Mehak Farooq
The September 2016 terror attack in Uri marked a defining rupture in India’s counter-terror posture. Nineteen soldiers lost their lives in that strike, but it also ended an era in which India’s response to Pakistan-backed violence was largely confined to restraint under the shadow of nuclear escalation.
Within days, India retaliated. On the night of 28–29 September, special forces crossed the Line of Control and dismantled multiple terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Unlike earlier covert actions, this time New Delhi chose to announce it publicly through the Director General of Military Operations. Precision on the ground was matched by clarity in messaging, signalling that India’s security calculus had shifted.
From Restraint to Retaliation
The 2016 surgical strikes were not an isolated act. They became the foundation of a new doctrine that privileged limited punitive options over passive absorption of violence. That doctrine was tested again in February 2019, after a suicide bombing in Pulwama killed 40 CRPF personnel.
India responded with the Balakot air strikes. By sending fighter jets deep into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the message was unambiguous: India would not be bound by geography or precedent in responding to terrorism. The strikes showcased escalation dominance, demonstrated the credibility of retaliation, and reframed the global narrative by presenting India’s action as counter-terrorism rather than warfare.
Beyond Kinetic Responses
The years that followed saw a broadening of this playbook. In Pahalgam during 2022–23, infiltration attempts were foiled by swift, pre-emptive special forces operations. These were less about retaliation and more about denial at the threshold itself.
By 2025, Operation Sindoor signalled a further evolution. Combining cyber disruption, drone strikes, precision firepower, and real-time information warfare, it offered a glimpse of multi-domain deterrence in practice. Rather than relying solely on boots across the Line of Control, Sindoor blended technology and messaging to impose costs without inviting escalation into a wider war.
Doctrines That Cemented the Shift
India’s actions after Uri were underpinned by doctrinal clarity. The Joint Doctrine of the Armed Forces, released in 2017, formally acknowledged surgical strikes as part of India’s response spectrum for the first time. A year later, the Land Warfare Doctrine expanded this framework, underscoring punitive retaliation, speed, precision, and the integration of air and space assets. It also stressed the centrality of information warfare, recognising that perception management is inseparable from battlefield success.
Together, these documents codified India’s departure from an era of reactive caution to one of structured, limited, and credible retaliation.
Why It Still Matters
Nearly a decade later, the strikes between 2016 and 2019 continue to shape India’s deterrence posture. They proved India can impose costs without triggering uncontrolled escalation. They punctured Pakistan’s long-standing strategy of denial. They aligned India’s responses with international counter-terror norms, limiting diplomatic fallout. They also gave policymakers doctrinal flexibility, ensuring India was no longer trapped between “doing nothing” and “going to war.” Most significantly, they prepared the armed forces for multi-domain operations, where cyber, drones, and information tools augment traditional firepower.
Evolution of Deterrence
From Uri in 2016 to Sindoor in 2025, India’s counter-terror playbook has undergone a profound transformation. Uri broke the silence of restraint. Balakot demonstrated escalation dominance. Pahalgam introduced pre-emption. Sindoor brought cyber, drones, and narratives into the fold.
This evolution is not merely tactical. It is doctrinal, institutionalised, and enduring. In an environment where terrorism, hybrid warfare, and great-power rivalries converge, the lessons of Uri remain as relevant today as they were nine years ago — ensuring that India’s deterrence posture remains both credible and adaptive.
(Hailing from Kashmir and based in New Delhi, Mehak Farooq is a journalist specialising in defence and strategic affairs. Her work spans security, geopolitics, veterans’ welfare, foreign policy, and the evolving challenges of national and regional stability.)
