The Pahalgam terror attack is a red-hot dagger to the heart of Indians everywhere. Such attacks are not new but each one is no less shocking.
In 2016 there was the Uri attack and in 2019 it was Pulwama. Both of these were directed at armed personnel in uniform but the subsequent Rajouri (2023) and Reasi (2024) outrages were aimed at civilians. Pahalgam is the latest and deadliest of the three where civilians were the only targets.
The nation demands a response for this gruesome attack on its citizens. More than what the government has done already – throwing out a few Pakistani diplomats, cancelling visas, shutting a border crossing and suspending a water treaty.
A massive manhunt is looking for the terrorists involved but what of those behind the scenes who pulled the strings of the attackers? After both Uri and Pulwama India did send fighter jets over the LoC to attack militant infrastructure. While those in the government and its supporters championed these shows of strength, there were many questions regarding their actual efficacy.
But to do anything more risks Pakistan pushing the nuclear button and then there’s the matter of China, a Pakistan ally.
But the nation demands a response. Something decisive and commensurate to the loss and grief that this outrage has resulted in.
After the response, Indians will want answers. We want an answer from the government as to how it dropped the ball so badly. All the attacks mentioned above have occurred with the BJP in power at the Centre. The most recent ones after Jammu and Kashmir was made a Union territory, which gives the central government more control over it. And let us not forget that one of the BJP’s claimed selling points is that it is tougher on terror and security matters than its opponents. What has this toughness gotten us? And why is the PM in Bihar (seemingly on the campaign trail) when he is needed in Delhi to coordinate the country’s response?
Questions like these are for another day. For now, India stands united against this egregious assault. And this unity extends to Kashmir. The bravery of Syed Adil Hussain Shah, the local man who gave his life to try and protect the tourists from the terrorists, cannot be played down. And then there have been ordinary Kashmiris who went out of their way to help the survivors in the aftermath and countless others who have denounced the terrorists in public. It is therefore absolutely necessary that ordinary Kashmiris in other parts of the country not be persecuted in some misguided scapegoating of the community.
For decades Kashmir has suffered. But it has not always been because of insurgents and terrorists. Although the Indian government is loath to admit it, the security forces have also been a blunt instrument against dissent. As people from the North East know all too well – AFSPA provides a carte blanche for wrongdoing by the armed forces. And it is ordinary citizens who suffer the most.
The problems of Kashmir are too complicated and intractable to be solved anytime soon. But for now, the nation demands a response to Pahalgam.
