Pahalgam killings deepen Bengal’s identity rift, give way to fresh wave of polarisation

The return of four coffins from Kashmir to Bengal — three deceased of the Pahalgam terror attack and one soldier killed in Udhampur — has not only stirred grief, but also ignited a volatile mix of religion, politics and emotion — deepening polarisation and marking a turning point in the state’s identity politics.

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With the 2026 Assembly elections less than a year away, the killings have swiftly taken on a political charge, threatening to become the emotional nucleus around which competing narratives and electoral strategies will revolve.

The brutal killing of tourists Bitan Adhikari, Samir Guha and Manish Ranjan Mishra in Kashmir after being asked to reveal their religion has sent shockwaves through the state.

The chilling nature of these targeted killings has thrust the politics of religious identity into the spotlight, with the faith of the victims now becoming a potent political tool.

As parties scramble to frame the narrative through religion, nationalism and victimhood, the deaths have transformed into a new battleground in Bengal’s fierce political contest.

The fourth coffin — of soldier Jhantu Ali Sheikh from Nadia killed in a separate ambush in Udhampur — has further complicated the emotional and political discourse, as martyrdom and terror are increasingly viewed through communal prisms.

The invocation of religious identity following the attacks has signalled a shift in Bengal’s political choreography — one that observers say is aligned with the BJP’s ideological thrust and the TMC’s appeasement politics.

"This isn’t just a story of terror and tragedy. It’s about the religious identity of the dead. We are now witnessing a contest of competing narratives, shaped by identity and political stakes,” political scientist at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Maidul Islam, told PTI.