It’s time for deep reflection for Jammu and Kashmir as we are passing through April, the month that proved cruellest for the region last year. The Pahalgam incident shattered  dreams and our capacity to view things in a positive fashion to which we were attuned before April 22, 2025 happened. The date changed the destiny that we were engaged in an era  which signalled hope and promise after a long spell of dark ages. Today, it is time to view April from real spring time prism.

A year later, it is time for us  not to go in for clichés, and reflect in  typical manner lessons learnt and unlearnt by the gory episode that made the world  to look at Kashmir through a different prism. A fair analysis would tell us that Pahalgam incident  continues to haunt  and hurt us, as all our security and tourism narrative is focused on what happened last year. The glaring fact is that Pahalgam has not found its closure though all the perpetrators have been eliminated and tourists have started returning to Pahalgam and the rest of the Valley in good numbers.

Kashmir and its ethos of co-existence and hospitality were battered by multiple storms .Huge outpour of anger and protestations against the incident  and terrorism at large  did not convince the people outside of complete innocence of Kashmir. They argued that since it happened in Kashmir and the terrorists  could get shelter before and after the ghastly incident, it could not have been enacted without Kashmir’s involvement . The generalization of this perspective made matters worse. The bridge-building process  came under assault because of this narrative amplified by the vested interests.

While Kashmir continues to plead not guilty  and demonstrated its  anti-terrorism mood in its street demonstrations, the doubts persist. Kashmiris are exploring time and space to move lock step with the rest of the nation. It is true that many changes have occurred in the situation since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, and Kashmiris have been the biggest beneficiaries of the transformation from dark ages of yesteryear to new optimism in air, yet they need time to become narrators of this emerging  phenomenon.

They are not passive. They understand the things far better than many others. It needs to be appreciated that they don’t have to fill streets with their full-throated slogans against Pakistan and terrorism to show that they love India. Times have changed; gone are the days when separatist leader  would say, “I love Pakistan, but that doesn’t mean I hate India.” These lines were delivered by the late separatist leader Abdul Gani Bhat at an election rally of Muslim United Front  (MUF) at Iqbal Park, Srinagar, in February 1987. Now “I love Pakistan” term has been obliterated by  Kashmiris. They know that what they have to love, and their love is for the country that takes care of them. That  in clear terms is India.

Operation Sindoor  launched by the Government of India to strike at the terrorists and their infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir, was undertaken to take revenge for the Pahalgam massacre. This, in fact, was revenge exacted for the Indian nation as its sovereignty and social unity was challenged by the terrorists in Pahalgam. At the centre of it, however, was revenge for the people of Kashmir who wanted justice to be delivered to victims of the Pahalgam incident. Among 26 victims, only one was Kashmiri, but their sense of outrage over the savagery in Pahalgam, was for all. That’s the time they made a big statement aligning  Kashmir’s sentiment with the rest of the nation. They were quite explicit. Operation Sindoor reflected that in equal measure.

The country has taken pride in the fact that it responded to the terror attacks in Kashmir – Uri in September 2016, Pulwama in February 2019, and Operation Sindoor in May 2025, by taking the fight against terrorism across the border, in line with its mantra of “Zero tolerance for terrorism.”  But, Pahalgam was different. The Uri and Pulwama attacks were avenged for the Indian army jawans and CRPF personnel respectively, but Pahalgam was for the entire Kashmir in centre of the national resolve  against terrorism. This was a message that the nation and its leadership is aware of the concerns of the people of Kashmir.

The Operation Sindoor was not only a military operation against terrorists in Pakistan and PoK, but its human dimensions have not been appreciated till date. It was, indeed, a military action against terrorism across the border, but it signalled that the nation can go to any extent to defend and secure justice for Indian citizens, no matter to which part of the country they belonged to. It was as much for the 25 tourists  hailing from  various parts of the country as much for s single Kashmiri Sheikh Adil of Kashmir.

This was a  statement of shared sentiments and the oneness of the nation  that brought Kashmiris with the rest of the country closer in terms of their togetherness against terrorism. With this dynamic, Kashmir sentiment defined oneness in the national unity and sovereignty. That put in place  lasting trust-based  structures to support peace and security.

There, however, is need to open the window wider. A fresh look needs to be taken apart from building infrastructure and investment  and that is to understand the people’s grievances and  anxieties. Now the game has changed, it is not to remove Pakistan from the narrative, it’s already done  as Kashmiris understand things better than what they are being told, it’s to embrace them and open opportunities of dialogue and understanding. There is nothing wrong in  it. It  is going to be a win-win situation, just tap it. And, April 2026 will lay foundation for most beautiful month of spring in Kashmir.

© Greater Kashmir