"Operation Sindoor Was Brilliantly Chosen Name": Shashi Tharoor In US

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading the all-party delegation to the US, said Operation Sindoor was a "brilliantly chosen name" and explained its significance. The delegation is visiting the global capitals as part of the government's big diplomatic outreach to highlight its stand on terrorism following operation Sindoor.

During an interaction session at the National Press Club in the US on Wednesday (local time), Mr Tharoor noted that the colour of sindoor is not very different from the colour of blood and even used the Hindi expression "khoon ka badla khoon" and said that here it was 'sindoor ka badla khoon', meaning blood in response to what the terrorists have done to the sindoor.

When asked why India chose the name 'Operation Sindoor' for its counter-terrorism action, he responded, "Operation Sindoor, actually, I thought was a brilliantly chosen name. Sindoor, in case some Americans obviously don't know about this, is a vermilion mark that is applied to the centre of the forehead of married women in the Hindu tradition. It's widely practised. Some non-Hindus do it too, but more for decorative purposes, but strictly speaking, the Sindoor is applied at the time of the marriage ceremony and is worn every day thereafter by married women. So, we were very conscious of these brutal terrorists who, by the way, shot men in front of their wives and children but spared the women and when one wife screamed out, Kill me too, she was told, no, you go back and tell them what we've done."

"That was why the women were spared horrendous, horrendous act. That sindoor had essentially been wiped off the foreheads of 26 Indian women, 26 I was gonna say Hindu women, but one of them actually was a Christian, but the sindoor had been wiped off the rest by these terrorist actions, and so we wanted first of all, to avenge that act of wiping off the sindoor. But, secondly, it's no accident that the colour of the sindoor is bright vermilion red, which is not far from the colour of blood, and in many ways there is a Hindi expression that 'khoon ka badla khoon'; here it was 'sindoor ka badla khoon' hoga, that is, blood in response to what they have done to the sindoor," he added.

Shashi Tharoor said that none of the side involved in the conflict talks about the losses they faced, as the operational details are closely held with the senior military people. He talked about how Indian forces effectively struck 11 airfields of the Pakistani military, and Pakistan has publicly admitted that Indian strikes were so wide-ranging and effective that they struck from as far as Hyderabad in South Pakistan to Peshawar in the northwest.

When asked how many aircraft India lost in the conflict with Pakistan, Shashi Tharoor said, "We're not military folks, and our military are the only ones who really keep track of all of these things. But, I think the important message that came out was whatever may or may not have happened in the course of a conflict, neither side, by the way, talks about losses very much, and that's partially because you know very well that operational details are very closely held with the senior military people. But, I can tell you one thing, whatever may or may not have happened, look what happened on the last, what turned out to be the last night of the conflict, when India not only effectively struck 11 airfields of the Pakistani military, but there are commercially available, publicly available satellite pictures showing the extensive damage done.

"There's been craters on the runway, there have been operational command centers that have been busted by these Indian bombs, and just yesterday the Pakistanis publicly admitted that Indian strikes were so wide-ranging and effective they struck from as far as Hyderabad in South Pakistan to Peshawar in the northwest. So it looks very clear that whatever damage the Pakistanis believe they may have inflicted on India, it wasn't sufficient to prevent India from inflicting such extensive damage on Pakistan that they decided to request us to stop, which we very happy to do," he added.

The delegation led by Mr Tharoor arrived in the US on Wednesday. The delegation includes Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya, Bhubaneswar Kalita (all from BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena), former Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora.

Earlier, the all-party met Bipartisan co-chairs Ro Khanna and Rich McCormick, as well as vice co-chairs Andy Barr and Marc Veasey, on Wednesday. During the meeting, the parliamentary delegation briefed the Caucus members on the cross-border terrorism faced by India and India's strong and resolute stance against terrorism.

In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in the US stated, "Bipartisan co-chairs @RoKhanna & @RepMcCormick and vice co-chairs @RepAndyBarr & @RepVeasey of India Caucus in the House of Representatives met with the visiting Parliamentary delegation led by @ShashiTharoor today."

"The parliamentary delegation briefed the Caucus members on the cross-border terrorism faced by India and India's strong and resolute stance in the fight against terror. The Congressmen expressed unequivocal and bipartisan condemnation for the terror attack in Pahalgam. They expressed support for India's right to respond to terrorism in the spirit of zero tolerance against terrorism. The Caucus members also hailed the strong strategic partnership between India and USA," it added.

The delegation also held a meeting with the US House Foreign Affairs Committee leadership in Washington. DC. HFAC Chairman Brian Mast, Ranking Member of the committee, Gregory Meeks, South and Central Asia Subcommittee Chair Bill Huizenga, Ranking members - Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Ami Bera, Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific Chair, Young Kim.

The Indian Embassy in the US stated, "The all-party Parliamentary delegation led by @ShashiTharoor held candid & fruitful exchange with @HouseForeign Affairs Committee (HFAC) leadership. Chair @RepBrianMast, Ranking Member @RepGregoryMeeks, South and Central Asia Subcommittee Chair @RepHuizenga, Ranking Member @RepKamlagerDove, Ranking Member @RepBera and East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee @RepYoungKim greeted the delegation."

"The Parliamentary delegation briefed the committee members on the success of Operation Sindoor in defining a new normal in India's fight against cross-border terrorism. The Committee Leadership condemned the Pahalgam attack unequivocally. India and USA stand together in their unwavering resolve and fight against terrorism in all its forms," it added.

The all-party delegation arrived in the US after concluding their visit to Brazil. The delegation aims to brief key stakeholders in the US on Operation Sindoor, India's diplomatic initiative launched to counter terrorism and disinformation following the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

As many as 26 people were killed and several others were injured in a terrorist attack in Baisaran valley of Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. Among the victims were 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen. In response to the Pahalgam attack, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7.

The Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of over 100 terrorists affiliated with groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. The Indian Armed Forces responded effectively to subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases. India and Pakistan agreed for a cessation of hostilities on May 10. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)