🎭 Political Theatre | Nation grieves as Pahalgam attacks brings India to a standstill; Pakistan fumes at escalation

On a warm spring afternoon in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, laughter of families who had flown from across the country echoed in the Baisaran Valley. The serenity was soon shattered when armed men emerged from the trees, strode towards the people and opened fire indiscriminately at the crowd.

These gruesome killings which later became known as the Pahalgam terror attack sent shockwaves across the country, with citizens demanding ‘Justice’ and ‘Revenge’ for the attack. The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit of Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for this attack.

Good Morning dear readers and welcome to another edition of DH’s Political Theatre. The terror attacks which plagued Pahalgam and claimed the lives of 28 people have propelled India to make strong decisions against its notorious neighbour Pakistan. On the other hand, India saw estranged cousins in Maharashtra inching towards an alliance while certain members of the saffron party had a hard time accepting Supreme Court’s decisions. Let's take a look at this week’s political events.

Silence befalls the Valley as a Nation grieves

After witnessing the horrors of Partition in 1947, Punjabi poet Amrita Pritam put pen to paper to express her anguish at the division of the two communities. With a heavy heart, Pritam wrote a poem titled Ajj aakhaan Waris Shah nu where she calls upon Waris Shah, the writer of the heart-wrenching love story Heer-Ranjha and asks him to rise from his grave to see what has become of their beloved Punjab. 

‘Ikk Royi Sii Dhi Punjab Di,

Tu Likh Likh Maarey Wain,

Ajj Lakhaan Dhiyan Rondiyan,

Tenu Waris Shah Nuu Kain

Once, one daughter of Punjab cried;

you wrote a wailing saga

Today, a million daughters,

cry to you, Waris Shah

These evocative lines by Pritam echo across the country today. Survivors recount the harrowing tale where the terrorists divided the men and women in groups. They then turned towards the men, asking them whether they were Hindus or Muslims. When many of the men confirmed the former, the terrorists shot them at point-blank range. 

However, they let the women and children go, telling one of them to “Go tell Modi” about the attack.  Many daughters and wives recall seeing their fathers and husbands in their final moments. One of them said, “I can’t describe the pain.” The country could only stand and watch as families mourned the death of their loved ones.

The aftermath of the attack paved the way for public outrage. People took to social media to question the security lapse and the responsibility that befalls the government.

PM Modi, who was in Saudi Arabia, cut short his trip and rushed back home to chair a cabinet committee on security. However, the very next day he attended a rally in Madhubani, Bihar from where he addressed the attack in public saying, “From the soil of Bihar, I would like to tell the whole world that India will identify, track and punish all the terrorists involved in the gruesome killing of innocent tourists.”

Meanwhile senior ministers of the Centre held an all-party meet in Delhi and invited members of other parties to inform them regarding the situation.

Though Congress and other opposition parties vowed to stand together in the face of terrorism, the saffron party drew flak because the meeting was missing one person of import---PM Modi.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the Omar Abdullah-led government too held an all-party meeting and adopted a resolution condemning the "heinous and inhumane" attack.

Though a cry of retaliation resonated across the country along with certain fringe elements sparking communal tensions, the Modi government suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, gave an ultimatum to Pakistani nationals to leave the nation in next 48 hours and closed the Attari border. 

These decisions did not sit well with the Pakistani authorities and officially marked an escalation in conflict.

Pakistan fumes at India’s escalation 

After vehemently denying any involvement in the attack, top leaders in Pakistan convened a meeting to give a befitting reply to India. Thus, in retaliation, they put the Simla Agreement and other bilateral accords with India on hold, suspended all trade, and closed its airspace for Indian airlines. 

But the main point of contention was the Indus Water Treaty. A lifeline for Pakistan, the authorities in the country warned India that any effort to annul the treaty will be considered an ‘act of war’. 

Interestingly, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif slyly admitted to aiding and abetting state-sponsored terrorism. 

In a clip of the Pakistani Defence Minister's interview with Sky News, which is doing rounds on social media, Asif was posed the question, "You do admit, sir, that Pakistan has a long history of backing, supporting, training, and funding these terrorist organisations?" 

Asif replied, "Well, we have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about 3 decades. And (the) West, including Britain."

Politics amid tragedy

The elaborate efforts to bring back of tourists to Maharashtra following Tuesday's terror attack in Pahalgam seems to have triggered a game of one-upmanship between Mahayuti allies BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. While the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on Friday posted on social media platform X that 500 tourists had been brought back to the state so far in special flights arranged by the state government on the instructions of CM Devendra Fadnavis, the Sena was giving to credit to Shinde. The Shiv Sena said it brought back 520 passengers from Srinagar on four different flights and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde personally oversaw the relief efforts.

Shiv Sena also attacked Sena (UBT) leaders in the wake of the attacks. "While Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his overseas visit and Union Home Minister Amit Shah rushed to Pahalgam, Eknath Shinde immediately flew to Srinagar to lead relief operations and ensure the safety of Marathi tourists," Lok Sabha MP Naresh Mhaske said. "But what did the Thackeray family do? They're enjoying the cool breeze of Europe. Have they even sent a single bottle of water for our people stranded in Kashmir?"

Dubey ji’s jibe game lands him in trouble 

Days after Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar attacked the Supreme Court over some of its recent orders (The Waqf Bill and the Governor-President timeline), BJP MP Nishikant Dubey too decided to follow suit. 

He launched a scathing attack at the judiciary, saying Parliament and Assemblies should be shut if the apex court is dictating laws and that Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna is “responsible for civil wars” in the country.

Though there are instances of BJP having its members' backs in times of trouble, however, this wasn’t one of them. On the contrary, the party took out a statement clearly saying that Dubey’s remark does not in any way reflect BJP’s stance vis-a-vis the Supreme Court.

However, the very next day Dubey threw another jibe at Ex-CEC S Y Quraishi, saying he was not an election commissioner but a "Muslim commissioner", after the latter criticised the Waqf (Amendment) Act.

Thackeray cousins coming closer?

After being at loggerheads for close to two decades, Thackeray cousins Raj and Uddhav have decided to thaw their icy relations for the common good. 

There are mumblings going around that the cousins are thinking of burying the hatchet for the sake of Maharashtra.

Though initial reports suggest there are mixed reactions from both the parties, Uddhav’s man Friday Sanjay Raut seems particularly excited about the patch up. 

All that’s left is for us to see if it will pan out. 

Trump’s lance J D Vance in India

This week, United States Vice President J D Vance, along with his wife and children, paid a visit to India. However, all their sightseeing didn't stop them from dropping by at PM Modi’s residence. 

The US VP's visit comes in the wake of Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs coming into effect. 

After their meeting, both Modi and Vance welcomed "significant progress" in the negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement between the two countries. The US admin later said that the countries are finalising the Terms of Reference of the India-US trade deal. 

However, things are not all hunky-dory. During the meet, Vance nudged New Delhi to lower non-tariff barriers and warned of "dire consequences" if the two nations lag in the manufacturing, energy and infrastructure sectors.

Where foreign affairs meets faith

India wasn’t the only country the Vances visited. Before taking a trip to see PM Modi, J D Vance and his family took a trip to the Vatican City to meet Pope Francis and exchange Easter greetings. Unfortunately, a few hours after the meeting His Holiness breathed his last on Monday plunging the Catholic world into a deep state of mourning.

World leaders paid tributes to the Pope and hailed him for his progressive policies.

On the other side of the world and in line with the spirit of Easter, Russian President Putin declared a ceasefire and ordered his forces to “stop all military activity” against Ukraine.

However, Ukraine President Zelenskyy accused Russia of violating its own ceasefire and threatened to retaliate. The fighting between the two countries resumed after Easter.

That’s all for this week. DH Political Theatre will come back again next week with more political updates from around the globe.

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DH Newsletters Team