India Will Give A Crushing Response

The horrific massacre of 26 Indians in Pahalgam last week was deeply personal.

- PRIYA SAHGAL

It hit every single Indian all over the country, not just because the victims were mostly tourists (25 of them and one local, the pony rides operator who was martyred saving others’ lives) who came from all over, but also that the nature of the targets. Unlike Pulwama or Uri or Pathankot these were not military targets but soft targets. And during the attack a very chilling and personal nature was delivered – Modi ji se kehna (Go Tell Modi) is what they told one of the survivors after brutally killing her husband in front of her. The Prime Minister did not hesitate to pick up the gauntlet. Cutting short his visit to Saudi Arabia he has been monitoring India’s response from the front – whether it is dialling global leaders, meeting with the CCS or the defence forces to plan out a strategy. As he thundered at an election rally in Bihar – “we will chase them to the ends of the earth…not just the terrorists but also their backers will not be spared.” Although the rally was in Bihar the PM spoke both in Hindi and in English. He was also addr