NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday recalled the Indian Army’s September 2016 surgical strikes across the Line of Control, saying the operation demonstrated India’s resolve to respond to terrorism. He also urged citizens to participate in the ongoing Census exercise, describing it as a national responsibility.
Addressing the latest episode of his monthly Mann Ki Baat programme, Modi said the surgical strikes, conducted on the intervening night of September 28-29, 2016, were a significant milestone in India’s counter-terrorism approach. The Indian Army had announced on September 29, 2016, that its forces had carried out strikes against terror launch pads along the LoC following the Uri terror attack.
“Ten years ago, on September 28–29, 2016, the Indian Army conducted a surgical strike on terrorist hideouts in PoJK,” Modi said, recalling the operation and the movement of Indian troops across the LoC.
The Prime Minister said the operation conveyed a clear message about India’s approach to cross-border terrorism. He also referred to subsequent military actions, including the Balakot airstrike and Operation Sindoor, saying that India had repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to respond when faced with terrorist threats.
The 2016 operation was carried out 11 days after the Uri attack, in which 18 Army personnel were killed. The Army had said at the time that the strikes targeted terrorist launch pads and were based on specific and credible intelligence about preparations for infiltration and attacks in India.
Modi also spoke about the Census-2027, urging citizens to participate in the national enumeration exercise. The Census is being conducted in two phases, with house-listing and housing enumeration scheduled during 2026 and population enumeration scheduled for February 2027. For Ladakh and snow-bound, non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, the second phase is being conducted in September 2026.
The government has said Census-2027 is the first national census to use digital data collection and includes an option for self-enumeration. Around 30 lakh field functionaries are expected to be involved in the exercise.
With the 10th anniversary of the 2016 operation falling on September 29, Modi’s remarks placed the surgical strikes in the broader context of India’s stated counter-terrorism policy over the past decade, while his appeal on the Census highlighted the role of citizens in the country’s largest administrative and statistical exercise.
