Mumbai, Dec 22: India should be prepared to fight short-duration, high-intensity conflicts to deter terrorism, something like Operation Sindoor, and long duration conflict because of the territorial disputes with its neighbours, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said on Monday.

Speaking at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Gen Chauhan said multi-domain operations will no longer be an option but a necessity, where the effects of one domain will be immediately felt on to the other.

“What kind of threats and challenges should India be prepared for? This should be based on two facts. Both our adversaries — one is a nuclear weapon state and one is a nuclear armed state — hence we should not allow that level of deterrence to be breached,” he said without naming Pakistan or China.

He said India has territorial disputes with both its neighbours.

“We should be prepared to fight short duration, high intensity conflicts to deter terrorism, something like Operation Sindoor. We should be prepared for a land centric, long duration conflict because we have land disputes. Yet, we should try and avoid it,” the CDS said.

The country’s top military officer stressed the need to exploit new domains and create asymmetry with a weaker adversary and yet not allow these asymmetries to be exploited by other nations.

Terrorism and grey zone warfare will remain a threat, which requires defensive as well as offensive response, he added.

Chauhan spoke about modern warfare being at a cusp of a third revolution in military affairs which he termed as convergence warfare.

This is happening because a number of technologies are simultaneously affecting the nature and character of warfare, he added.

Earlier a few technologies were influencing how wars are fought. Now it could be a number of technologies. AI, Quantum, edge computing, hypersonic, advanced material, robotics, he added.

He said multi-domain operations will no longer be an option but a necessity where the effects of one domain will be immediately felt on to the other domain.

“This was clearly visible in Operation Sindoor. In a war which lasted only about four days giving India decisive victory, all domains of warfare were used simultaneously with great amount of tempo,” he said.

Multi-domain operations will also require multi-domain capabilities and cross domain command and control, he said.

This will require extensive coordination and control between the Army, Navy and Air Force, but also cyber forces, space forces and forces operating in the cognitive domain, he asserted.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 to avenge the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, leading to the deaths of 26 persons. India inflicted heavy damage on the terror infrastructure located in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and Pakistan. Both countries agreed on cessation of hostilities on May 10.

New Delhi, Dec 23: Holding saffron flags and shouting slogans against the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh, hundreds of supporters of the VHP and the Bajrang Dal broke barricades and clashed with police near the fortified Bangladesh High Commission on Tuesday.

Protesters forced several barricades down as police struggled to contain the surge.

The high security area witnessed a beefed-up police presence in the morning ahead of the protest announced by the Hindu right against the lynching of a Hindu man in the strife-torn neighbouring nation.

The area had been secured with three layers of barricades and a reinforced presence of police and paramilitary.

An officer said a 15,000-strong police force was deployed ahead of the demonstration.

He said police managed to hold the protesters about 800 metres from the high commission.

DTC buses were parked as an obstacle to thwart the protesters’ bid to reach the high commission.

A sea of banners and placards bobbed in the air, reading denunciatory messages against the Bangladesh government.

A placard read: “Hindu rakt ki ek ek boond ka hisaab chahiye (Each drop of blood of a Hindu must be accounted for).”

On December 18, Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old garment factory worker, was lynched by a mob and his body set on fire over blasphemy in Baluka in Mymensingh.

According to the police, Das was first beaten up by a mob outside the factory and then hanged from a tree. The crowd left the body of the deceased by the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway and later set it on fire.

“A Hindu man was brutally assaulted and killed. We request our government to take strict action against those who are behind the killing. We also demand that the Bangladesh police take strict action against those who are behind the killing,” a protester said.

Another said, “We in India consider every community as our brothers and sisters. Every Hindu in every country must be treated in the same way.”

New Delhi, Dec 23: At least 10 flights were cancelled and more than 270 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport due to fog and low visibility conditions on Tuesday.

An official said 6 arrivals and 4 departures have been cancelled for the day.

Over 270 flights have been delayed and the average delay time for departures is 29 minutes, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.

“Visibility at the airport is improving; however, flight departures for certain destinations may experience delay,” Delhi airport operator DIAL said in a post on X.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital handles around 1,300 flight movements daily.

Srinagar, Dec 23: A major development has emerged in the investigation of a suspected espionage network in Arunachal Pradesh, with Itanagar Police arresting two men from Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir for allegedly spying for Pakistan-based handlers.

Inspector General of Police (Law and Order), Chukhu Apa said the arrests were made on December 18, after which the suspects were brought to Arunachal Pradesh for detailed interrogation. With their detention, the total number of accused in the case has increased to five.

Officials claimed that the arrested individuals, identified as Ajaz Ahmad Bhat and Bashir Ahmad Ganai, were collecting sensitive information from various locations across Arunachal Pradesh, a strategically significant border state, and passing it on to contacts across the border. Due to national security concerns, officials have not disclosed details about the nature of the intelligence or the specific sites involved.

“We are waiting for the forensic report. The preliminary investigation revealed that they are sharing sensitive information to the handlers across the country. Our investigation is on and further details will be rolled out during our investigation,” the IGP said.

Earlier, on November 21, the police had arrested Nazir Ahmad Malik and Sabir Ahmed Mir, both residents of Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir, after receiving credible information about their possible involvement in espionage activities. Subsequently, another accused, Shabir Ahmed Khan, who also belongs to Kupwara, was arrested from Itanagar.

Authorities said the possibility of more arrests cannot be ruled out as the probe continues. The case has triggered serious security concerns, leading to close coordination between state police, central intelligence agencies, and other security forces deployed in the region.