THE MANY SHADES OF PATRIOTISM

Operation Sindoor brought out a million shades of patriotism.

- ANURADHA GOYAL

Most of us born after the 1971 war had not really seen a war. Yes, there was Kargil, but it was localized to the Kargil hills and most of India did not directly feel the heat. It also happened way before the ubiquity of cameras and media platforms that allow anyone to share videos, broadcast an opinion or draw out an analysis. I remember my father once said, "War can create stronger bonds than peace." Now I realize the truth in his words.

Some young social media influencers observed that India was losing the narrative battle initially. Indian citizens were not able to see the adversary's content as it was banned, so they called upon an NRI to share anything that may be relevant. We suddenly realized that the world is so entangled that information can flow through multiple routes. They gathered teams instantly to rebut the narrative that was going against India, before putting a stop to it with satellite imagery. Many young influencers and social media citizens contributed their bit.