Operation Sindoor: Families of Pahalgam Victims Say ‘This Was Needed’

New Delhi : As India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of Wednesday, May 7, targeting nine key terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the widows of the victims of the Pahalgam massacre have responded with a mixture of emotion, grief, and resolve.

The operation, named ‘Sindoor’—symbolizing the red vermilion traditionally worn by married Hindu women—struck a poignant chord with the families of those killed in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, where 26 innocent civilians were brutally murdered. The attackers, in a chilling act of psychological warfare, separated men from women, executed the men, and spared the women—explicitly instructing them to “Go, tell Modi” what had happened.

Among the many voices rising in the aftermath, Pragati Jagdale, widow of Santosh Jagdale, stated:

“It’s a befitting reply after the way those terrorists erased the sindoor of our daughters. This action tells the world we will not stay silent. Our pain has been heard.”

For many of these women, the name of the operation carries deep symbolic weight. Meena Sharma, who lost her husband in the attack, said,

“They left us alive to be messengers of their cruelty. Today, this operation tells us that our message reached Delhi—and it was answered with strength.”

Several widows gathered in Nagpur, Pune, and Bhopal to light candles and offer prayers after hearing news of the airstrikes. Some wore their husbands’ photographs around their necks, expressing that while nothing could bring their loved ones back, this action gave them a sense of justice.

Psychologists and social workers assisting the grieving families noted that Operation Sindoor, although a military action, has had a psychological impact on these women—restoring a sense of agency and national solidarity. “For women who were deliberately spared to witness and remember horror, this response by the Indian state validates their trauma,” said Dr. Kavita Sheoran, a trauma counselor working with families in Pahalgam.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the operation was carried out with precision and restraint, avoiding civilian and Pakistani military targets, and focused solely on terror launch pads.