Strategic Silence: A Citizen's Duty in Times of Crisis

In the formative years of Indian tennis, the role of the non-playing captain served as a peculiar metaphor for distant control.

- Dipak Kurmi

Wearing the team blazer and sitting courtside, he had a say in who played and who didn't. But he was never the one to feel the heat of a tiebreak or the weight of a championship point. Today, this long-forgotten analogy re-emerges in an altogether different, and far more consequential, arena-that of national security. At a time of heightened tension following yet another provocation from Pakistan, the idea of leadership from the sidelines resonates anew, albeit in ways that expose its limits.

The Indian state is no stranger to the scourge of cross-border terrorism. For decades, it has lived through a cycle of attacks, official denials from Islamabad, performative diplomacy, and strategic restraint. This wearisome pattern demands not only institutional resilience but also public maturity. In moments like these, when passions soar and anxieties mount, it becomes imperative to ask ourselves: what is our role as citizens? And perhaps more importantly, where do its boundaries lie?