“My Chief Has Become Field Marshal, We Must Have Won”: Army Chief Mocks Pakistan, Urges 'Whole Of Nation' Approach To Defence

Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi took a sharp dig at Pakistan while recounting Operation Sindoor, India’s precision strikes inside Pakistan and PoK after the Pahalgam terror attack.

“Victory is in the mind,” Dwivedi said at IIT Madras. “If you ask a Pakistani whether you lost or won, he’d say, my chief has become field marshal, we must have won only.”

He suggested such theatrics, not battlefield results, keep Pakistan convinced of its own victories.

India’s counter, he noted, was a calculated narrative offensive. The Army’s first message, “Justice done,” reached global audiences in record numbers, paired with visible briefings by two women officers from the Army and Air Force, and a logo designed in-house.

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Dwivedi said Operation Sindoor hit “the heartland” for the first time, wiping out terror training hubs and killing over 100 militants.

Seven of nine targets were struck by April 25; deep strikes on 7 May required Indian Air Force assets. He credited the success to political clarity, tri-service planning, and rapid tech-intelligence fusion.

Modern warfare, he stressed, is a “grey zone” chess match, where strikes are designed to avoid full-scale war but still inflict strategic damage. Technology, narrative control, and public readiness are now as important as boots on the ground.

He urged citizens, scientists, and academia to join defence efforts, citing projects from community bunkers to AI-driven drones. Partnerships with IITs, the Indian Institute of Science, and industry aim to bring quantum computing, robotics, and secure communications into India’s arsenal.

“Whole-of-nation” defence, he said, ensures India is prepared, while Pakistan can keep handing out promotions and calling them victories.

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