General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, described Operation Sindoor as the most complete expression of smart power, noting that it dismantled terror infrastructure, punctured a long-standing strategic assumption, and then stopped deliberately and purposefully.

Speaking at a seminar hosted at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi, he recalled that twelve months ago India had offered the world a partial answer to the smart power question, but Operation Sindoor provided a full demonstration of it.

He explained that on the intervening night of 6–7 May 2025, Bharat acted within a precisely defined 22‑minute operation window, delivering military precision, information control, diplomatic signalling, and economic resolve as one coherent national act.

The forces struck deep, dismantled terror infrastructure, punctured assumptions, and then halted with deliberate intent. He emphasised that the deliberate thought after 88 hours was smart power in its most complete expression, knowing exactly which instrument to apply, at what intensity, and precisely when to convert a military moment into a strategic one.

The seminar, titled Security to Prosperity: Smart Power for Sustained National Growth, was organised by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) and attended by senior military officials, retired officers, and representatives from several countries.

General Dwivedi observed that the world today is sending complex signals of disorder, distrust, and dichotomy in alliances. He argued that while prosperity was once expected to make power politics obsolete, instead power politics is now being used to reorganise prosperity.

He posed the question of whether smart power is the defining currency of sustained national growth or whether the raw calculus of hard power has reclaimed the centre stage of the global order. He cautioned that to answer this, one must first read the world as it is, not as one wishes it to be.

He reflected on the paradox of the 21st century, which opened with the thesis that trade, supply chains, and connectivity would make nations too interdependent to conflict. Yet the same forces have progressively become instruments of coercion.

He cited semiconductors and their selective availability as tools for hedging, the Strait of Hormuz as a zone of contestation, and global defence spending surpassing USD 2.7 trillion, exceeding the entire UN budget for Sustainable Development Goals.

He underlined that the boundary between security and prosperity no longer exists, as contemporary conflicts impose sustained demands not only on armed forces but also on industrial production, research systems, and governance structures.

He stressed that security is no longer a cost that prosperity must bear, but the precondition for prosperity to commence its progressive journey.

General Dwivedi asked what must be the architecture of India’s smart power in this fractured, fast‑moving, and unforgiving world. He cited Joseph Nye’s concept of smart power, describing it as the strategic intelligence to know which instrument to deploy, with what intensity, and towards what end. For India, he said, it means using national strength with strategic wisdom to secure peace, accelerate growth, and shape the global environment in its favour.

He introduced a moniker, SMART, as a living framework for how India must think, prepare, and act under the new normal of hard power. He explained that ‘S’ stands for statecraft, emphasising mastery of the DIME construct—Diplomatic, Informational, Military, and Economic—deploying each instrument of national power with precision and coherence.

‘M’ stands for manufacturing depth, warning that nations unable to produce what they need will eventually lose the ability to decide what they want. ‘A’ represents accelerating innovation, aligned with the prime minister’s call of JAI—jointness, Atmanirbharta, and innovation. ‘R’ signifies resilience, and ‘T’ denotes technology primacy, stressing that whoever commands the technology stack in the next decade will command conflict outcomes.

He urged that India must not merely absorb emerging technologies but indigenise, operationalise, and lead in them.

This articulation of smart power by the Army Chief situates Operation Sindoor as a landmark in India’s strategic evolution, combining military precision with broader national instruments of power. It also reflects India’s recognition of the changing global order, where prosperity and security are inseparable, and where technology, innovation, and resilience will define future outcomes.

PTI