I submitted my column by the deadline (‘That’s the way the cookie crumbles’, Indian Express, June 1, 2025) but was unlucky by 24 hours. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, gave an interview on May 31, 2025 at Singapore to Bloomberg and Reuters. The timing, place and the choice of media were indeed surprising but not alarmingly wrong. The occasion was the Shangri-La Dialogue: it is a Track One inter-governmental security conference held annually in Singapore by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Singapore is a friendly country.

The truth had to be told some day. I feel it would have been more appropriate to convene a special session of Parliament and for the prime minister or defence minister to make a statement on Operation Sindoor, and invite a discussion. However, it was egregious behaviour on the part of bhakts to troll General Chauhan (as they trolled Foreign Secretary, Mr Vikram Misri).

General Chauhan could not have spoken without instructions from the highest levels of government. What he said was simple and straightforward: that the Indian military achieved its objectives but suffered........

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