New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday reiterated that India will not tolerate terrorism while pursuing dialogue, asserting once again that “blood and water cannot flow together” and that talks cannot proceed alongside terror.

He warned that if Pakistan attempts any misadventure, India is fully prepared to deliver a lesson on how a neighbour should act.

Speaking at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2025 on Pakistan’s state-sponsored terrorism and the recent car blast attack in Delhi, General Dwivedi said, “When that country sponsors terrorism, it’s a concern for us. We talk about progress, but if anyone creates obstacles, we will have to take action. As far as the New Normal is concerned, we say blood and water cannot flow together, talks and terror cannot be together.”

“We are only saying that if they adopt peace, we will be fine with it. Till this happens, we will definitely respond to the terrorists and their masters. If someone tries to blackmail India, they should remember that today India is at a point where it will not be afraid of such blackmail,” he said.

Referring to Operation Sindoor, he described it as “just a trailer”, adding, “The full picture hadn’t even begun. The trailer finished in 88 hours. We are fully prepared for the future. If Pakistan does something, then we are ready to teach it a lesson on how a neighbour should behave.”

He emphasised that the operation underscored the need for swift decision-making, saying, “From Operation Sindoor, we learned that decision-making time is very short, so decisions must be made, and actions must be taken at every level. Secondly, integration is very important — be it the Army, Air Force, Navy, CAPF, etc. The Army cannot fight alone; everyone comes together to give a strong fight. Today’s war is multi-domain, so synergy is crucial.”

On the duration of future conflicts, he said, “We cannot say how long it will last. We must be prepared for the length of the war, even if it lasts four years.”

Stressing India’s strengthened position, the Army Chief added, “In today’s time, our deterrence is very strong… After 2019, when there came a huge change in our Constitution, there has been a major transformation in the situation in J&K.”

Recalling an incident of during his years in J&K, he said, “A woman came to me, when I was serving as the Commander of Northern Command, and told me that when we used to mark Independence Day, schools used to ask children to make a drawing of the national flag, but the children used to ask parents about which country’s flag should they draw; this was the situation there. But now, political clarity has come. There has been a huge decline in terrorism.”

“Terrorism has also declined significantly. This year, 31 terrorists were killed, 61 per cent of whom were Pakistanis. Only one was recruited, and he was also caught… What I mean is that there are no stone-pelting incidents, no sloganeering, everything has stopped,” he noted.

The Army Chief said tourism has surged in Jammu and Kashmir and that “every parameter has changed in the past few years”.

He also pointed out that people who had earlier left the region due to the security situation now wish to return and work there.

General Dwivedi highlighted the transformative role of Army Goodwill Schools in the Valley, saying their influence is such that “a large number of children want to join these educational institutions, which are currently being run by doctors, engineers and six of our own commissioned Army Officers”.

–IANS

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