For viewers interested in the planning and execution of Operation Sindoor, "Declassified: Operation Sindoor" offers an inside look at the events through the accounts of officials and military personnel involved. A two-part military docuseries that examines India’s intense 88-hour military conflict with Pakistan in May 2025, the series premieres on Discovery Channel India and the discovery+ streaming service on August 15, 2026, India’s Independence Day. It will air from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM.
The documentary looks at the events surrounding Operation Sindoor, the military campaign launched after a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, in which 26 people were killed.
On May 7, 2025, India carried out coordinated precision strikes against what it identified as terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The strikes targeted nine sites linked to groups including Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. The operation was followed by Pakistani retaliation and a series of Indian air, land and sea operations conducted under the wider umbrella of Operation Sindoor.
The conflict continued for about 88 hours before an understanding between the two countries’ Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) brought the fighting to an end on the evening of May 10.
The two-part series promises first-hand accounts from senior Indian national security officials, military commanders and personnel involved in the operation. Part One focuses on intelligence gathering, surveillance, target mapping and preparations following the Pahalgam attack. Part Two examines the coordinated military action involving the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy.
A major feature of the documentary is an interview with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, offering his first detailed interview about the operation. Doval says the objective was to destroy the camps linked to those responsible for the Pahalgam attack.
He also says the operation was intended to send a wider message that India’s restraint should not be interpreted as weakness. According to Doval, India was prepared to take risks and respond forcefully when necessary.
In the documentary, Doval also recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first reaction after the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack was to immediately demand the facts and ask: "Who has done it? Who is responsible? We should be very clear who the perpetrators are. I want it immediately."
He recalled that the PM had cut short an official visit to Saudi Arabia following the terror attack. Upon landing in India, he bypassed standard protocols to hold an urgent briefing with Doval right at the airport. He stated that the PM's immediate focus was precision in intelligence. He explicitly mandated that the security apparatus identify the exact groups and masterminds behind the attack before launching retaliatory actions. Doval credited Indian intelligence agencies for delivering those conclusive facts in a very short window. In the same documentary, Doval recalled PM Modi's firm resolve to pursue the attackers anywhere — famously declaring that the perpetrators would be tracked down and neutralised regardless of where they tried to hide.
