Pakistan crosses the Lakshman Rekha at Pahalgam

The Mumbai attack targeted India's heart, the commercial centre of India. Pahalgam targeted India's soul. It was designed to undermine the very idea of India, its spiritual traditions, and culture. It was an attack on Sanatan Dharma.

- DHRUV C. KATOCH

Pahalgam, at 2740m, a popular tourist spot famed for its scenic beauty and scintillating weather, is a two-hour drive from Srinagar, heading east along NH 44 and NH 501. Pahalgam is also one of the two routes to reach the holy Amarnath caves, the other being via Baltal. The large number of tourists who thronged Pahalgam on Tuesday, 22 April, was a testament to the return of normalcy in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Indeed, since August 2019, when the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked, the UT has witnessed an unprecedented influx of tourists. However, all that was set to change on this balmy afternoon.

At about 2:45 pm, Pakistan-backed terrorists emerged from a nearby forest and opened indiscriminate fire on tourists who had gone to Baisaran meadow, a scenic uphill area accessible only on foot or by pony rides, and about 40 minutes' walking distance from the road head. The terrorists, all Muslims, were believed to be five in number, and some were dressed in combat fatigues. In this remote area, they segregated the men and sought to know their religious identities. Then, in what can only be described as an act of total depravity, they identified the Hindu men and shot them dead in cold blood in front of their stunned wives and children. It was the worst terrorist attack on India since the horrific Mumbai attacks of November 2008. In a sense, it was even worse than the Mumbai carnage. The Mumbai attack targeted India's heart, the commercial centre of India. Pahalgam targeted India's soul. It was designed to undermine the very idea of India, its spiritual traditions, and culture. It was an attack on Sanatana Dharma.