Losses don't matter, outcome does: CDS General Anil Chauhan on Operation Sindoor

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday said that the losses suffered during Operation Sindoor were secondary compared to its outcome, as he delivered a lecture on 'Future Wars and Warfare' at Savitribai Phule Pune University.

"Losses are not important. What matters is the outcome of the operation," said General Chauhan, days after his earlier remarks on the same had triggered political controversy. He was speaking in reference to the military operation that followed the brutal Pahalgam terror attack.

Profound cruelty in Pahalgam attack: CDS

Reflecting on the Pahalgam incident, General Chauhan termed it an act of "profound cruelty", describing how victims were shot in the head in front of their families and children. "They were shot in the name of religion… which is kind of unacceptable to this modern world. This caused a huge revulsion in society," he said.

"This was not a single act of terror against India," he added. "Western nations may have had one or two acts of terror… India has been a victim of maximum terror acts — almost 20,000 people have been killed."

Pakistan's proxy war: 'Bleeding India by a thousand cuts'

Speaking in the backdrop of recent remarks by Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir, General Chauhan reiterated that India's adversary has long adopted a strategy of "bleeding India by a thousand cuts". He said, "Pakistan should not be able to hold India hostage to terrorist activities".

He also said Operation Sindoor was rooted in the belief that state-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan must stop. "India is not going to live under the shadow of terror and nuclear blackmail," he asserted.

Future wars: Politics, violence and communication

In his lecture, General Chauhan traced the historical evolution of warfare and its intrinsic links to political objectives. "War and warfare are synonyms with the political history of mankind. Warfare is as old as human civilisation," he said.

"Any kind of war has two important elements — the violence and the politics behind the violence… The third element is communication, which is happening continuously," he added.

Pakistan's failed 48-hour plan

Speaking in Pune, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan revealed that on May 10 around 1 a.m., Pakistan intended to bring India to its knees within 48 hours through a series of escalated attacks. "They launched multiple strikes, believing the conflict would intensify rapidly," he said. However, India responded decisively, targeting only terror camps. “What they expected to last 48 hours ended in just 8. Soon after, they picked up the phone and asked to talk,” General Chauhan stated, highlighting India’s swift and strategic dominance in the operation.

Risk and strategy in modern warfare

General Chauhan acknowledged that both India and Pakistan have built different kinds of capabilities in recent years. "There was an inherent amount of risk... None of the capabilities that we had acquired had actually been into the battlefield," he said.

"But as they say, you cannot succeed if you don't take that type of risk," he added, pointing to India's enhanced counter-drone systems and other strategic technologies used in Operation Sindoor.

Professionalism over setbacks

The CDS stressed that professional armed forces are defined not by their losses but by their resilience. "Professional military forces are not affected by setbacks and losses," he said, underlining that the Indian armed forces are prepared to face any hybrid or conventional threat with resolve.

General Chauhan's remarks offered a wide-ranging reflection on India's defence posture in a volatile regional landscape — reaffirming strategic clarity in the face of cross-border terrorism and articulating a forward-looking vision for future warfare.