Here’s a detailed list of major military and humanitarian operations carried out by Indian defense forces (Army, Navy, Air Force) from independence (1947) till now. It includes combat, counter-insurgency, humanitarian, and rescue missions — like Operation Sindoor, Operation Keller, and others.
🇮🇳 Comprehensive List of Indian Defense Operations
🔫 COMBAT & COUNTER-INSURGENCY OPERATIONS ( Combat Ops )
| Operation Name |
Year |
Objective / Region |
| Operation Polo |
1948 |
Annexation of Hyderabad into the Indian Union |
| Operation Vijay (Goa) |
1961 |
Liberation of Goa, Daman, and Diu from Portuguese rule |
| Operation Riddle |
1965 |
Indian response to Pakistani attacks (Second Indo-Pak war) |
| Operation Cactus Lily |
1971 |
Indo-Pak War (Liberation of Bangladesh) |
| Operation Blue Star |
1984 |
Flush out militants from the Golden Temple, Amritsar |
| Operation Meghdoot |
1984 |
Capture of Siachen Glacier |
| Operation Black Thunder I & II |
1986 & 1988 |
Punjab anti-militancy operation post-Blue Star |
| Operation Pawan |
1987–1990 |
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka (LTTE war) |
| Operation Rakshak |
1990s–Now |
Counter-insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir |
| Operation Vijay (Kargil) |
1999 |
Kargil War to push back Pakistani intruders |
| Operation Parakram |
2001–2002 |
Large military mobilization post-Parliament attack |
| Operation All Out |
2017–Now |
Joint Army-CRPF operation to eliminate terrorists in J&K |
| Operation Trident |
1971 |
Naval strike on Karachi harbour during the 1971 war |
| Operation Python |
1971 |
Follow-up naval operation on Karachi after Trident |
| Surgical Strikes (No official codename) |
2016 |
Cross-border strike on terror launchpads in PoK |
| Balakot Air Strike |
2019 |
Retaliation to Pulwama attack; target Jaish-e-Mohammed camps |
| Operation Sindoor |
2025 |
Anti-terror retaliation post-Pahalgam attack in J&K |
| Operation Keller |
2025 |
Search-and-destroy operation in Keller forests, Shopian, J&K |
🛡️ DEFENSIVE / STAND-OFF OPERATIONS ( Border Standoffs )
| Operation Name |
Year |
Purpose |
| Operation Falcon |
1986–1987 |
Against Chinese build-up in Arunachal Pradesh |
| Operation Chequerboard |
1987–88 |
Deployment in North East to counter Chinese threats |
| Operation Snow Leopard |
2020–21 |
Ladakh standoff with China; Galwan Valley clash |
🛫 HUMANITARIAN / RESCUE OPERATIONS ( Rescue Missions )
| Operation Name |
Year |
Purpose |
| Operation Rahat (Yemen) |
2015 |
Rescue of Indians from civil war-torn Yemen |
| Operation Maitri |
2015 |
Nepal earthquake rescue and relief |
| Operation Sankat Mochan |
2016 |
Rescue of Indians from South Sudan civil war |
| Operation Ganga |
2022 |
Evacuation of Indians from Ukraine (Russia-Ukraine war) |
| Operation Kaveri |
2023 |
Rescue of Indians from civil war in Sudan |
| Operation Dost |
2023 |
Humanitarian aid to Turkey and Syria after the earthquake |
| Vande Bharat Mission |
2020–21 |
Global repatriation of Indians during COVID-19 pandemic |
🛥️ MARITIME SECURITY OPERATIONS ( Naval Security )
| Operation Name |
Year |
Objective |
| Operation Talwar |
1999 |
Naval blockade of Pakistan during Kargil War |
| Operation Swan |
2000s |
Coastal security and anti-infiltration in Gujarat |
| Operation Samudra Setu |
2020 |
Naval evacuation of Indians from foreign countries during COVID |
| Operation Sankalp |
2019–Now |
Protection of Indian ships in Persian Gulf from hostilities |
🛰️ PEACEKEEPING / INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS ( Peacekeeping )
| Mission/Operation |
Location |
Nature of Operation |
| UNIFIL (Lebanon) |
Since 1998 |
UN Peacekeeping Mission |
| UNMISS (South Sudan) |
Since 2005 |
Humanitarian peacekeeping |
| MONUSCO (Congo) |
Since 2000s |
UN peacekeeping & stabilization |
📝 Notes:
- Many ongoing operations in Kashmir (like Rakshak, All Out, Keller) are often classified or renamed based on specific intelligence.
- Operations like Sindoor and Keller are recent and unofficially revealed through press and army statements, not always listed in government records.
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