26 widows and the enemies within

I admire Narendra Modi. A political immigrant, I admire that he demolishes old constructs, defies conventional wisdom, treads the path not travelled by others and is hardcore nationalist in thoughts & actions. As a citizen, I thank him for correcting certain historical wrongs, redefining some old socio-political beliefs and getting a few monkeys off the country’s back.

Having said that, why do I feel that he left something to be desired this time.

They were all there. Prime Minister, CCS members, Defence Minister, External Affairs Minister, Home Minister, NSA, CDS, Military Chiefs and a number of other highly knowledgeable & experienced personnel. Undoubtedly the best brains that India has were there, conferring on the response to the Pahalgam massacre in April-2025.

Still, why do I feel that something was left to be desired by them too, collectively.

Why do I carry a sense of disappointment that Operation Sindoor was under-leveraged and that far more could have been achieved by India. It was like one decides to pull out just before the climax. In my conventional wisdom, I too wanted it to end only after severe pain was inflicted on Pakistan in terms of lives (of terrorists and their sponsors) and infrastructure (terrorist camps and the assets of their military-sponsors). I wanted Pakistan to unequivocally concede its misadventures. But as the dust settles, I realized (though not whole-heartedly) that there are profounder considerations in a war or war-like situations. 

Looking back: Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attacks and responses by India.

Since the current political discourse in India is vicariously dichotomic between pre and post Modi, it will be worth examining as to how India has suffered due to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism during these two phases. Since 1993, India witnessed about 37 major incidents of terrorism which had inescapable Pakistan connections, leading to over 1,400 deaths. This doesn’t include many low-key acts of terrorism by the Pakistan and its operatives across the country. Nearly 25 (out of 37) major acts of terrorism in the country happened prior to 2014, accounting for 1,240 (out of 1,400) deaths. To put this in a cold statistical perspective, nearly 68% of acts of terrorism and 88% of terrorism-related fatalities between 1993-2025 happened before Modi took the reins of the country. This includes Mumbai (1993), Srinagar Assembly attack (2001), Parliament attacks (2001), Akshardham Temple (2002), Mumbai train bombings (2006), Hyderabad (2007), Jaipur (2008), Ahmedabad (2008), Delhi (2008), Mumbai (2008), Uri (2016), Pulwama (2019) and Pahalgam (2025).

What had been India’s response to these terrorist attacks. Lofty assurances of retaliation (in newspapers). High-decibel noises (on television). Jingoistic speeches (at public rallies). Ceremonial attendance to the funerals of the Bravehearts who lost their lives. Candle marches on the streets of metro cities. Exchange of dossiers with Pakistan. Inconsequential speeches at the United Nations. Downloads to friendly nations to earn empathy. This has been the stock response of India to Pakistan. The worst of terrorist-attacks saw no retaliation of consequence even after fervent appeals by the armed forces.

But Uri, Pulwama and Pahalgam responses cured India of its political impotence.

Let’s take stock of the damage inflicted on Pakistan under Operation Sindoor. Twenty-one terror-camps and terror-nurseries belonging to the UN-designated terrorist organizations (Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahidin) in nine locations were destroyed. What stood out was that, unlike earlier, the attacks were not confined to the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) but also targeted terror establishments right in the heart of Pakistan, Punjab, the geography which is stated to be the stronghold of Pakistani army. The stadium at Rawalpindi was bombed which eventually led to cancellation of PSL, the cricket league. About eleven air bases across Pakistan were targeted out of which six were extensively damaged, leading to destruction of nearly 20% of the assets of Pakistani air force. Damage to one international airport turned out to be a collateral damage. The grapevine is pretty strong that one of Pakistan’s nuclear facilities was also severely damaged requiring evacuation of people within hundred kilometers radius. The story of total failure of Pakistan’s over-rated, Chinese-supplied air defence systems and India completing its mission in just twenty-three minutes, will haunt the Pakistani military for many years. Mass destruction of PL-15 (Chinese) missiles and Yiha (Turkish) UAVs under the Indian operation must have left the Pakistani military wondering about the efficacy of its purchases. Against an Indian estimate of over hundred, the Pakistani version confirms that eleven military personnel and forty civilians (mostly terrorists which Pakistan shall never concede) were made to meet their maker. Those killed include high-value targets responsible for hijack of IC-814 and suicide attack on the CRPF camp in Pulwama. The death of ten relatives of the Chief of JeM must have surely enlightened him as to how agonizing his future misadventures will be.

Politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

Whilst acknowledging appropriateness of the famous words of Charles de Gaulle (former President of France) in the Indian context, let’s recount some comments on the country’s response to Pahalgam massacre by the crass in politics.

• They (women tourists) should have fought. I believe they should have fought. This would have resulted in lesser casualty. (Ram Chander Jangra of BJP).
• Sindoor ka saudagar and a mukhbir. (Pawan Khera of Congress on the External Affairs Minister).
• Operation Sindoor was a chut-put war. (Mallikarjun Khadge of Congress).
• But why will women take #Sindoor from this old man. (Prakash Raj, an actor from the South whilst taking a personal dig at PM Modi’s age and marital status).
• Tell people why there was no security arrangement in Pahalgam. Where are those four terrorists? Was the ceasefire done under pressure from the US and who took the decision on the ceasefire, officers or the government. (Bhupesh Baghel of Congress).
• MPs are roaming around; terrorists are roaming around too. (Jairam Ramesh of Congress whilst explaining absence of his party leader Rahul Gandhi).
• Prime Minister Modi had cancelled his planned visit to Jammu and Kashmir on April 17, after receiving intelligence inputs. (Mallikarjun Khadge of Congress whilst insinuating that similar warnings were not communicated to tourists).
• Staging of a bizarre stunt holding a toy Rafale jet with lemon and chillies with an intention to mock India’s counter-terror response. (Ajay Rai of Congress).
• Non-Muslims were attacked in Pahalgam as terrorists feel Muslims are being mistreated in the country. (Robert Vadra, India’s proverbial son-in-law).
• No terrorist is linked to any religion and religious targeting is a speculation. (Sulata Deo of BJD).
• The Pulwama attacks in 2019 and the Pahalgam attacks were conspiracies by the government. (Aminul Islam of AIUDF).

Right from the day of Pahalgam massacre, Indians knew that political slugfest would start even before the mourning period is over. Why did he delay the retaliation. Why didn’t he inflict more serious damage. Why did he stop mid-way despite a distinct advantage. Where is the proof of our forces having destroyed enemy assets. How much damage did we suffer in terms of our air-assets. How many of our own personnel were killed. Which all of our own territories saw any destruction from the enemy’s response. All this coming mostly from political mercenaries from PDPMDJML Ltd. (Par-Nana, Dadi, Papa, Mumma, Didi, Jija-ji and Me Ltd. parties) whose world begins and ends with their political constituencies.

India is in an unenviable situation where it has to fight not only the external enemies but also the enemies within to avenge brutal killing of 26 civilians by Pakistan-sponsored Islamist-jihadists.