Pune: It is the targeted outcome of a military conflict that matters and not the losses suffered, India’s Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan said, while addressing a session on ‘Future Wars and Welfare’ at the Savitribai Phule University in Pune on Tuesday.
When asked about the armed forces’ losses during Operation Sindoor – India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror attack – the General referred to how wickets are lost in a cricket match, saying that if a team were to “win by any means, then there’s no question about how many wickets…”
“When I was asked about losses on our side… I said these are not important. The results are important. It would not be very correct to talk about losses. Suppose you go to a cricket match and you win, by any means, then there’s no question about how many wickets, balls, players…”
“We can take out this data and share it… we can tell you how many aircraft were destroyed, how many radars were hit…” he trailed off, seeming to emphasise prioritising outcome over losses.
Gen Chauhan, during an interview in Singapore last week had said: “What is important is not the jet being downed … but why they were downed.” He did not, though, specify the number of fighter jets India had lost, only dismissing Islamabad’s claim that it had destroyed six.
“Why were they (shot) down… what mistakes were made – those are important,” General Chauhan said when asked about the fighter jets. “Numbers are not important.”
On Tuesday, he said that the focus of Operation Sindoor – its designated outcome – was to stop the Pakistan deep state from launching further terror attacks against India.
The Pahalgam terror attack, the General said, was an act of “profound cruelty… which is unacceptable in this modern world” and had led to “a kind of hatred … a huge revulsion”.
“What happened in Pahalgam was profound cruelty towards the victims… because all were killed with headshots in front of their families and their children, and they were shot in the name of religion. This caused a huge revulsion … it revived memories because India has been the victim of a maximum number of terror acts… almost 20,000 people have been killed.”
Terror attacks from across the border – a recurring tragedy despite New Delhi having repeatedly flagged the issue of the Pak deep state funding, training, and otherwise supporting terror attacks on India – had to stop, the General said.
