Chandigarh: The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) grand aerobatic display on May 11 over the Somnath Temple, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to mark 75 years of the reconstruction of one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines, has drawn concern from a cross-section of veterans and some serving officers, who view the event as a troubling overlap between religion, politics, and the armed forces.Conducted alongside elaborate religious rituals, the spectacle by the IAF’s Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) went beyond ceremonial patriotism, reflecting a deeper and increasingly visible trend in which the military is being drawn into overt forms of religious signalling.And, while the aerial display thrilled crowds, generated dramatic visuals, and was widely broadcast across television and social media platforms, critics argued that the visible deployment of military assets at an overtly religious event risked undermining the armed forces’ secular and politically neutral character as envisaged in their institutional foundations.‘Not extended to other faiths’Many veterans said that if such overt military symbolism at Somnath is considered acceptable for the religious sentiments of the majority community, then the same principle should logically extend to other faiths as well. “In that case, similar fighter jet aerobatics, helicopter flower showers, and military displays would also be deemed appropriate at comparable events over major mosques, gurdwaras, churches, and Buddhist shrines across India,” said a retired three-star Indian Army officer, requesting anonymity. “If such practices are not extended to other faiths,” he said, “the state and the military are effectively signalling unequal religious proximity; and if this logic is carried forward, the armed forces risk being progressively drawn into competitive religious symbolism – something fundamentally incompatible with the principles of a secular republic and a politically non-sectarian military,” he added.Also Read: Rudra, Bhairav, Shaktibaan: Army’s Mythology-Infused Brigades Revive an Old War Plan in New GarbSuch criticism has been further sharpened by the timing of the aerobatics spectacle.Whither austerity?It comes amid a tightening global oil market, energy disruptions linked to West Asia instability, and the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict, which has strained regional energy flows. As a result, aviation fuel costs have risen, adding to higher airfares and mounting operational pressures across the aviation sector.Against this backdrop, veterans also questioned the allocation of increasingly scarce aviation fuel for Monday’s non-operational aerobatic display. They further argue that such actions sit uneasily alongside recent public appeals by Modi for fuel conservation at a time of external energy stress and impending domestic economic hardship. One three-star IAF veteran even went so far as to describe the Somnath aerobatic display as a “severe misalignment” between public messaging on austerity and the optics of a high-cost aerial display conducted during an explicitly religious celebration. Also read: Modi Urges Austerity on Indians While Jetting Across States, Addressing BJP Rallies, Doing RoadshowsAs for the event itself, the IAF’s SKAT team deployed six BAE Systems Hawk Mk-132 advanced jet trainers – licence-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) – which executed synchronised formation aerobatics and precision manoeuvres over the Somnath temple complex. These aircraft released saffron, white, and green smoke trails, using indigenous smoke pods developed at the IAF’s Base Repair Depot in Nashik, recreating the colours of the Indian tricolour across the sky. Additionally, an IAF Chetak helicopter showered flower petals over the temple premises during the Kumbhabhishek, Dhwaj, and Maha Puja, attended not only by Modi but also by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, senior officials, holy men, and temple trustees.Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a roadshow near Somnath Temple in Veraval, Gir Somnath district, Gujarat, Monday, May 11, 2026. State Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and state Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi also seen. Photo: PTI.Powered by a single Rolls-Royce Adour Mk 871 engine, each Hawk is known in aviation circles as a relatively fuel-intensive platform, especially during aerobatic displays. According to industry officials familiar with the aircraft and its high-intensity flight profiles, it typically consumes around 600 litres of aviation fuel per aircraft per display hour, though actual burn rates can be higher, depending on the team’s manoeuvring patterns and sortie profile.With six aircraft participating in the Somnath display, the formation alone would have resulted in “significant aggregate fuel consumption” over the course of the event, said a senior aviation industry engineer, who requested anonymity. Moreover, given that aerobatic sequences, repositioning, and holding patterns typically require sustained flight operations well beyond the visibly brief display window, the six SKAT Hawks would likely have remained airborne for more than an hour when transit, staging, and performance time are taken into account, increasing overall fuel burn.‘Harmless symbol?’Meanwhile, the Somnath Temple itself carries enormous political and civilisational symbolism in modern India.Located in Gujarat’s Prabhas Patan region, it is regarded as one of Hinduism’s 12 Jyotirlingas and has historically been portrayed in nationalist narratives as a symbol of repeated destruction by Muslim invaders and revival. Following Independence, its reconstruction was strongly backed by India’s first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, while the rebuilt temple was inaugurated in 1951 by India’s first President, Rajendra Prasad, despite objections from some political leaders, who believed the secular state should maintain institutional distance from overtly religious projects. It is against this backdrop that the IAF’s aerobatic display at the site assumes greater significance. What may appear to some apologists as “harmless symbolism” or cultural celebration, critics argue, carries deeper institutional consequences for a military that, since Independence, was consciously designed to remain secular, apolitical, and equidistant from all faiths.n this image received on May 11, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Somnath Amrut Mahotsav, which marks 75 years of the inauguration of the restored temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, in Veraval, Gir Somnath district, Gujarat. Photo: PMO via PTI.In this instance, some veterans and analysts see the IAF as increasingly complicit in the blurring of these boundaries. They argue that once military assets, personnel, and symbols begin appearing in overtly religious settings – particularly those associated with the majority faith – the armed forces risk ceasing to be perceived as institutionally neutral and instead begin to be viewed as ‘civilisationally aligned’.‘Military symbolism into an extension of religious pageantry’“The Somnath event was by no means a Republic Day parade, a state commemoration, or a constitutional ceremony,” said a two-star IAF veteran. It was tied explicitly to a religious celebration involving temple rituals, pujas, saints, and ceremonial observances around one of Hinduism’s most sacred shrines, he noted, declining to be named. “The participation of combat-trained military aviators, aerobatic jets, coloured smoke trails, and even flower showers by an IAF helicopter effectively transformed military symbolism into an extension of religious pageantry,” he added.Others questioned the relevance of such showmanship, arguing that the aerobatic display served little discernible purpose even in political terms, amounting instead to an elaborate exercise with neither strategic utility nor immediate policy context to justify the deployment of military assets. They further contended that, beyond electoral considerations, the aerobatics carried little signalling value in terms of deterrence, diplomacy, or public communication, thereby reducing it, in their view, to little better than ‘profligate indulgence’, when the IAF could least financially afford it.Yet its supporters, including sections of the media, argued that the armed forces routinely participate in religious observances across faiths and that India’s military has long accommodated spiritual traditions within its internal culture. This is not entirely inaccurate, as regimental and unit mandirs, gurdwaras, mosques, and chapels do exist primarily for troop welfare, morale, and cohesion. In turn, these are managed by officially recruited pandits, granthis, maulvis, pastors and priests.‘Blurred three institutions that are meant to remain distinct’ Soldiers, airmen, and sailors also periodically celebrate festivals of multiple religions together within a shared institutional space. However, senior veterans argue that there is a clear distinction between such internal religious accommodation and the public deployment of military capability in support of a majoritarian religious spectacle presided over by political leadership. They contend that displays such as Monday’s aerobatics therefore represent a fundamentally different form of civil-military signalling, one that risks eroding the armed forces’ carefully maintained image of institutional neutrality.Also read: Hollowing Out the Uniform of the Armed Forces“This latter representation creates political signalling, whether intended or not,” said the aforementioned army officer. More broadly, such imagery subtly reshapes the public identity of the armed forces, whose legitimacy rests not only on operational competence but on the perception that it belongs equally to every Indian regardless of religion, caste, ethnicity, or political affiliation. That perception, he said, is among India’s most valuable institutional assets; once the military begins to be seen as culturally or politically aligned with a particular religious identity, the long-term institutional consequences can become difficult to reverse, he cautioned.Furthermore, critics have pointed to the near absence of sustained public or media scrutiny around the Somnath aerobatics episode. Beyond routine reporting of the event itself, there has been little visible questioning in mainstream commentary about the implications of deploying military assets in a religiously framed setting.In this image received on May 11, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks on as Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) performs manoeuvres during the Somnath Amrut Mahotsav, which marks 75 years of the inauguration of the restored temple in Veraval, Gir Somnath district, Gujarat. Photo: PMO via PTI.“Effectively, it (the aerobatics) blurred three institutions that are meant to remain distinct: religion, political authority, and the military,” said another retired two-star army officer, who also opted not to be identified. When these domains come together in public displays with majoritarian religious overtones, he added, institutional boundaries blur, and the lines between state authority, religion, and military power begin to fade.He further noted that in today’s political and social environment, criticism of such overlaps often carries the added burden of being framed as “anti-national” or “anti-armed forces” and could, and does, invite both censure on social media and, at times, harsher formal repercussions. This, he warned, narrows the space for legitimate public debate over institutional neutrality and the evolving nature of civil-military ties in an increasingly religiously charged political milieu. For decades after Independence, India’s armed forces had, until relatively recently, avoided this erosion of religious neutrality with considerable discipline. Despite enormous social diversity and repeated communal crises, the military remained one of the few state institutions largely insulated from overt religious mobilisation, a neutrality carefully cultivated through doctrine, protocol, training, and institutional restraint. Beyond the Somnath aerobatics show, there have been numerous other instances over the past 10-12 years where military participation has intersected with overtly religious events and public rituals associated with the majority community, many of which have previously been documented by The Wire.Collectively, these episodes have steadily blurred the once-clear boundary between institutional professionalism and religious symbolism. That matters to many concerned veterans, because militaries derive legitimacy from strict neutrality and from being seen as equally distant from all faiths and political identities; even the appearance of endorsement in such contexts can carry long-term institutional consequences. It is for this reason, above all, that militaries must be exceptionally careful about what they appear to endorse.