India saw a major increase in optimism at the national level, rising by three percentage points in the Ipsos What Worries the World survey of May 2025. India is now ranked fourth in the world in the optimism index, just after Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The boost in public sentiment follows the Indian military’s successful execution of Operation Sindoor, a targeted strike on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) conducted earlier this month.
According to the survey, 65% of Indian respondents said the country is moving in the right direction, up from 62% in the previous round. In contrast, the global average remained unchanged at 37%, reflecting widespread pessimism, particularly in developed nations.
Public Optimism Surges Following Targeted Military Strike
The optimism follows after Indian military forces conducted precision air raids on May 7, killing more than 100 terrorists and striking nine strategic targets, four of them in Pakistan and five of them in PoK. The targets were said to be affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
The surgery took approximately 25 minutes and was generally considered a robust response to the Pahalgam assault, in which 26 individuals died earlier in May.
In response to India’s attack, Pakistan made retaliatory drone and missile strikes on Indian border areas, including Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, and Rajasthan. Air raid sirens sounded in Pathankot, Jaisalmer, and Chandigarh cities. Even as tensions rose, India reported negligible structural damage at military bases in Udhampur, Adampur, and Bhuj.
Terrorism is a High Priority in Public Fears
Concern about terrorism has increased sharply in India, especially since the fatal Pahalgam attack. The Ipsos poll registered an 11-point rise in Indians mentioning terrorism as a major issue to 26%, the highest ever since October 2019.
This surge ranks terrorism as India’s third-most urgent issue, after inflation (37%) and unemployment (33%). Inflation and unemployment both dipped by 2% from the last survey. Crime and violence (25%) and corruption (21%) also rank among India’s top concerns.
Global South Dominates Optimism
India’s improvement in the optimism index is part of a larger pattern throughout the Global South. Singapore (77%), Malaysia (69%), and Indonesia (67%) lead the top three, followed by India (65%), as per Ipsos. Argentina (56%), Thailand (45%), and Mexico (45%) follow from other nations among the top seven.
Conversely, some of the developed countries are still at the bottom of the index. France had just 19% of the population reporting that their country is going in the right direction, with South Korea (15%) and Peru (9%) lower than that. Those nations also indicated increased public discontent with unemployment, corruption, and political instability.
India’s enhanced optimism ranking suggests a strong correlation between national security measures and public mood. While Operation Sindoor demonstrated the military might of the nation, a distinct change in the national mood has been witnessed, despite terrorism being an increasing issue.