Operation Sindoor was a “credible orchestra” where every musician played a “simultaneous or synergistic role” and thus the Indian armed forces were able to destroy nine terrorist targets in 22 minutes, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said on Saturday (Nov 22, 2025).
Speaking at the convocation ceremony of the Delhi-based governing institute, he also said the military operation reflected “foresight” to anticipate changes as the situation developed.
It was “an answer that was not created in a moment, but over years of imagining how intelligence, precision and technology could converge in action,” General Dwivedi said.
India launched a military operation early on May 7, decimating multiple terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Pakistan also launched attacks against India and all subsequent counter-offensives by India were also carried out under Operation Sindoor.
A military standoff between the two nuclear-armed neighbors that lasted nearly 88 hours came to a halt after they reached an agreement on the evening of May 10.
“Op Sindoor was a trusted orchestra where every musician played a simultaneous or synergistic role. So in 22 minutes we could destroy nine terrorist targets and in 80 hours we could make sure the battle was over. But more importantly, there was no time to make decisions if we didn’t have the visualization and we didn’t trust the whole team,” the army chief said.
Addressing a ceremony organized by the New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM) here, Gen Dwivedi told the gathering of graduates to lead with “wisdom, humility and strength”.
“So as you step forward today, remember that the world will never stand still, markets will change, technology will evolve and your own ambitions will also change. Yet in this movement lies your greatest strength, the courage to learn, the agility to adapt and the vision to lead with a purpose. Change is not what happens to us, it is what we become through it,” he said.
The general’s speech was themed “Navigating Change: The Real Constant” and touched on aspects of evolving global dynamics, technology as a disruptive force and considerations for the way forward.
“As the 21st century unfolded, the long peace gave way to a contested landscape of competition, strife and conflict. As of today, more than 55 conflicts are raging around the world, directly or indirectly involving more than 100 nations, blurring the lines between peace and conflict,” he said.
And as the battlefields blurred, so did the markets, the army chief said.
“The rise of nationalism, protectionism and sanctions led to the emergence of geoeconomics, a framework formulated by Edward Luttwak, who described it as the logic of war expressed through the grammar of trade,” he pointed out.
The army chief said that today the six chapters of the grammar are different from Wren and Martin’s traditional English grammar. It includes “cooperation, collaboration, coexistence, competition, rivalry, and conflict itself.”
“So these are the 6Cs that we need to know together. Because we also deal with the 6Cs in our strategic meetings and you will also deal with them in the future,” he added.
The army chief emphasized the importance of technology in military development.
“Technology has transformed warfare, from muddy trenches to smart grids, rifles to drones, boots to robots, and also revolutionized business, from shampoo bags to Gemini,” he added.
He also emphasized the need for adaptation and what he described as the “velocity of relevance” in the context of change.
“Recognizing an opportunity is one thing, responding to it is another. And that response starts with the courage to embrace change before it forces you to change. When I was drafted into the Army, computers were nowhere in sight in our military. And here I stand today, leading an Army that applies data science and artificial intelligence to modern warfare,” said Gen Dwivedi.
He said the Army’s transformation journey includes restructuring the force for greater agility, deepening linkages with the Navy, Air Force and other areas, accelerating modernization with cutting-edge technology, reforming the human resource system and continuously improving our system processes and functions to increase efficiency and responsiveness.
General Dwivedi said today he leads a “community of approximately 1.3 million soldiers, veterans and families,” which happens to be one percent of India’s population.
“As I often tell my friends in the corporate world, while they process several hundred resumes, we handle several million lives, ready to step into a hail of bullets at your single call.” He also talked about finding opportunity in times of turbulence.
“Let me start with one that has served the Indian Army well, the ability to find opportunity in uncertainty. In 1971, when we were in turmoil while East Pakistan turned the tide of refugees, creating regional instability, India turned crisis into liberation, reshaping the destiny of the subcontinent,” the officer said.
He said of leadership, “Whether on the battlefield or in the boardroom, speed and success come not from control, but from confidence.
“Your ability to identify the sweet spot between centralized, controlled, and delegating while taking responsibility or ownership for all actions or results, good or bad. That’s what makes you a great leader.”
