‘India lost narrative edge…’: Brahma Chellaney says IAF Chief’s disclosure came too late

Geostrategist Brahma Chellaney has said India’s delayed public disclosure of its military gains during the May 7-10 conflict with Pakistan allowed Islamabad to shape the narrative in the global arena.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Chellaney wrote, “India’s Air Force chief has just made an important revelation: During the May 7-10 conflict, India shot down six Pakistani aircraft. In public diplomacy, timing is critical to shaping the narrative and countering enemy disinformation. Yet this disclosure comes three months after hostilities ended.”

“India won that three-day war but ceded the narrative, largely because it was slow to rebut Pakistan’s empty boasts and outright lies, which the international media eagerly amplified. The damage was compounded when India’s chief of defense staff, in an ill-judged Reuters interview in Singapore, handed Pakistan fresh fodder for its propaganda mill,” he added.

Chellaney was referring to Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh’s confirmation that under Operation Sindoor, Indian fighters shot down six Pakistani jets during the 90-hour engagement. The IAF chief also said that the swift aerial dominance achieved between May 7 and 10 was the result of “political will and no limits” placed on the forces, which enabled them to neutralise Pakistan’s offensive capabilities within hours.

The operation, which began in response to cross-border escalations, saw intense air battles, with the IAF striking key targets and maintaining air superiority for the remainder of the conflict. Singh’s disclosure came during his address at the 16th Air Chief Marshal L M Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru, where he outlined that all operational objectives had been achieved before the ceasefire was announced — a claim now contrasted with the government’s muted communications at the time.