Operation X: When the no first use became a policy of the past

Today the stand of the Indian Army has become very aggressive.

The policy of no first use is a thing of the past. India had always been defensive in its approach. However there has been a new sense of grit, determination and vigour since the past year. What changed all that? Operation X.

The surgical strikes carried out on the intervening night of September 28-29 2016 across the Line of Control was code named 'Operation X.' Lieutenant General (retired) D S Hooda, the architect of the surgical strike says that the operations were live streamed back to the Army Headquarters in Udhampur and Delhi. We were getting the images live, he said.

The morale of the Indian Army was down following the Uri attack in which it lost 19 of its brave soldiers. Questions were being asked as to why the Army was not hitting back. There was a relatively muted response even after the Pathankot attack.

However the attack at Uri changed everything and the Indian Army decided that it was not going to sit quiet and let Pakistan strike. The surgical strike was a successful one and the Army inflicted considerable damage on the terror launch pads. Scores of terrorists were even pushed back during that strike.

Today the stand of the Indian Army has become very aggressive. Pakistan continues to resort to cross border fire, but the response by India has been very strong.

Quick punitive action is taken in case Pakistanis violate ceasefire by firing at our posts, often to provide cover for terrorists trying to infiltrate. The action is so severe that it becomes difficult for the opposite posts to operate for a long time to come. Due to the newly-adopted aggressive posture on the LoC, the morale of troops seems to be very high.

OneIndia News