Sentinels of Simari: One year after Operation Sindoor, villagers try to reclaim narrative of normalcy

Simari: A river runs through it, cleaving the village between India on side of the gushing waters and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on the other. If Operation Sindoor has a ground zero, it is Simari where the sound of artillery fire still echoes for villagers trying to shake off memories from that night one year ago.

It is from this frontier village surrounded by high mountains that the Army fired shells across the Krishan Ganga river to signal the start of Operation Sindoor on the intervening night of May 6-7, 2025, India’s response to the terror attack in Pahalgam to dismantle terror outlets in Pakistan.

One year on, silence seems to have settled over the picturesque hamlet on the foothills of the Shamshabari mountains in Tangdhar sector, about 180 km from Srinagar. Life has resumed its everyday routine but outsiders are met with quiet and a certain distrust. Many walk away, saying they only understand Pahari.

Simari, at the literal edge of the country, has a population of 500 and just about 80 houses. There are a dozen odd modern concrete structures alongside traditional mud and timber dwellings. If it were not for the roaring river waters, people from one side to the other could literally shout out to be heard.

The river is also a constant reminder that this is a divided land - both literally and metaphorically.

And Operation Sindoor was felt not as a news report about what is happening to others but as a storm of fire passing overhead.

Ghulam Qadir is amongst the few who talks, albeit reluctantly.

"We didn't just hear the about the war… we felt it as shells lit the skies," Qadir told PTI. Community bunkers were home for the few days after that first night of shelling.

He is proud of his village. Simari’s local middle school has been designated Polling Booth Number One. A hand-painted slogan greets visitors with the declaration: 'Democracy starts from here’.

"Now you should understand we are the first village in the country and the torch bearers of democracy in the country," he snapped back when asked how it felt to be the resident of the country's last village.

The school is sign of Simari’s resilience. Despite being physically separated from the rest of the country by a security fence, people here view themselves as the primary guardians of the country's democracy. The village is mainly dependent on army troops deployed in the area and many work as labourers for them.

As commemorative events are held across the country to mark the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, life in Simari is a delicate balance between everyday mundaneness and the fear that their village’s very remoteness could make them the centre of conflict.

For Iqbal, the drones from across the border were more difficult to deal with than the shelling. The Army opened fire several times to thwart their advances. "Some of the intruding objects (drones) fell in our area. These were successfully removed by the Army," he said, lauding the Army for providing all kinds of relief during those turbulent days.

Located eight kilometres from Teetwal area, which was developed under the border tourism plan, accessing the village is not easy. Tarred roads give way to landslides and fast flowing waters from the slopes around.

The language spoken is Pahari and the culture and customs differ from the Kashmiri heartland or Kupwara district in North Kashmir.

India carried out airstrikes on nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. About 100 terrorists were killed.