave any shortcomings in your preparations. What has happened so far was just a warm-up. If Pakistan dares to act again, this time the Navy will also go into action, and then only God knows what will happen to Pakistan,” Singh said.
“1971 is witness to the fact that when the Indian Navy sprang into action, Pakistan was split into two. If the Navy had gone into full-fledged action during Operation Sindoor, Pakistan would not have been divided into two parts, but fragmented into four,” he added.
The indigenously-built INS Vikrant is deployed in the Arabian Sea. Singh reviewed operational readiness and praised the Navy’s role in neutralising seaborne threats during the Operation.
The defence minister said that the Indian Navy is no longer just the sentinel of the Indian Ocean, but has become a strategic force that strengthens India’s presence in the region. He said the Navy warns adversaries that India is moving towards becoming a global power.
Singh commended the Indian Navy’s silent but effective role in bottling up Pakistani naval assets, asserting that their aggressive deployment, maritime dominance, and high state of preparedness prevented Pakistan from challenging Indian interests at sea and kept its naval assets confined to their own shores.
“During ‘Operation Sindoor’, the Indian Navy has impressed every Indian with its silent service. Despite remaining silent, the Indian Navy succeeded in tying down the Pakistani Army,” he said.
“The role of the Navy in this entire integrated operation has been glorious. During Operation Sindoor, when the Air Force destroyed the terror bases on Pakistani soil, your aggressive deployment in the Arabian Sea, unmatched maritime domain awareness and maritime supremacy confined the Pakistani Navy to its own shores. They could not even muster the courage to come into the open sea,” the minister added.
Singh spoke of how the Navy stunned its adversary without firing a single shot. “Along with the forward deployment of our forces, the force projection of the Vikrant Carrier Battle Group also gave an effective indication of our intention and capability. Your strong preparation has already broken the morale of the enemy. Your preparation alone was enough for Pakistan. You did not even need to take action. The enemy was stunned by your preparation itself. Pakistan not only realized the tremendous power of the Indian Navy, its military acumen and destructive capabilities, but they were also afraid of it,” he said.
