INDIA TERROR ATTACK: DID COMPLACENCY CREEP IN?

Carnage in Pahalgam highlights need for reevaluation of security priorities and protection of civilians

- BY SWATI CHATURVEDI | Special to Gulf News

North India is boiling in a heatwave, with temperatures in April already reaching 43 degrees, and Indians across the country are burning with rage over the heinous Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 26 innocent people lost their lives.

Our anger is boiling over because our democracy's history is dotted with these tragic milestones. Even if we exclude the horrific terror unleashed by Khalistani separatists, when unarmed, helpless civilians were shot dead, the track record remains stained with the blood of innocent Indians.

Targeted attacks

Consider the Mumbai terror attack on 26/11, the Pathankot attack on January 2, 2016, when the Indian Air Force base in the Western Air Command was targeted, the Uri attack in 2016 on an Indian Army Brigade headquarters in Uri town in Jammu, and the Pulwama attack on February 14, 2019, when 40 personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed in a convoy in Jammu.