New Delhi: It could have turned out catastrophic if India had not been ready. A barrage of Pakistani missiles and drones hurtled through the skies. They had a well-defined destination – military bases, civilian areas and Amritsar’s sacred Golden Temple. But fortunately, they all measurably failed to hit their targets, thanks to India’s full-scale air defence preparedness.
Protecting civilian targets was top priority of the Indian defence forces. But defending a place of religious important, the Golden Temple, needed something more. Some media reports are circulating with respect to the deployment of AD Guns in the Golden Temple. However, the Army clarified that no AD guns or any other AD resources were deployed within the premises of Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar.
| Amritsar, Punjab: Indian Army shows a demo of how Indian Air Defence systems, including the upgraded L-70 Air Defence Guns, saved the Golden Temple in Amritsar and cities of Punjab from Pakistani missile and drone attacks.
— ANI (@ANI)
The General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 15 Infantry Division, Major General Kartik C Seshadri, revealed how he and his soldiers did a job well done.
“We had already anticipated that they would target religious places as the Pakistan Army did not have any legitimate targets. Given geographical location, the Golden Temple was the most vulnerable target,” he said.
Accordingly, the Army pressed into action “holistic air defence umbrella” around the holy site that included modern air defence systems such as L-70 guns and AKASH missile batteries.
Meant for shaking India, the drone and missile assault came to retaliate India’s Operation Sindoor, which was a precision strike launched on the intervening night of May 6-7. Indian controlled and well-coordinated attacks targeted terrorist infrastructures at nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
| Amritsar, Punjab: Indian Army shows a demo of how Indian Air Defence systems, including AKASH missile system, saved the Golden Temple in Amritsar and cities of Punjab from Pakistani missile and drone attacks.
— ANI (@ANI)
These attacks were India’s loud and clear response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians who were both Indian and foreign tourists.
Talking about India’s military offensive, Major General Seshadri said, “Consequent to Pakistan Army-sponsored dastardly terrorist attack on innocent tourists, the nation’s anger under able leadership took the form of Operation Sindoor, under which befitting punitive strikes were carried out on exclusive terror targets.”
He said nine major terror hubs were hit – seven of which were destroyed by the Army. “Of these, the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters at Muridke, near Lahore, and the Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters at Bahawalpur were struck with absolute precision,” he said.
He clarified India’s position. “We issued a statement – clarifying that we intentionally did not target any Pakistani military or civilian infrastructure,” he added.
| Amritsar, Punjab: Indian Army shows a demo of how Indian Air Defence systems, including the upgraded L-70 Air Defence Guns, saved the Golden Temple in Amritsar and cities of Punjab from Pakistani missile and drone attacks.
— ANI (@ANI)
Pakistan responded as expected, but not with soldiers. It responded with drones and missiles, aiming to terrorise Indian civilians and hit religious places.
“We were fully prepared and thwarted their plan. Our alert air defence gunners shot down all drones and missiles aimed at the Golden Temple. We did not allow even a scratch,” said Major General Seshadri.
This was one of the first instances when the religious site came under direct threat from coordinated aerial attacks.
Defence officials did not mince words. One of them said that the Pakistan Army lacks the courage or capability to face Indian forces directly. “Hence, it uses terrorism as a national policy and resorts to unmanned aerial weapons launched from its own soil,” the officer said.
| Amritsar, Punjab: Major General Kartik C Seshadri, GOC, 15 Infantry Division says “Indian Army is a professional, righteous and responsible force which in spite of grave provocations, has always responded in a calibrated and measured manner. We target only terrorists in…
— ANI (@ANI)
He continued, “Drones and long-range missiles were launched. Indian military installations, civilian population centers, including innocent women and children, were also not spared. They even targeted our faith. Pakistan touched a new low.”
He emphasized that Golden Temple witnessed a “surfeit of drone and missile attacks, all thwarted by our Army air defence gunners”.
| Amrisar, Punjab: Soldiers of the Panther Division of Indian Army say “…We are representatives of the panther…We will enter and kill the enemy from within, now we don’t fear anyone. There is revenge in the mind, there is passion in the heart and pride in the eyes. To…
— ANI (@ANI)
As the skies lit up with defence operations, locals near the border stood with the Army. A farmer from a Punjab border village, Jasbir Singh said, “Our Army is the pride of our nation. They protected us and the Golden Temple. We stood with them in the fields. They kept their promise.”
Meanwhile, soldiers from the Panther Division expressed fierce determination. “We are representatives of the panther. We will enter and kill the enemy from within. We do not fear anyone. There is revenge in the mind, there is passion in the heart and pride in the eyes. To uproot terrorism, India has launched Operation Sindoor,” said an officer.
The message is crystal clear: India’s faith will not fall to missiles.
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