No introspection, only jingoism after Kashmir attack

Where have we seen this before?

On 22 April, several gunmen opened fire on a group of visitors in the scenic Pahalgam area of Indian-occupied Kashmir. At least 25 people, the majority of whom were Indian tourists, were killed. One Kashmiri and one Nepali were also killed. Several others were also injured. According to the Indian media, the Resistance Front (TRF), a militant group banned by New Delhi, claimed responsibility for the attacks. No one has been able to independently verify this. Nonetheless, India has immediately blamed Pakistan and upped the ante, suspending the Indus Water Treaty, and revoking Pakistani travel visas to India. Narendra Modi has also warned an “unimaginable punishment awaits attack conspirators”. It’s unclear what might come next. A strike on Pakistan? The installation of ‘security fences’ across the valley? More mass surveillance? A mass round-up of Kashmiris? It’s all just speculation at this point. But we do know is that violent hate is on full blast. What’s more, we have seen this before: in India, Israel, and the U.S. The rhetoric is bound to result in more state-led violence and oppression.

On the attacks

In the hours following the incident, the news media, Indian leaders as well as pro-India Kashmiri politicians oscillated between the words ‘barbaric’, ‘dastardly’ and ‘savage’ to describe the incident in Pahalgam.

There were news anchors like Arnab Goswami, who called for a ‘final solution’ for Pakistan.

His show also displayed #WeWantRevenge and #DestroyPakistan as background straps in the days that have since followed

Then there were the Indian film stars, who felt compelled to display their nationalism.

“This can’t be forgiven, these terrorists need to know we are not staying quiet. We need to retaliate,” actor Sanjay Dutt said.

Likewise actor Sara Ali Khan wrote: “Heartbroken, shocked and horrified at this barbaric brutality. Our heaven on earth — a place that felt so serene, peaceful and beautiful. Praying for peace and justice.”

This is all par for the course.

Hindi popular cinema has long functioned as an arm of Indian policy towards Kashmir.

It has helped generate desire for the land, erased the people, fomented Islamophobia, and mischaracterized the people’s discontent with India.

On ‘showing no mercy’

Television news shows have almost exclusively focused on the need for revenge.

And these discussions have proceeded with little regard for due process or the need for evidence.

Instead, they have looked to drum up anger.

This has created the conditions for police and the army as well as Hindu nationalist thugs to target Kashmiri Muslims and Indian Muslims living in India itself with impunity.

In Kashmir, at least 1,500 Kashmiris, including boys as young as 14 years old have been picked up by the police as they conduct sweeps looking for hints.

By Friday morning, at least two homes belonging to suspects involved in the incident were blown up by Indian forces.

In cities across India, Kashmiris are now living in fear as the hatred escalates.

Meanwhile, the tone deaf conversations on media platforms continue unabated.

On a talk show broadcast by The Print, Consulting Editor Praveen Swami narrates how difficult it was to distinguish between ‘a terrorist’ and a villager in Kashmir.

”Sometimes people ask me why drones don’t spot terrorists. Well, there are shepherds, there are villagers, there are communities that live in these mountains. And if you put your gun aside, a terrorist walking on a mountain, doesn’t look any different to an ordinary villager walking on a mountain,” he says casually.

Watch the full video here.

On Kashmir’s mountains being a ‘terrorist paradise’

There has been also very little attempt to provide context to the situation in Kashmir.

Discussions have either focused on the failure of the intelligence or military services to protect the visitors, or it has looked to portray India as threatened by ravenous Kashmiri or Pakistani hate.

That India operates a brutal occupation in which Indian tourists and workers are little more than extras in a larger state and corporate-driven production is not seen as a relevant angle in the conversation.

Here’s an example on NDTV:

“As the country stands galvanised right now, these are the voices and wails of our fellow citizens, and their families who were massacred by Pakistan sponsored terrorists. This is not to whip up emotions … but I want you not to look away from these visuals,” one of the hosts says.

There is no attempt to conceal the rampant dehumanization.

In another show, also hosted by Swami, The Print asks nonchalantly: “How Can India punish Pakistan after Pahalgam attack?”

Watch the full video here.

On Modi’s call for revenge

On Wednesday, the Indian PM addressed a crowd in Bihar, where he promised to pursue those responsible for the attacks “to the ends of the earth.”

Modi spoke in Hindi throughout his speech, but switched to English to deliver a stern message:

“Friends, today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world, India will identify, track, and punish everyone terrorist and backer.

“We will pursue them to the ends of the earth.”

"Every effort will be made to make sure that justice is done. The entire nation is one in this resolve. Everyone who believes in humanity is with us.

“I thank the people of various countries and their leaders have stood with us in this time.”

It was as if he was addressing the international community.

He later added, in Hindi:

“I want to say in very clear words that these terrorists and those who conspired towards this attack will get a punishment bigger than they can imagine. The will power of 140 crore Indians will now break the back of the masters of terror."

“I say this unequivocally: whoever has carried out this attack, and the ones who devised it, will be made to pay beyond their imagination".

Link to full story: here.

On US and Israeli support for India

India has received an outpouring of support from many countries around the world.

None of the messages have meant as much as those received from US President Donald Trump and Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, there were several efforts to invoke comparisons with the events of 7 October 2023.

While the calls for an Israel-like solution were widely pushed by influencers with large audiences across social media platforms, they also came from random Hindu nationalist leaders on the ground.

Here is rough translation of what Manoj Padha, leader of the Ekam Sanatan Bharat Dal, had to say in Doda, Jammu:

“I also want to make this request to the BJP govt: When you were not in power you used to criticize other governments. And the people who have brought you to power are being killed publicly in Kashmir. Now if there is any solution to Kashmir question, it is that what Israel did to Palestine,” he said.

Reinforcing Hindu identity over Kashmir

Alongside the call for violence, there have been other efforts to explain to Indians that Pahalgam, itself, was part of India’s larger Hindu history.

And that, therefore, this attack was really an assault on the India’s soul as a Hindu nation and its civilization.

Kashmir is considered indispensable to India’s Hindu past.

Kashmir is considered by many Hindus to have been a center of learning for Buddhism and Hinduism and therefore seen as foundational to the idea of Hindu India.

Hence India’s possessiveness over it.

Finally, on demolishing red lines

Then there has been the call for an unrestrained response.

In a segment on India Today titled: “What are India’s options?”, Rajiv Dogra, the former Consul General to Pakistan said:

“The international community is fed up with Pakistan and the indications - the words in the air that one is hearing - is that both the USA and Israel have given their support - at least verbal support, to India’s desire to take it to some logical conclusions, so that the acts of terror which has become a regular hobby with Pakistan, stops.”

Watch the video here.

Likewise, on the widely watched podcast, The Deshbhakt, Akash Banerjee says:

“If the government can show Pakistan’s involvement in front of the international community, then there is no red line …. It is necessary to deal with this issue with a disproportionate response.”

His video has close to 5 million views so far.

Watch the video here.

Now when you consider that India is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC); has periodically refused to allow international bodies from conducting investigations in such incidents in the past; is actively seeking out support from the US and others for an urestrained military response; and is also speaking openly about ‘no red lines’ and ‘a final solution’ to respond to the events of 22/04, you have to ask: Where have I seen this before?