Watching the constant tension between Pakistan and India, something really hit home again with the recent attack in Pahalgam, occupied Kashmir. It brought back that deeply unsettling feeling about a tactic India seems accused of using far too often: false flag operations. Right after the attack, it felt like Indian authorities scrambled to control the story, shutting down anyone asking tough questions. For me, this isn’t new; it feels like a pattern where the government uses these external crises to shift focus away from problems at home. I’ve read reports, even in some Indian media, about official suggestions to clamp down on critics, and it really seems like the space for independent journalists and honest questions is shrinking fast in India.

We hear a lot about India being the “world’s largest democracy,” but honestly, when you look closely at how they handle dissent, it feels much more complicated and frankly, quite troubling. There seems to be a long, troubling history there of the government silencing voices that challenge the official line, especially when it comes to incidents that smell like false flag attacks. I’ve read about journalists, activists, and even regular people facing serious consequences – arrests, detention – just for raising concerns or asking the kind of hard questions a healthy democracy should welcome. Instead of engaging with criticism, the authorities often seem to punish those who step out of line. To me, this crackdown really chips away at the “democratic” label. When a democracy punishes people for questioning, you have to ask how real that democracy truly is.

This Pahalgam attack, happening where it did – in Kashmir, a place already full of pain and conflict because of the occupation – feels like another piece of this strategy. It looks like using violence to whip........

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