Abhay Verma backs military conscription after Operation Safed Sagar role
Synopsis
Actor Abhay Verma, fresh from playing a Kargil War air force hero on Netflix, has called for military conscription in India — not for defence reasons, but as a civic exercise to make Indians truly know their own country. It's a rare instance of an entertainment platform feeding directly into a live policy debate.
Key Takeaways
Abhay Verma has publicly backed military conscription in India, arguing it would deepen citizens' understanding of the country rather than serve a purely strategic purpose.
Verma plays Wing Commander Rajpal Singh Dhaliwal in the Netflix series 'Operation Safed Sagar' , which has received strong audience response.
Operation Safed Sagar was the IAF 's combined-arms campaign during the 1999 Kargil War — the first large-scale use of airpower in J&K since 1971 .
India currently has no mandatory military service; the Agnipath scheme introduced in 2022 was the most recent structural change to military recruitment.
Verma said researching the operation humbled him and fostered a personal sense of gratitude toward the country.
Actor Abhay Verma, who plays Wing Commander Rajpal Singh Dhaliwal in the newly released Netflix streaming series 'Operation Safed Sagar', has come out in favour of enforcing military conscription in India — not as a martial obligation, but as a means of deepening citizens' connection with the country.
What Abhay Verma Said
Speaking after the show's release, Verma made a clear distinction between compulsory military service as a strategic necessity and as a civic experience. 'I think so. Not for any other reason but to understand the country that you live in. And, it's our right to understand that. It's not a necessity just to become something or like a lesson that you have to learn but as a responsibility,' he said.
The actor elaborated on India's extraordinary diversity as his primary argument. 'We have different types of terrains, great soils that give us really good crops so that we can eat. We have so many languages, cultures and traditions which people come from outside to experience. But we sometimes fail as citizens, and we go outside,' he said. He pointed to experiences ranging from attending an aarti at a temple to visiting Vaishno Devi, Lakshadweep, and India's Northeast as the kind of grounding conscription could provide. 'I really cannot tell you how blessed we are to be a part of this country. So just for that reason, and nothing else, the conscription should be enforced,' he added.
About Operation Safed Sagar — The Show and the History
The series draws on one of the Indian military's most consequential air campaigns. Operation Safed Sagar was a combined-arms operation executed by the Indian Air Force (IAF), with supporting elements from the Indian Army, during the 1999 Kargil War. Its objective was to flush out regular and irregular Pakistani troops from vacated Indian positions in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control (LoC).
Notably, it was the first large-scale deployment of airpower in the Jammu and Kashmir region since the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 — a landmark in modern Indian military history. The series, now streaming on Netflix, has reportedly received a strong audience response since its release.
How the Role Changed Verma
Verma has previously spoken about the personal impact of researching the operation. According to the actor, learning about Operation Safed Sagar humbled him and instilled a deeper sense of gratitude — sentiments that appear to have directly informed his public remarks on conscription.
The Broader Debate
India does not currently have mandatory military service, relying instead on a voluntary armed forces model. The question of conscription surfaces periodically in public discourse, most recently in the context of the Agnipath scheme — the Centre's short-term military recruitment programme launched in 2022 — which itself drew sharp reactions from across the political spectrum. Verma's remarks, made from an entertainment platform, add a cultural dimension to a debate that has largely remained in policy circles.
Point of View
Not militarism — taps into a post-Agnipath mood where the terms of national service are genuinely unsettled. What's missing from his argument is engagement with the structural inequities conscription historically produces: it rarely burdens elites equally. The entertainment industry's periodic flirtation with military patriotism is worth watching; it shapes public sentiment in ways that policy papers rarely do.
NationPress
15 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Abhay Verma say about military conscription in India?
Abhay Verma said he believes military conscription should be enforced in India, not as a strategic necessity but as a way for citizens to understand and appreciate the country they live in. He described it as a civic responsibility rather than a compulsion to 'become something.'
What is the Netflix series 'Operation Safed Sagar' about?
'Operation Safed Sagar' is a streaming series on Netflix based on the Indian Air Force's combined-arms operation during the 1999 Kargil War, which aimed to flush out Pakistani troops from vacated Indian positions in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control. It was the first large-scale use of airpower in Jammu and Kashmir since the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.
Who does Abhay Verma play in 'Operation Safed Sagar'?
Abhay Verma plays Wing Commander Rajpal Singh Dhaliwal in the series. The actor has said that researching the real operation humbled him and gave him a deeper sense of gratitude.
Does India currently have military conscription?
No, India does not have mandatory military service. The armed forces operate on a voluntary recruitment model. The government's Agnipath scheme, introduced in 2022, was the most recent structural change to military recruitment, creating a short-term service pathway, but it is not compulsory conscription.
Why is Abhay Verma's conscription remark significant?
It is notable because it comes from an entertainment figure whose view on the subject was shaped by playing a military role, lending a cultural dimension to a debate that has largely stayed within policy circles. His framing — conscription as civic education rather than military training — introduces a relatively rare argument into Indian public discourse on the subject.
