How Independent Was Indian Mainstream Media During Operation Sindoor?

By SANTOSH MOHANTY

No body will deny that Operation Sindoor, which was carried out by Indian special forces to avenge Pehelgam massacre by targeting suspected hideouts of terrorists in Pakistan, though served the purpose of giving a clear message to the sparring neighbour Pakistan that terrorism will not be tolerated any more, it brutally exposed the Indian mainstream media's misinformation campaign throughout the exercise.

The India TV channels were frenzied enough to claim that its military had captured Pak Occupied Kashmir during the operation. Several old footage of foreign war were allegedly shown on TV to substantiate the false claim. The Pakistani media outlets also matched their Indian counterparts by spreading the rumour that their military had given a fitting response by dowing several Indian jets including newly acquired Rafael.

The misinformation misled the public of both the countries that resulted in panic buying and people fleeing the border regions fearing casualties. It is still a mystery why the ceasefire was declared in a hurry and why Pakistan broke it after few hours of it coming into force. More puzzling was US President Donals Trump's X post in which he mentioned that he brokered a deal with India and Pakistan for a ceasefire claiming that he himself had mediated. He also put both India and Pakistan on equal footing saying that both are great nations depite the fact the latter indulging in terrorism and killing innocent people for decades.

India was virtually left alone during the exercise as countries like Nepal, Bhutan, SriLanka, Maldives which always sided with this country during thick and thin, did not come forward to rally behind the government of the day. Their governments only issued bland statements advising both the warring nations to resolve the issue amicably and exercise utmost restraint during the exercise.

The role of UN was not upto the mark as it showed lackluster interest in India's interest during the whole exercise.

The opposition parties in India have demanded convening of a special session of parliament to discuss about the issues that cropped up during Operation Sindoor and the mediation by US. The Shimla Agreement has laid down that the Kashmir issue must be resolved through bilateral discussion and a third paty mediation would not be entertained at any cost.