Sudden ceasefire with Pakistan stirs anger among hardline Indians

Commenters question India's decision on truce when it purportedly had upper hand

- Debarshi Dasgupta

NEW DELHI - Many in India expressed relief after a sudden ceasefire was announced between India and Pakistan on May 10, bringing a welcome halt to four days of escalating hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, marked by shellings, drone attacks and even tit-for-tat missile launches.

But as the guns on the border fell silent, a brigade of angry and disappointed Indians emerged online to mount an attack with bellicose posts on India's decision to cease fighting when, they argued, the country had the upper hand in its conflict with Pakistan.

"Ceasefire wasn't peace, it was surrender in slow motion. We had them cornered, and instead of finishing it, we folded under global pressure," posted one Ashish Anand on X. He identified himself as a financial planner from Jammu and Kashmir as well as someone who is "unapologetically Hindu".

"We failed to hammer the final nail in the coffin of Pakistan..!! Disappointed!" added another X user @angryopinionatd.

Questions on the ceasefire were also directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with right-wing Hindus, who make up a strong support base for his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), openly expressing their displeasure at the "unfinished task" of ending Pakistan's support for terrorism and even reclaiming Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), a term used in India to refer to the part of the disputed region of Kashmir under Pakistan's control.

One such post came from Mr Shakti Singh, a member of the BJP's youth wing. Tagging Mr Modi, he listed some of India's wanted men who are believed to be in Pakistan, such as Dawood Ibrahim and Hafiz Saeed, and added that "as long as these terrorists are alive, a ceasefire makes no sense".

Hafiz Saeed is the co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist group linked to multiple attacks in India, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Dawood Ibrahim is a drug lord and terrorist suspected of involvement in the 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai.