Defense and political analysts have ridiculed Indian Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim that Indian forces neutralized “terrorists in their homeland” during the so-called Operation Sindoor, calling it a desperate attempt to whip up nationalist fervor ahead of the Bihar elections.  Amit Shah, while addressing a poll rally in Darbhanga, Bihar, had boasted that India launched a strike inside Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam attack.

However, defense experts and neutral observers have dismissed the statement as “politically motivated bluster” lacking any verifiable evidence. The victims were innocent people including women and children.  A retired Indian Army Brigadier on condition of anonymity told media outlets that “no credible proof or official documentation” supports Shah’s claim of cross-border military action. “Such high-decibel claims during election season have become routine for the BJP. The government offers neither satellite imagery nor independent verification—only slogans,” he said. 

A former Indian diplomat wrote that the so-called peration Sindoor was “an election-time myth crafted to project strength after the Pahalgam tragedy.” He observed that Shah’s statement was “part of a familiar pattern where ruling party leaders invoke surgical or air strikes for domestic political mileage.”  A defense researcher noted that “no movement of troops or artillery consistent with an operation across the LoC was observed.” He said, “If such an operation had occurred, Pakistan and international monitoring agencies would have immediately detected and reported it.” 

Neutral political observers in New Delhi said Shah’s aggressive tone was aimed at stirring nationalist sentiment and deflecting public attention from economic distress and local political discontent.  A veteran Indian journalist remarked that “Amit Shah’s rhetoric follows the BJP’s tested script of militarised nationalism—linking every election to Pakistan, terrorism, and muscular revenge.”  Meanwhile, fact-checkers and online commentators have pointed out inconsistencies in the BJP leader’s speech, with no official statement from the Indian Army confirming the alleged “Operation Sindoor.” 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)