After Pahalgam, a nation united in battling terror

Trusting the government of India to do the right thing with all its might and maturity, we must assist it by resisting giving in to communal passions, the "second wave of terror" that the perpetrators of the attack want unleashed

- Gopalkrishna Gandhi

The Indian State has to be saluted for the reflexive maturity shown by it to the Pahalgam carnage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi cutting short his visit to Saudi Arabia, directing the Union home minister to visit Kashmir and take stock of the situation immediately, and the swift identification of immediate retaliatory steps against Pakistan from where the terrorists obviously crept into Kashmir, are exactly what can be expected of a self-respecting government. The scrapping of visa facilities, the sealing of the Attari check-post, the expulsion of a certain number of Pakistan officials from its High Commission in India, and the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) are actions that no ruling dispensation in India could have failed to consider and execute. And we can be sure that plans that cannot be revealed for reasons of security and intelligence are underway to give the masterminds of the attack the lesson they deserve.

But there is no doubt that the terrorists have heard from India the resounding message: "Jumhuriyat-e-Hind ke sath jurrat agar karoge, to khabardar, na tum bachoge na tumhare neech iraade!" (Those who have the gall to trifle with the Republic of India, beware! Neither will you survive nor your base plans.) The unmistakable clarity of this message has been strengthened by the unambiguous support India has got from two of the world's most powerful nations: Russia and the US, besides support from other governments across the world, including Saudi Arabia, with all of whom New Delhi has been in constructive engagement.

It is one of the most remarkable features of our country — and of us, its citizens — that when calamity strikes, all differences stand paused and the nation thinks and acts as one. This is no ordinary achievement or talent, given our differences are great and greatly agitate us in what may be called democracy's "normal times".