Abstract
India’s Operation Sindoor took place in the early hours of May 7, 2025 (approximately 1 am to 1:30am). The operation targeted terrorist training camps in POK and Pakistan. This Operation occurred in the wake of the Pahalgam Terror incident on April 22, 2025 and was followed by ‘Operation Bunyan al-Marsus’– Pakistan initiated UAV/Drone and missile attacks targeting Indian Military, Civilian, and religious sites. Ceasefire was declared on May 10 but broken within a few hours; a more stable ceasefire was established by May 13, 2025.
Propaganda and ‘agitprop’ were disseminated in a massive scale in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. Narratives/counternarratives, disinformation/misinformation campaigns were carried out via social media, legacy media, and the Governments of several countries. The objectives of this ‘information warfare’ ranged from psychological (demoralizing/dividing the enemy), to political (capturing the narrative) to economic (promote/defame defense products such as missiles and fighter jets).
This article is a study of propaganda deployed in the events surrounding Operation Sindoor. Contemporary scholarship is used to introduce modern propaganda operations, their goals, and intended effect(s). Propaganda items selected from media/social media articles are analyzed. The objectives and comparative success of different types of propaganda, the modus operandi of dissemination, and the effectiveness of debunk campaigns against disinformation and misinformation are also discussed.
KEYWORDS
Operation Sindoor, Propaganda, Narratives.
Uthra V
University of Technology, Jaipur-303905, Rajasthan, India