Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday, 17 June 2026, invoked India's cross-border counter-terrorism operations — from the 2016 Uri surgical strikes to the 2019 Balakot airstrike and references to Nur Khan and Bahawalpur — to mark what the ruling BJP is framing as twelve years of a 'Surakshit Bharat' (Secure India) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The post, shared under the hashtag #12YearsOfSurakshitBharat, declared that 'the India that absorbed terror attacks in silence is now history.'

Context

Sarma's post is part of a coordinated BJP campaign marking 12 years of Narendra Modi's government, which came to power in May 2014. The hashtag #12YearsOfSurakshitBharat reflects the party's effort to consolidate its national-security narrative ahead of future electoral cycles. Sarma, who also serves as convenor of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), is among the most prominent regional voices amplifying the central government's defence record.

The post directly credits Modi's leadership for a fundamental shift in India's posture: from absorbing terrorist attacks without overt retaliation to publicly acknowledged, calibrated military responses across the border.

Policy Backdrop

The two operations cited by name represent landmark moments in India's counter-terrorism doctrine. In September 2016, following the Uri attack — a terrorist assault on an Indian Army base in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 19 soldiers — the Indian Army publicly confirmed surgical strikes across the Line of Control, breaking with a long-standing tradition of strategic ambiguity.

In February 2019, the Indian Air Force carried out the Balakot airstrike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed facility in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, following the Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF personnel. It was the first overt use of Indian air power across the international border in decades. Bahawalpur, referenced in the post, is widely associated in Indian counter-terror discourse with the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan's Punjab province. The reference to Nur Khan in the post alludes to further operations whose details are still emerging in the public domain.

Stakeholders and Impact

For India's armed forces and security establishment, the shift in doctrine since 2016 has meant operating under rules of engagement that allow publicly acknowledged cross-border responses, a significant change from the pre-2014 era of strategic restraint. Civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, who bore the brunt of prolonged terror campaigns, are a key constituency in this narrative.

At the diplomatic level, India has simultaneously pursued the isolation of Pakistan on terrorism-related issues at multilateral forums such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the United Nations. The BJP's framing positions both the kinetic and diplomatic tracks as components of a single, coherent 'Surakshit Bharat' strategy.

What's Next

The #12YearsOfSurakshitBharat campaign is expected to intensify across BJP-governed states as the party builds its governance record ahead of future assembly and general elections. Official elaboration from the Ministry of Defence on specific operations referenced in the post — particularly regarding Nur Khan and Bahawalpur — will be closely watched by security analysts and opposition parties alike.

Parliamentary debates and potential defence budget allocations in upcoming sessions may further reflect the government's intent to institutionalise and expand counter-terrorism capabilities, cementing the doctrine shift as a long-term feature of Indian strategic policy.