Operation Sindoor Was Like Rhythmic Orchestra: Army Chief General Dwivedi At Forces First Conclave | Top Quotes

Forces First Conclave 2025: In the most-headline setting address at Forces First Conclave - India’s biggest military event since the success of Operation Sindoor hosted by Republic Media Network and Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) – Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi underscored that we are living in an era of ‘profound flux’ marked by a constant triad of competition, contestation, and conflict, with 56 active conflicts globally involving nearly 90 nations. The Army Chief commended the Forces First Conclave as both ‘timely and thoughtful’, and highlighted the success of Operation Sindoor as a prime example of the new character of warfare. Gen Dwivedi also emphasised that future wars are defined by 'Comprehensive Conflict,' 'Cycle of Adaptation,' 'Convergence of Capability,' and 'Composition of Conflict’. He concluded by affirming Indian armed forces’ readiness, unity, and commitment to stay ahead in the ‘age of constant conflicts’

Here are COAS General Upendra Dwivedi's Top Quotes

1. Forces First Conclave is timely as well as thoughtful. It is reflecting the the realities that we are having. Mr. Arnab Goswami is the right combination of three Ps - Passion, Perseverance, and Purpose. Thank you for bringing us all together under one umbrella.
2. Across the world today, we have approximately 56 conflicts, which are raging on with approximately 90 Nations directly or indirectly. It keeps changing every day, keeps increasing, it's not decreasing by any chance. 
3. In today's war, four distinct trends stand out - Comprehensive Conflict, Cycle of Adaptation, Convergence of Capability, and Composition of Conflict
4. Operation Sindoor reflected transformation in warfare, where diplomacy, deterrence and decisive force fused into a single expression of national resolve. 
5. In our case, the first and the fifth generations of warfare, i.e. trench warfare to AI and Quantum co-exist. That's a compulsion for us by virtue of our long land borders. They also compete with each other for same existing space.
6. Technology is leap-frogging beyond the speed of Moore's Law and has become the great battle-space equaliser transcending through various domains.
7. The face of war itself has changed as much as its form. Wars today are not just waged by soldiers but also by terrorist groups, militias like the Wagner Group, citizen-soldiers like the Ukrainians and of course the narrative which is in the mind that whether you are one or not. 
8. Land remains the currency of victory. Unlike other domains where destruction may suffice, land warfare demands destruction, eviction, occupation and control that is physical, political and psychological. 
9. If land remains the currency of victory, then time remains the true test. We are seeing it in almost every ongoing conflict.
10. Self-reliant defence industrial capabilities are no longer optional. They form the foundation of integrating civilian infrastructure, technology and emerging concepts. If you believe in Aatmanirbhata, you have the flexibility to change the tenor and the pace of the war by flexibility in your modifications, adaptation and implementation of the latest technology.
11. Strategic autonomy, once seen as an end in itself, may increasingly evolve into strategic convenience or strategic hedging, where partnerships are shaped not by permanence but by pragmatism, even opportunism, few call it ‘constructivism’.
12. Conflicts in future war would be multidimensional but we would do well to remember that all other forms of modern warfare thrive only when backed by potent, precise and punitive conventional forces. 
13. Operation Sindoor was the first time armed forces were given 100 per cent freedom. Never ever I have seen this kind of a freedom given anywhere in the world. That is the kind of a synergy, politico-military fusion that makes India so great country today. 
14. The balance between legacy and leap is what will define success in the era of constant change.
15. How much is India prepared or responded? The answer lies in Operation Sindoor. Every facet of modern warfare we discussed was evident in its planning and execution.
16. Operation Sindoor was like a rhythmic orchestra where in all sounds played together in various decibels. Riflemen to Rashtra, Jawaan to Jahaan, all worked in harmony. In just 88 hours, a new chapter was written in the history of warfare. Pakistan was compelled to seek a cessation of hostilities as the operation shattered its illusion of impunity, struck deep into its heartland including Punjab and Rawalpindi and punctured the nuclear bogey that had long constrained conventional response. 
17. What we achieved through Operation Sindoor was by deliberate design driven by foresight, preparation and organizational transformation and the tri-service synergy which became the strong point and which actually shook up the others that how can we be so closely working together and in unison. 
18. The Indian Army's decade of transformation commenced in 2023 during General Pandey's time to align its structures, doctrines and mindset with evolving warfare. 2024 and 2025 were declared as the years of technology absorption and the Defence Minister designated 2025 as the year of reforms, affirming that transformation is not an event but a continuum. 
19. Operation Sindoor also revealed a deeper truth about the changing character of war - Modern conflicts can no longer be confined to single domains. The same integration of land, air, cyber, space, information, electronic spectrum and even the academy and industry and on special request now the narrative management system by the media pointed to the future of warfare - that is multi-domain operations. 
20. As for India’s immediate neighborhood is concerned, India’s civilizational vision of Vishwabandhu and Vishwamitra - these are the two aspects which guide us, seeking peace through equilibrium, friendship through strength and inclusivity through preparedness. 
21. Currently our immediate and extended neighborhood are experiencing some turbulence. Traditional rivalries, new alignments, internal transitions, everything is ongoing across South Asia, internal volatility, migration pressures and external influence. 
22. India and its armed forces will always remain a significant security provider in not only the immediate but also the extended neighbourhood. We need to remain pivotal to any whole-of-nation approach towards this assurance endeavour. 
23. We live in age of constant conflict and change. Our task  to stay prepared, to stay purposeful and stay ahead in the evolution of warfare. The Indian military stands ready, lethal in capability, resolute in character and united in cause.