25 April 2025 : Indian Express Editorial Analysis

1.The Pahalgam abyss

(Source – Indian Express, Section – The Editorial Page – Page No. – 10)

Topic: GS3 – Internal Security GS2 – International Relations

Context

A terrorist attack in Pahalgam targeting tourists based on their religion resulted in over two dozen deaths, highlighting the persistent threat of cross-border terrorism and its far-reaching political and communal implications.

The Pahalgam Tragedy: A Moral and Existential Crisis

• The brutal killing of over two dozen tourists in Pahalgam marks a horrifying moment, one that evokes a profound sense of moral and existential disorientation. 
• Using W.B. Yeats’ imagery of the falcon spiraling out of control, the article evokes a world descending into chaos. 
• The attack’s moral clarity is unambiguous—this was a targeted act of terror against innocents, stripped of any justifying context or root cause. 
• Speculation around motives—whether geopolitical signaling, economic sabotage, or strategic manipulation—feels almost irrelevant in the face of the sheer barbarity. 
• What remains paramount is the effect: the psychological scar on the nation and the political consequences that will inevitably follow.

State Response: Justice, Revenge, and the Risk of Recklessness

• The nature of the attack gives India the moral and legal right to take decisive action against the perpetrators and their enablers. 
• Yet, the text reflects a grim acknowledgment: even a successful military operation, while potentially restoring some confidence and offering a sense of justice, does not eliminate the deeper abyss that terrorism has opened. 
• The despair lies in the cyclical nature of violence—retaliation might address symptoms, but not the root. 
• The article urges caution and wisdom, warning against performative or reckless actions. 
• It underscores the tragedy that any response will be haunted by the act itself, which has now redrawn the contours of India’s political future.

The Pakistan Paradox: Patronage, Delusion, and Chaos

• The first dimension of the “abyss” centers on Pakistan. The article argues that India’s belief in Pakistan’s involvement is strong, and policy will follow that assumption. 
• Pakistan, portrayed as an insoluble problem since Partition, has survived geopolitically by remaining indispensable to superpowers like the US and now China. 
• This external patronage has diluted international pressure and allowed Pakistan’s establishment to avoid accountability. 
• More dangerously, the passage paints Pakistan’s elite as deluded and regressive, clinging to a warped vision of the past—particularly its obsession with Kashmir.
• The military’s strategy, rather than envisioning a peaceful future, has revolved around proxy wars, religious radicalization, and strategic chaos. 
• This creates a situation where Pakistan thrives in crisis and is resistant to both punishment and reform. 
• Even when weakened, it rebounds through tactical maneuvers rather than structural change. 
• This cyclical implosion strengthens its establishment. Thus, military or diplomatic isolation may not yield the transformation India hopes for.

Kashmir: A Bleeding Wound Reopened

• The second abyss lies within Kashmir itself. While there is broad condemnation of the attack from within the Valley—a sign of growing rejection of violence—this unity is overshadowed by the symbolic message of the massacre. 
• It reinforces the fragility of peace and normalcy in the region. Despite years of effort to restore stability, such acts reveal how tenuous those gains are. 
• The likely consequence will be a heightened securitisation of Kashmir, potentially reversing progress and re-entrenching alienation. 
• The political landscape will again be dominated by fear, distrust, and an intensification of the security apparatus.

Communal Polarisation: South Asia’s Growing Faultline

• The third and perhaps most dangerous abyss is the broader communal arc across South Asia. 
• Though India often unites in collective grief after terrorist incidents, the underlying communal tensions are exacerbated. 
• Post-Balakot, India’s strategy has shifted: strategic patience has eroded, replaced by expectations of swift retaliation. 
• This shift has made moderation less politically viable. The deeper danger is philosophical: terrorism, and the state responses it triggers, are gradually making the original idea of a secular India appear untenable to many. 
• There is a growing belief that the partition logic of religious division either needs to be completed or undone entirely—both options fraught with catastrophic consequences.

Conclusion: 

• The article concludes on a somber note: the falcon of peace and secularism is in free fall, and there is no falconer—no unifying force—to bring it back.
• Justice may be served to the perpetrators of Pahalgam, but the larger sense of dread remains. 
• The incident has pushed South Asia closer to a tipping point, where religious polarization, regional instability, and strategic despair combine into a potent, dangerous brew. 
• The real tragedy may not just be the bloodshed of innocents but the sense that the region’s collective future is now more out of reach than ever before.

Practice Question: The recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam reflects the deep-rooted challenges posed by cross-border terrorism, the fragility of peace in Kashmir, and the shifting dynamics of India-Pakistan relations. In this context, critically examine the multidimensional impact of such acts on India’s internal security, foreign policy, and communal harmony. Also, suggest a balanced policy response that ensures both justice and long-term stability.  (250 Words /15 marks)v

Read more – 24 April 2025 : Indian Express Editorial Analysis