ONE year after the tragic attack in Pahalgam in occupied Kashmir, India would have liked to be living in a different global reality. It would have liked to have Pakistan globally isolated. It would have liked to be exercising the prerogatives of a regional hegemon in South Asia. It would have liked to be celebrated as the world’s biggest fighter of terrorism even though, as Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar pointed out, it “has not presented any solid evidence or proof regarding the Pahalgam incident, nor has it offered satisfactory explanations”. None of these things has happened. Pakistan is being celebrated as a peace broker in a gnarly conflict, India has become regionally sidelined in the midst of a major conflict in West Asia, and New Delhi’s support for terrorist activity in Pakistan has not gone unnoticed.

So India is doing what India does best under Modi — pretending that it lives in the reality it desires rather than the reality that exists. Speaking on April 22, 2026, the anniversary of the attack, BJP leaders spoke as if Operation Sindoor — launched without providing proof of an alleged Pakistan connection — was the best decision in India’s history. Indian Defence Minister........

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