Dhankhar draws similarities between Op Sindoor and US strike on Osama bin Laden in Pakistan
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday drew a parallel between India’s Operation Sindoor and the US operation that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
Hailing Operation Sindoor as India’s deepest-ever cross-border strike, Dhankhar said, “It was a strike that was carefully and precisely calibrated to cause no damage except to the terrorist.”
Without naming Laden, he said, “On May 2, 2011, a global terrorist who planned, supervised and executed the September 11 attacks in the US was dealt with in a similar fashion. Bharat has done it too — and with the full knowledge of the global community.” Operation Neptune Spear was the codename for the US Navy SEAL mission that killed Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Addressing the annual convocation at Jaipuria Institute of Management, Dhankhar said India has set a new benchmark in counterterrorism. “For the first time, precise strikes were carried out deep across the international border on the strongholds of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba. No one is asking for proof now. The world has seen and acknowledged it,” he said.
He saluted the armed forces and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for the success of Operation Sindoor.
Calling the operation a fitting response to the barbaric attack in Pahalgam, Dhankhar said, “It was a remarkable retaliation, rooted in our ethos of peace and tranquillity, to the barbarity that occurred in Pahalgam. PM Modi sent a message from the heartland of Bihar to the global fraternity. Those were not empty words — the world now knows it was reality.”
Criticising Pakistan’s continued support for terrorism, he said, “We have seen how that country is deeply engrossed in terrorism.”
Dhankhar also stressed the role of every individual in ensuring national security, urging trade, business, commerce and industry to contribute actively.
“Can we afford to empower countries that are inimical to our interests? The time has come for us to think seriously about economic nationalism. We can no longer afford to improve the economies of hostile countries — through travel or imports — while they position themselves against us in times of crisis,” he added.
Reflecting on India’s civilisational legacy, Dhankhar said, “Only India can take pride in having a 5,000-year-old civilisational ethos. We need to bridge, not breach, the divide between the East and the West.”
He also cautioned against anti-national narratives and urged vigilance over foreign institutions operating in India. “Foreign universities entering India must be carefully vetted. We cannot afford to be careless,” he added.
Dhankhar spoke out against the commercialisation of education and research, saying, “This country cannot afford the commodification of education. It is undeniable — it’s happening. But education and healthcare, according to our civilisational ethos, are not for profit. They are for giving back to society. We must fulfil our obligation to society. Educational institutions must be fully funded by corporates.”
