Y ou can read this piece as opinion, as a war film script, or as a news story, told with a depth and granularity you’ve never found elsewhere. I will take the suspense away, and plead with you to do no such thing. This is an opinion piece, and the upshot is stated in just one word: caution. Or maybe two: caveat emptor (buyer beware).

The gallantry awards for Operation Sindoor were announced on the eve of Independence Day. Fifteen Vir Chakras (VrCs), 58 Sena Medals, 26 Vayu Sena Medals and five Nao Sena Medals for gallantry, and an aggregate of 290 Mention-in-Despatches (M-i-Ds). The missing chapter in the story was the citations.

That wait ended late on the night of 21 October when a buzz went up across newsrooms that Government of India had released the full list of decorations,

See Full Page