Tuesday was two weeks since the monstrous Pahalgam terror attack.
While the nation slowly moves on, the 26 dead and their families continue to wait for justice, with the perpetrators still free at large even if they are on the run. And unlike in 2016 and 2019, India has not struck targets in Pakistan or Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
While the nation waits for justice or vengeance, it has turned its anger inwards.
An absolutely disgusting result of this is the vicious online trolling of Himanshi Narwal, the widow of slain naval officer Vinay. The couple had been married for less than a week and were on their honeymoon in Pahalgam when Vinay was shot dead by the terrorists.
But within days, Himanshi was the centre of a hate campaign after she urged against targeting Kashmiris. As has happened after other attacks, ordinary Kashmiris working or studying in other parts of India have faced intimidation or threats following Pahalgam.
The trolls found her appeal offensive and hurled online abuse at her. Shockingly, little to no action has been taken or words expressed by the government to condemn this harassment.
The daughter of another Pahalgam victim was also trolled for describing the help she received in the aftermath of the attack from two Kashmiris, who, she recounted, had treated her like a sister.
For trolls, especially of the Hindutva stripe, any warm words for Muslims is anathema but especially so after such an incident.
On the other hand, they remain abjectly silent on the central government’s failure and questionable behaviour by none other than our Prime Minister.
And there are warnings from Kashmir that the actions taken by the Indian state are proving to be less than conducive. Ordinary Kashmiris and their politicians across the spectrum condemned the terrorist attack in the strongest terms. However, India has opted for what appears to be collective punishment of the citizenry by arresting thousands of arrests, which former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti fears will alienate the people. The authorities also demolished homes of suspected terrorists but there are question marks over the legality of such actions.
All the while, the Indian media has largely given a pass to the central government for its failings. But, to borrow the words of a loudmouth news anchor, the nation wants to know what the government, its security and intelligence apparatus were doing before April 22 that allowed such a horrendous terrorist attack to take place. We want to know when justice will be delivered and when the victims will be avenged. We want to know why our Prime Minister chose to forgo an all-party meeting immediately after the terrorist outrage in order to play politics in Bihar. We want to know why the Bharatiya Janata Party, which positions itself as strong on security matters, could let this terrorist attack and continuing militancy plague Kashmir.
We want answers, we want justice and we want to live in peace.
