There have been four officially confirmed rounds of military attacks, two each by India and Pakistan, into each other’s territory — beginning with India’s strikes on Pakistani terrorist camps in the early hours of May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. Given India’s declaration that it will respond to any attack on its military installations by Pakistan, the cycle could continue. Whether or not it grows into a full-blown military conflict, even without the nuclear angle coming into play, is a question best left unanswered at the moment, without prejudice to either of the possibilities. This disclaimer notwithstanding, there is merit in looking at some key contours of the non-military stakeholders in the two countries that have played a role in shaping the larger mood and psyche in these two countries, which is manifested in the ongoing conflict.

Pakistan’s use of terror as an asymmetric war on India is not something new. The approach gained prominence in Kashmir in the 1990s, but dates back further in time, and has occurred in different places. For example, Avinash Paliwal’s 2024 book India’s Near East: A New History documents Pakistan’s support to Naga and Mizo insurgent groups in the 1960s. However, events in the last two decades, beginning with a series of terror attacks in many Indian cities outside Kashmir, and ending in the November 2008 attack in Mumbai created a new kind of popular discontent in India, which resented the lack of a visibly strong........

© hindustantimes