Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said that India’s decisions are made independently and are not influenced by any external power. He also underlined that Operation Sindoor, India’s recent counter-terror action, is not over and continues in other forms.Addressing Officer Trainees of the 2024 batch of the Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) at the Vice-President’s Enclave, Dhankhar said, “We taught our lesson, taught it well, chose Bahawalpur and Muridke and then brought conclusion temporarily. Operation Sindoor is not over, it continues.”Further talking about halting strikes few days after launching Operation Sindoor on May 7, he said India is a peaceful and nonviolent nation rooted in the philosophies of Buddha, Mahaveer, and Gandhi. “We do not wish to kill even living beings. How can we target human beings? The idea was to generate sanity, generate a sense of humanity and the lesson has been learnt hard.”He cautioned citizens against being misled by external commentary or assumptions about India’s actions. “Some of us must understand and appreciate. Don’t be guided by narratives outside. All decisions in this country as a sovereign nation are taken by its leadership. There is no power on the planet to dictate to India how to handle its affairs.”Reiterating India’s place in the global community, he said, “We do live in a nation and nations that are a comity. We work in togetherness, we work in tandem. We have mutual respect, diplomatic dialogues, but at end of the day, we are sovereign.”