Operation Sindoor shows India’s patience is strength, not weakness: Rajnath Singh

Hyderabad, September 17. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on September 17 said that Operation Sindoor, the 2016 surgical strikes and the 2019 Balakot air strike proved that India’s patience should not be mistaken for weakness, and that the country is prepared to use hard power when dialogue fails.

Speaking at the Hyderabad Liberation Day event in Hyderabad, Telangana, Rajnath Singh said a strong and resolute India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes in peace and negotiations but will deliver a firm response to those who “fail to understand the language of goodwill”, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Defence.

Referring to Operation Sindoor, he said that while terrorists targeted innocents in Pahalgam “based on their dharma”, Indian forces destroyed terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir “based on their karma”. He credited the armed forces for the successful execution of the operation, adding that it was “only on hold” and would resume if terror activities were launched from across the border. Rajnath Singh also underlined that India had rejected third-party mediation on the ceasefire during the operation, reiterating that “no one can interfere in India’s internal matters”.

Paying tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Singh described him as the “Iron Man” who united North and South India, and compared Prime Minister Modi’s role in strengthening the country culturally, socially, spiritually and economically. Noting that Hyderabad Liberation Day coincides with Modi’s birthday, Singh said India was on course to becoming the world’s third-largest economy.

“Today, India does not take dictation from anyone; it writes its own script,” he remarked.

The Defence Minister also praised the courage of those who participated in Operation Polo, calling it not just a military action but Patel’s decisive step that dismantled the Razakars’ conspiracy and ensured Hyderabad’s merger with India. He drew a parallel between 1948 and the present, stating that just as the Razakars failed then, “Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has failed today”.

As part of the commemoration, Singh visited a Hyderabad Liberation Day photo exhibition organised by the Central Bureau of Communication. Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy and Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar were among those present.