During Operation Sindoor, India's numerous allies remained silent while Pakistan received help from three nations, according to Major General Bagga. The moral of the story is that rising powers like India cannot rely on other nations for help during emergencies and must have in-house solutions ready, he said.
Major General Bagga was speaking at the International Conference on Composite Materials and Technologies, organised by Ahmedabad University.
"India had 190 friends, but not a single one spoke for it, while Pakistan had three allies who delivered loads of ammunition to it during the operation... A rising power will never have people holding its hand. Every power that has risen has done so because of internal strength," Bagga was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
"We are a rising power, and no rising power has ever made friends. We will get help from nowhere. So, the solutions have to be found in-house," he added.
Operation Sindoor was launched on 7 May 2025, in retaliation for the 22 April Pahalgam attack, leading to the decimation of terror infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan. The three allies that came to Pakistan’s aid were Azerbaijan, Turkey, and China, who reportedly provided not just intelligence but material support to Islamabad.
"We need to sit and decide how to secure this nation. And whatever the composite of the material is, the solution—so be it. I am very optimistic that a solution will be found in-house. Atma Nirbharta will be a success, and India will be Vikasit Bharat in 2047," he added.
Bagga pointed out that modern warfare has evolved into a multi-domain format, significantly changing the nature of the battlefield.
"When you go on the battlefield, you are required to survive, and then you are required to fight. The whole character of battle has changed. Earlier, there were just three domains—land, sea, and air. Today, warfare has gone into multi-domain with the inflow of cyber, surveillance, information warfare, and electronic warfare, and the nature of warfare is ever-expanding," he said.
For survival, he noted, the first priority is material that can withstand the kinetic assault of the enemy. He highlighted India's diverse terrains—from deserts to rainy forests and sub-zero temperatures in the Himalayas—noting that the Army's material requirements change across these fronts, posing a challenge to survivability.
Bagga said that researchers from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and various industries produce materials that allow the Army to survive.
"We don't have the technology to reproduce tank engines and aircraft engines. We don't have a close-quarter battle weapon. And therefore, if India has to become Atma Nirbhar by 2047, security is of prime importance. We need to secure our nation, empower our armed forces, and invest in them," he said.
