The week gone by has been one of tremendous tumult. On May 7, “Operation Sindoor” began. India launched carefully calibrated missile strikes at terror hubs of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lakshar-e-Taiba in Pakistan, causing quick damage and in many ways told Pakistan that India will not be a quiet bystander if terror groups nurtured and protected within that country hurt Indians. The nation was expecting retribution, and these strikes, quite within the philosophy of previous surgical strikes India has carried out in response to terror attacks (Balakot and Uri included) within Pakistan, were India’s response to the dastardly Pahalgam attack on tourists.
Pakistan responded, targeting military installations within India. Mortar shelling across some of the 3,323-km border with Pakistan began, as did drone attacks that hurt and killed many. At this point, we are not too sure of the number of casualties in both countries, but the output of this skirmish has been many lives, civilian and military.
What began all of a sudden has died down at the same pace, it seems. A cease-fire (apparently mediated by the USA) is in place. There is much to learn (and a lot to praise and berate) from this skirmish. Let me list a few from the perspective perch I sit upon. Do take it with a pinch of salt, if not a whole shovel, but consider it for whatever it is worth. My top five.
One, what a brand name! We must doff our hats to PM Narendra Modi for picking this evocative, relevant, original and innovative name. The name tells it all. The accompanying visuals tell it even more evocatively. The brand name clearly showcases the strikes’ intent. There is no doubt why this action was launched. The word Sindoor has always evoked strong emotional responses in India and the Hindu diaspora worldwide. The Pahalgam killing did attack the “Sindoor” on many a forehead. Operation Sindoor, to that extent, is showcased clearly as a well-thought-out act of retribution for the senseless but planned Pahalgam massacre.
Operation Sindoor was crisp and clear in its intent. There was a rush to register the name as a title for future creative works in the realm of cinema, books, and more that could come by. The “I want it first” mentality became somewhat of a creative-vulturism exercise, though. Expect books, movies, and OTT shows to happen in the near and medium-term future. Marketing-vulturism (if I may call it that) did not spare a rather sensitive moment, such as a near-war skirmish, even.
Two, Operation Sindoor saw a very savvy communication exercise put into place by the government. The daily press briefings with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in the middle and two thoroughly composed women armed forces officers, in the guise of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, brought dignity, bravado and calm composure to the briefings. Two women officers were leading the show out here, just as the Pahalgam attacks had purposively killed the men and gone after the ‘Sindoor’ of the women involved. Additionally, it was clear to the world that India does not distinguish between one religion and another, and that we remain a very secular country with respect for every religion. The distinction in imagery of the two sets of briefings done by Pakistan and India was clear and in-the-face. And the world watched. In sheer communication terms, this was a coup of sorts as well. He, she or they who thought this out has done it well.
Three, after decades, we are witnessing what I will call information warfare at its best or worst. In the dissemination of information, there is a reliable source, which is the government, and then there is the non-government actor (NGA). The NGA are really a set of people at times prompted by governments in rogue nations to put out totally false and completely propaganda-oriented information. Pakistan did precisely this, and, therefore, we had reports of “Bangalore Port being bombed” by Pakistan, just as we had reports of India bombing its religious places to create tumult. Or the piece of fiction that India bombed religious places with malicious intent. The idea is to create fear and chaos. Everything is fair in love and war, you see.
This time, the NGA had media and digital actors joining the melee of disinformation spread. Digital platforms such as X (and Y and Z) had misinformation of every kind in terms of text and video evidence. One of the biggest viral items that went digitally berserk for a while was the news of a coup in the Pakistan’s army establishment with General Asim Munir, Chief of the Pakistan Army, arrested. And everyone joined the party, till realisation dawned that it was yet another piece of false news.
Four, fake news had a bull run during this skirmish. Many established and reputed television channels that thrive on the fastest-finger-first syndrome in breaking news had mud on their faces. With digital distrust reigning high, even television news channels suffered a lack of credibility. What worsened the situation was the tone, tenor and decibel these channels used to convey the crisis with an eye on TRPs. Television anchors offered news as it broke, and broke the news further based on their bits of analysis and bites of bias. Jingoism ruled and made many viewers switch off and look for a saner medium to get the correct and basic information.
In this search, print gained. All of a sudden, the best medium to look for news you could trust was print. The daily newspaper, curated by an editor and put down in un-deletable black-and-white print, was the go-to medium. In times of a crisis such as this, people do look for news without emotion, news without shouting, and news without drama. Print gave just that.
Five, social media represented the ultimate frontier in the communication melee of the skirmish. What began with sanity showed an ability to go berserk and insane, even. Every Tom, Dick and Harish with a social media account became an armchair expert of geopolitics, war and news analysis. The angry-young-man and angry-young-woman emerged on many social media handles. Everybody was so riled about literally everything. Everybody was an expert. Everybody wanted a shout. Everybody offered a rant. Everyone wanted to pull somebody’s eyes out, if not their guts. If social media were a battlefield, everyone across the enemy border would be dead. The world would be an empty place. The passion was high, and the anger higher still. ‘Armchairism’ had a heyday for sure.
With that, let me close and hope peace prevails. As should good sense.
Harish Bijoor
Brand Guru & founder, Harish Bijoor Consults
(Views are personal)
(harishbijoor@hotmail.com)