Operation Sindoor, Revenge of Broken Hearts: Women Who Shook the Hostile Land
The attackers separated Hindu men from their wives and forced them to recite verses from the Qur'an. They then brutally executed the non-Muslim men
By: Asadullah Jafari (Pezhman)
In the depths of the night, when tranquility seemed to have settled over the land of India, two brave women, with hearts full of pain and unwavering resolve, took to the battlefields against their age-old enemy. Sopfia Qureshi, a Muslim woman, and Vyomika Singh, two senior military commanders in the Indian Army and Air Force, took command of the operation known as “Sindoor” on Wednesday morning, May 7, 2025.
This operation was not only about seeking revenge against the enemy but also about demonstrating the power and resilience of women who stand at the forefront of battle and leadership, fighting for justice on behalf of women who could no longer use the Hindu mark on their foreheads. The operation held particular meaning for these two female commanders, as it targeted terrorist group centers, especially Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan's territory, proving that the pain and suffering of a nation could be transformed into a mighty force for change, justice, and resistance.
The operation was named “Sindoor” to symbolize the revenge of the widowed women of the Pulwama terrorist attack, who could no longer apply the Sindoor mark to their foreheads. Sindoor is a red powder that Indian women tattoo on their foreheads after marriage. In Hindu culture, rituals, and marriage, it represents loyalty, love, and commitment. In Indian cultures, married women wear Sindoor on their foreheads to symbolize their marital status.
Sopfia Qureshi and Vyomika Singh had previously participated in several high-stakes military operations and stood firmly against the enemies of the Indian people as well. However, this time, the operation known as "Sindoor" held a far more profound emotional significance for them, one rooted in loyalty, love, and commitment. This mission became a symbolic act of retribution for the women who lost their husbands in the Pulwama terrorist attack and could no longer apply the Sindoor mark to their foreheads.
Sindoor—a symbol of loyalty, love, and marital commitment in Indian culture—has now turned into an emblem of grief and anguish for widows and victims, in defense of India's national security. On April 22, 2025, in the Pahalgam region administered by India in Jammu and Kashmir, militants affiliated with the Resistance Front (TRF)—a faction of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba—opened fire on a group of Indian tourists. The attack claimed the lives of at least 28 people and injured more than 20 others. The attackers targeted men, including newlyweds, in an area commonly known as a honeymoon destination, turning joy into bloodshed.
The attackers separated Hindu men from their wives and forced them to recite verses from the Qur'an. They then brutally executed the non-Muslim men, plunging the hearts of the women who lost their husbands into deep mourning. One of these women is Himanshi Narwal, the wife of an Indian Navy officer, Vini Narwal. A heart-wrenching image of her, widely circulated in Indian media, shows her kneeling beside her husband's lifeless body, her forehead bare, devoid of the Sindoor mark, symbolizing a nation's shared grief and sorrow.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to New Delhi early Wednesday morning following the militant attack in Kashmir. Upon arrival at Delhi Airport, Mr. Modi immediately convened an emergency meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
But last night, in the early hours of Wednesday, May 7, 2025, that national sorrow and grief in India was broken—transformed into determination and resolve. Commander Sopfia and Commander Vyomika Singh, two elite women officers in the Indian Army and Air Force, led a precise and powerful strike deep into Pakistani territory.
This operation was not just a military victory—it was a message to the world that women, even in the heart of war, can not only take command but also reshape history with their blood and unwavering will. For them, this battle was not merely a military mission—it was an act of vengeance on behalf of the women who could no longer wear Sindoor, the sacred red mark of a married Hindu woman, after falling victim to a terrorist attack during what was meant to be their honeymoon.
