As with any old animosity, the 'Tom & Jerry' show between Pakistan and India has continued since independence. Call it competition, identity clash or animosity, it has certainly inflicted severe damage, but often felt like a sibling rivalry in a sitcom. If I wrote something critical about India at a given moment, somebody on the other side would write a rebuttal, have a private laugh with me when we met personally, and be done with the whole episode.

It was eleven years ago that it all changed. One oddity was the hate mail's nature. When you write something critical, you can expect a degree of pushback. Still, a part of the new normal was that even when you praised India, you received an inbox full of hate mail trying to put you in your place - a citizen of a badly broken nation, a beggar state, India was out of your league. You should not besmirch its name by getting it out of your filthy mouth.

I would have heeded the advice, but you realise, since I have been writing almost my entire adult life, one runs out of things to write. It is not possible to ignore a nation of 1.45 billion. In my defence, every word I write is a product of care. If I talk to you, it's because I value your judgement. While others feel flattered by the attention, this was the first time one encountered people threatening to gouge your eyes out for just looking at them.

So, what was behind this weapons-grade hubris? The realisation that India has finally arrived? If yes, why police Pakistani media's online assets then? If you are so powerful, successful and rich, why worry about........

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