{"id":299975,"date":"2025-06-13T21:01:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T15:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=299975"},"modified":"2025-06-21T08:26:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T02:56:26","slug":"operation-sindoor-grief-on-the-ground-glory-on-tv-screens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/operation-sindoor-grief-on-the-ground-glory-on-tv-screens\/","title":{"rendered":"Operation Sindoor: Grief on the ground, glory on TV screens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trigger Warning:<\/strong> The story has details of deaths, including those of minors; reader’s discretion advised.<\/em><\/p>\n

“National media showed what they had to. Our endeavour is to give you our version of the truth, as those who suffered and survived. Even if 5% of the ground reality reaches the people with every small, local news outlet’s report, eventually, when these narratives add up, at least some truth will trickle down to the people of this country who live in faraway cities and clamour for war.” These were Jamrodh Singh’s words to Alt News days after his uncle, Amrik Singh (54), was killed in Pakistani shelling in Kashmir’s Poonch.<\/p>\n

Over a month has passed since India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire (May 10), but civilians residing near border areas are still grappling with the magnitude of their losses. Amrik Singh was among the 21 Indian civilians<\/a> killed in the conflict between India and Pakistan that went on for four days. On the intervening night of May 6 and 7, shortly after India launched a military strike targeting terror bases in Pakistan, the neighbouring country retaliated with cross-border firing, hitting many civilian areas. The Indian strikes, labelled Operation Sindoor, followed the April 22 Pahalgam massacre in which 26 civilians were shot dead by terrorists with alleged links to Pakistan.<\/p>\n

Caught unaware when the strikes happened, families of those who lost their loved ones recount how blindsided and helpless they felt. Their stories were not covered by several mainstream television channels in India that were too busy celebrating the operation’s success as a befitting revenge for Pahalgam. Even in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation after the conflict, there was no mention of the civilian casualties, which included five children.<\/p>\n

Alt News spoke to five bereaved families who debunked some of the falsehoods spread by media outlets and shed light on the on-ground realities of such operations, forcing us to look beyond headlines that only celebrate the military wins in the conflict.<\/p>\n

Deaths Marred by Misinformation<\/h4>\n

On May 9, while the conflict was at its peak, a family living in Khai Pheme Ki village in Punjab\u2019s Ferozpur had no idea their lives were about to change forever. A drone fired by the Pakistan army hit a car stationed in their garage at around 8:40 pm. Within minutes, the whole house, about 10 kilometres away from the International Border, was engulfed in flames. Sukhwinder Kaur<\/strong>, a woman in her late forties, who was in the kitchen at<\/span> the time this happened, suffered third-degree burns. Three days later, on May 12, she succumbed to her injuries. Kaur’s husband and son, who were also present inside the house when the drone fell, also suffered serious injuries and are still recovering.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Sukhwinder Kaur<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Part of the Pakistani drone that fell over Sukhwinder Kaur’s house in Ferozepur, Punjab, on May 9, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But adding to the pain of her grieving family were misreports around her death that seemed to blame the family for what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cShells were being fired, and media claimed\u00a0that they were sitting with their lights on; that\u2019s why it [the drone] hit their home. Isn\u2019t that stupid? They are sitting elsewhere.. How do they know whether or not their lights were on at the time?\u201d Kaur\u2019s relative Ramandeep Singh told Alt News, the rage in his voice palpable.<\/p>\n

[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=43PI3IOQ1Xo?si=ubC3Geti1FwVMej_]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSome reported their home lights were on<\/a>, some said their car lights were on<\/a> [after the blackout was announced], some locals even spread the word that they were making spurious liquor, and the drone struck that cylinder, and that is how their house caught fire. They are an Amartayi parivaar<\/em> [a colloquial expression to describe a family of Amritdhari Sikhs<\/a>\u2014those committed to the Khalsa code of conduct which prohibits consumption of tobacco, alcohol, or meat]. These are rumours,” he said. “Ask those who have suffered the loss, you’ll get goosebumps,” Singh added.<\/p>\n

In fact, relatives of the family even clarified to some media outlets<\/a> that the lights of their home were not on and that the drone hit the house in spite of that. Even then, the channels that broadcast this have not corrected their reports.<\/p>\n

Kaur was among the first civilian casualties in the conflict outside of Jammu and Kashmir after Pakistan retaliated against Operation Sindoor.<\/p>\n