Editorial. Lift the veil – The Hindu BusinessLine

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan
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The interviews given by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, to two foreign media platforms in Singapore have revealed, only to disappoint. The General more-or-less admitted that India had lost planes on the first day of Operation Sindoor, May 7, and added, perhaps gratuitously, that the actual losses did not matter. What mattered, he said, is the speed with which the Indian Air Force (IAF) made the necessary tactical corrections, enabling it to cripple Pakistan’s air defences two days later.

Sadly, and for no comprehensible reason other than a possible obsession with secrecy, we are yet to hear from the government about whether fighter jets were indeed lost by the IAF and if yes, how many. Losses, as the Director General of Air Operations said during a briefing, are bound to happen in combat. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or to hide. But the stubborn insistence on secrecy has only led to needless speculation about the number of planes that were downed. Much of the rest of the world thinks it was five. Many well-informed Indians say it was two. The truth is known only to the government which is refusing to take its own people into confidence. It’s not unnatural, therefore, that the opposition is saying if the CDS can admit to the losses, why weren’t at least the members of the parliamentary delegation now touring the world to explain India’s stand, told of them?

This sort of reticence on the part of the government is in sharp contrast to the past when war casualties were notified regularly. Casualties and loss of equipment is something that happens in war. Every country puts out its lists of war damage. No one thinks badly of this practice. In any case, given the technologies of detection that are now available it’s an exercise in futility to attempt to hide these things. Not only isn’t the truth not hidden from the adversary, it allows him to seize the narrative and shape it to his advantage — in this case the claim that Chinese technology is formidable. This despite the fact that it really isn’t.

The strategy of falling silent when faced with an uncomfortable question is not a winning one even in the best of times. And these are anything but that. The best approach would have been to be transparent and prompt with the answers, and shut the lid on the issue. The explanation that Operation Sindoor is still on, and therefore, it is against the country’s interests to disclose information on the losses suffered is not convincing. Especially given that the CDS has spoken in a foreign country, to foreign media. The rumours on the jets shot down and the fate of the pilots distract from India’s resounding military victory, of which there is little doubt. The government should clear the air, now that the CDS has partially lifted the veil.

Published on June 2, 2025

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